We were delighted to welcome author Lisa Williamson to launch Book Week here at NHEHS.

Following a degree in drama, Lisa worked as an actor for over a decade before writing her debut novel The Art of Being Normal, which went on to win the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize in 2016. She is also the author of All About Mia and Paper Avalanche, and was one of seven contributors to the collaborative novel, Floored. Her latest novel, First Day of My Life, was published in January 2021.

Lisa gave us a fantastic assembly and then ran two creative writing workshops for our Year 10s, where her fun exercises really got our creative juices flowing! 

Just some of the ideas we developed:

Build a character from the feet upwards and walk around in their shoes – fun writing exercises for Year 10 this morning!

Imagine your character found a £50 note outside a train station. What would they do? Put your character in a scenario and see where your writing takes you.

Quick fire questionnaires to profile a character. What stars ign are they, and do they care? What is their treat at the end of a difficult day? What is their most visited website?

Designing an origin story of a character – what is the best present your character has every received? What is their darkest secret? What do they want to be when they are older?

What makes a character stand out? In Lisa’s words – “All great characters want something and do something about it.”

At lunchtime, Lisa also ran a wonderful live Ask the Author session on Google Meet to answer our questions, which gave us a great opportunity to get an insight into life as a author, where she gets her inspiration and what it is like to be an award-winning writer.

Questions included:

Q: Do you write your books in chronological order ? Do you start with chapter 1 and write all the way through?

Lisa Williamson: No, I write in bits and pieces, then I draw it all together. 

Q: How do you stay motivated to write?

LW: Set manageable targets and remember to have fun with it. Don’t be too hard on yourself – there’s no need to be perfect!

Q: Are you friends with other authors? 

LW: Yes, lots!

Q: What are your top tips for approaching agents and sending in manuscripts?

LW: Research publishers carefully, have a killer opening and to take some risks.

Q: Do your characters ever feel like copies of other characters?

LW: No, they may have elements of others but if you build a character thoroughly, then they would be an individual in their own right.

Q: How do you prepare and research to write about characters who are from a different group to you (i.e. non binary)?

LW: Research thoroughly and immerse yourself in those communities to give it an authentic voice.

A big thank you to Lisa for such an inspiring morning. If you want to find out more about Lisa and her books, then her website is here: https://www.lisawilliamsonauthor.com/