Waking before the crack of dawn to squeeze in an early morning writing class before school every Monday resulted in a special reward for seven dedicated Walkervale students in late November.

Kids Get Published members (aka the Walkervale Writers) were delighted to meet and participate in an advanced “Show, Not Tell” workshop with local author Cherie Curtis (aka Cheryse Durrant) at the school’s Innovation Centre on November 19.

“Group coordinators Lee Peno and Alexandra Irwin told me these seven children had been extremely dedicated to their writing all year and never missed a class. This workshop was to reward them for their efforts – and I was delighted to discover they were not only talented but extremely polite,” Cherie said.

During the workshop, students discovered the major differences between showing and telling, and how to improve their writing using a set of 12 important tips. They also brainstormed on the whiteboard to turn a boring “telling” scene into a vibrant piece of “showing”.

This is not the first time the Walkervale Writers have been treated to a workshop by a professional writer in 2012. Author/illustrator Dr Cameron Stelzer visited students earlier this year. The stories they wrote from this visit were later printed in the school’s souvenir Write Night Collection of Stories book.

Walkervale Writers presented Cherie with a copy of their story book and a box of chocolates at the end of the workshop. “It was lovely meeting these talented students and I’m looking forward to hearing updates on their writing in the future,” Cherie said.