Two Worlds Collide for The Kids’ Cancer Project

Zena Shapter The Time of the Jade Spider Last Saturday I was lucky enough to participate in the 2016 write-a-book-in-a-day challenge. I emphasize ‘lucky’ because if I were the parent of a child with cancer, I wouldn’t be able to spend a day writing… I probably wouldn’t be able to write at all. There’s nothing more heartbreaking for a carer than the idea of a child suffering, which is why this is my fourth year raising money for The Kids’ Cancer Project. It’s also why I’m writing this post! The write-a-book-in-a-day challenge continues until 31st August (why not get a team together and enter?!), so although I’ve now completed the challenge (woo hoo!) I can continue to raise money for a few more weeks.

Wanna sponsor me?

To complete the challenge, a group of writers have to write-a-book-in-a-day based on a set of parameters provided by The Kids’ Cancer Project. This year my Northern Beaches Writers’ Group team had to include in our story: a beautician, an escape convict, a spider, rubbish tip and kidnapping. Here’s the blurb of the story we created, The Time of the Jade Spider:

Fourteen-year-old Fingal O’Grady is convicted of theft and transported to Australia in the 1820s. Almost two centuries later, fourteen-year-old would-be beautician Abigail Harrington finds a mysterious spider amulet and their two worlds collide. When both children are kidnapped, they realise they’re in possession of an object with enormous power. The Peacock Spider of Tien Shan leads them on an exciting and dangerous journey where nothing is what it seems. Will Fin ever find his place in time?

Sound good? I hope so! Our story will now join our others in the kids’ library at Westmead Children’s Hospital for patients to read while awaiting treatment, and any money we raise through sponsorship will go directly towards research into childhood cancer (plus you get a tax receipt!). It’s a great charity!

It’s also a really tough challenge! Not only is it hard to create a story from scratch and write it in a day, it’s also hard to edit, illustrate, print and bind it! With collaborative writing, you have to leave your ego at the door as the majority rules no exceptions; you have to plan furiously; be meticulous about the beginnings and endings of each chapter so your story flows; work together to identify and fix plot holes, inconsistencies and character arcs; re-write to a strict deadline (or you’ll never get the story done!!); and trust the person who’s editing to smooth over the ‘voice’ of the story with yet further re-writes. That editor’s usually me, so I was absolutely shattered by the end of the day, though thoroughly chuffed with the result! Here’s my team’s somewhat tired smiles of celebration after we finished The Time of the Jade Spider:

Zena Shapter NBWG WABIAD 2016

Enormous thanks go to (left to right top row:) Kirsten Taylor, Mijmark, Kylie Pfeiffer, Sue Steggall, Chris Lake, (left to right bottom row:) Madi Duncan, Kristin Prescott and Leah Boonthanom for writing with me once again, for trusting me to polish your words, for all the yummy bakies and food that sustained us on Saturday, for laying out the book so beautifully (Leah!), the fabulous illustrations (Mijmark and Sue!) and being so supportive of each other.

For anyone interested in writing collaboratively, these writer pals of mine have blogged in more depth about this year’s and past write-a-book-in-a-day challenges:

Kristin Prescott’s Blog – great step-by-step tips

Tony McFadden’s Blog – how to ensure your book doesn’t have multiple writing voices

Chris Lake’s Blog – humorous insight into the write-a-book-in-a-day experience from beginning to end

If you’re interesting in supporting The Kids’ Cancer Project, then please do one of the following:

sponsor the Northern Beaches Writers’ Group’s NBWG team via this link
buy books we wrote in previous years, then published to continue raising money for this amazing charity via this link

Finally, here are some photos from Saturday’s challenge…