The Boys’ School Welcomes Award-Winning Author, Brian Falkner

As part of their literature programme and study on writing and novels, the Boys’ School Year 7 and 8 students were pleased to welcome award-winning Kiwi author, Brian Falkner to present to them last week.  Well known for his young adult books, particularly, ‘The Tomorrow Code’, ‘Brain Jack’, ‘The Project’ and ‘The Assault’, the boys were excited to put a face to the name and listen to Falkner talk about reading, creative writing, and the publication process.

Falkner who is now living in the Gold Coast, has written 18 novels which he has won many awards for. He travels the world telling his story in the hope of inspiring children to follow in his footsteps and become authors.

In his address, he asked the boys what their dreams are and what they want to be when they grow up. He said that that dreams help to create stories, and that by writing about them, the boys can inspire others too.

He spoke to the boys about audiences and how narratives can be shaped around them. He described how narratives are constructed and how they have a variety of intentions, situations, and levels of formality, and depending on the audience, can range in characteristics and determinants, such as backgrounds, interests, and motivations. Falkner also explained the importance of following the opening, plot development, main event and resolution structure of a story and how to use ‘peaks and troughs’ throughout it to keep the reader engaged.

He left the boys with a few tips, saying great writers, ask the ‘what if…’ question, research and use real life experiences to develop ideas.

After this, 22, Year 7 and 8 Enrichment Writing students got to spend time with Falkner in a workshop. In this workshop, Falkner covered narrative development, opening lines and hooks, and the break down of an actual story, that is, creating a setting, the characters, obstacles, and an end goal.

This experience was great for the students as they not only learnt about reading and writing, but the importance of goal-setting, discipline, and perseverance, traits that will help the students succeed in school and in life. We were extremely fortunate to have Falkner visit the students. We thank him for his time!