Writing Spooky Stories

From the ghostly to the ghoulish, the creepy to the crawly, spooky children’s fiction is full of mystery and monsters. And whether you want to follow in the footsteps of Neil Gaiman or Roald Dahl, Jennifer Killick or Frances Hardinge, there is no better time to work on your ability to scare, than just before Halloween! Join bestselling children’s book author Kenneth Oppel to delve into the depths of your characters (and villains!), develop your plot and tap into your own fears to shape a story. You will learn how to balance writing something scary for a younger audience with the appropriate fear-factor, how to build suspense to keep readers on the edge of their seats, correctly pace those all important twists into your narrative, and write characters who readers love and fear in equal measure. 15 minutes will be reserved for a Q&A at the end of the masterclass. This masterclass will be online, video platform to be confirmed. It will also be recorded so if you are unable to attend live, you'll be able to catch-up and access the recording for up to two weeks.   All attendees will be able to purchase Kenneth’s books from our independent bookshop partner.