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Write A Book In A Day

The Write A Book In A Day Competition was a very interesting experience. There were ups and downs, calm moments and stressed ones and even some tears. The laughter was endless and the writer’s block horrible. The day started and both teams were given random parameters. The planning began and crazy plot lines were developed. A couple of hours later, the writing and illustrating got going. Both teams were working against time and their own ideas. Along the way many plot holes were found and the stress really started to kick in. All of a sudden, it was time to edit. The process was long but worth it. Both teams formatted their books, hit send, took a breath of relief... and then the celebrations commenced.

We are all super grateful to The Kids’ Cancer Project for providing us with the opportunity to try and put a smile on the face of anyone who wants or needs one.

Ava Alley Year 9

The rooster’s crow was stifled by the early morning mist as twenty St Andrews College students and four staff, bleary eyed and restless from the anticipatory excitement of the day to come, woke to prepare for the task ahead. The sun was peeking over the horizon as they all arrived at the College, committed parents kind enough to drive their children to the school, teachers grateful for the lack of traffic. All merged into the Learning Centre at 7am to uncover the parameters for the day; the sun would be snoozing by the time they all left the school that night. The Kid’s Cancer Project Write a Book in a Day Competition had begun.

Over the course of the next 12 hours, two teams of ten students, comprised of members from Years 7 to 9, were being challenged to plan, write, illustrate and publish a book. Teachers could offer feedback and guidance on the stories, but our most valuable role was providing dinner. The published books will be distributed to children in the cancer wards of hospitals around Australia, bringing a little distraction to their everyday woes. The goals were clear: provide an escape for kids whose problems dwarf our own.

The day was divided into four sessions with students separating into their teams and arming themselves with markers and whiteboards for the day. Illustrators were poised with an array of tools, from paper to the popular app Procreate. It was clear that one team had scored their coffee on the way to school, while the other was pining for their My Little Pony PJs. Nonetheless, as the communication increased, so too did the plot-lines. Characters emerged from the ether of dreams; each team brainstormed their ideas until two magical tales began to unfold from under sleepy eyes – two hours down, only ten hours to go.

Dryadalis, a tale of alternative worlds and magic, and The Bluestone Cottage, a mysterious tale, took shape among the team members – three and a half hours down, eight and half to go. After a brief break, plots and characters were refined, drawings were born through the wizardry of the illustrators and the stories developed toward the 3500-5000 word limit. Each person worked on their own chapter, so that by lunch first drafts were almost complete. Students now had time to escape into the real world for a much needed break – six and a half hours down, five and a half to go.

Most of the students broke for lunch, but many wanted to work through, determined that their first drafts would be completed by 2pm, and so they were - seven hours down, five hours to go. From 2pm, students divided the work, entering the editing phase. 3pm came and went as their friends’ school day ended and their day still had four hours to go. Yet smiles still adorned faces and laughter echoed through the room. Drafts were being divided to illustrators to produce the images that would complement the worlds created, while sections were scrutinised for errors and to ensure that the teams met the criteria assigned by the competition organisers – 5pm – 10 hours down, two hours to go. Dinner time!

At last the moment had arrived for the teachers to make their most valuable contribution to the day. Pizza was picked up and distributed to the ravenous writers. A sense of calm crept over the Learning Centre. As parents will know, the quietest moments are those when the children have food in their mouths, and yet the students kept working…and working…and working. Something strange was occurring. The groups were focused on polishing their stories: dialogue came and went, small rewrites occurred and illustrations were added to the documents. The room was a buzz of conversations, laughter, questions and solutions. By 6pm, the teams were adding the final small touches required under competition rules. At 6:30pm, the two teams inhaled, looked around and realised they were done – eleven and a half hours down, 30 minutes to go. All documents underwent a final check as the teachers converted stories into the formats required for submission and then everyone gradually exhaled as the stories were sent. While human history may record more important digital transmissions, the two teams at St Andrews College that night celebrated in exhaustive bliss the achievements of the day. Two teams, two captivating tales, four teachers, twelve hours and twenty giants of the literary world had succeeded in their goal of writing two books in a day.

It is important to thank the following students for their contributions on the day:

Total raised for the Kid’s Cancer Project so far $820!

The Alphabetters:

Euleila Barrett (Year 8).

Caitlyn Dela Cruz (Year 9).

Catriona Forneste (Year 9).

Nicola Gerardis (Year 9).

Ayush Goyal (Year 9).

Bianca Infante (Year 9).

Theresia Purwadi (Year 9).

Josiah Prasad (Year 9).

John Roxas (Year 9).