St Joseph's Nudgee College

August 18, 2011

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St Joseph’s Nudgee College Year 8 students received advice and writing tips when author Tristan Bancks visited the College recently.

Tristan is the author of a number of novels including the Mac Slater books, the Nit Boy series, it’s yr life, First Kids in Space and My Life and Other Stuff I Made Up. During his visit Tristan read the first chapter of his latest release, Galactic Adventures, to the students before explaining how the book came about.

“Galactic Adventures is a book about the first kids in space,” he said.

“In my books, I like to start with a dramatic chapter or event. I also like to base my narratives on my own experiences or interests as it makes the writing and research so much easier.

“When I’m writing I gather images in a folder to give me ideas and inspiration. In Galactic Adventures the characters have a training base in the desert. I used Google maps to find a location in the desert so I knew exactly what would be around and was confident when describing the surroundings.”

Tristan’s visit was timed to coincide with the Year 8 student’s English unit on narratives. As part of their assessment, students have to use the knowledge gained about narratives to write a short story in class. The story will focus on a particular topic, include a specific setting in time and place, and feature one or two main characters, a clear plot line, orientation, complication, climax and resolution.

In addition to providing advice about what to base their stories on, Tristan also gave the students an insight into how his stories develop over time.

“I write every day, even if I don’t feel like it. I write all my ideas down in a notebook then go back and highlight the best bits,” he said.

“My advice is don’t try and get it perfect the first time because you never will and if you can’t end the story go back to the original problem. The ending is always in the beginning.”