Jo’s author talks and workshops are designed to inspire imagination and creativity, while imparting advice on plotting, world building, creating characters and structure. She uses her own writing and research as a basis and is happy to tailor a talk to your specific needs. She has experience talking to groups from Year 3 through to first year High School.

General Author Talk

Jo shares the historical research and real-life travel that inspired Tarin of the Mammoths. She touches on world building, developing plot, inspiration, problems encountered and using your own experiences in your writing. This talk can be tailored according to the age of the group.

What in the World?

Learn how to create an authentic world for your story. Do you want to run through a medieval market place, dodging the King’s soldiers? Or perhaps your world is set during the Ice Age, like the world of Tarin of the Mammoths? Perhaps you want your world to be magic, or have two suns and ten moons? This can be presented to larger groups with a discussion on how Jo creates her own worlds backed up by a Powerpoint presentation, or more interactively with smaller groups, building their own worlds and settings.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

All stories need a plot, and this workshop looks at how to craft an exciting adventure story, filled with tips on creating tension, drama and cliff hangers. We look at using our imaginations and inspiration to keep our characters in trouble!