A book in a day: The ultimate writing challenge

Does it sound unbelievable to write an entire book in just one day? Well it is possible, and it’s happening right now.

 By JINGJING FU

Since the beginning of April more than 400 teams across Australia have taken up the challenge to write a book in a day, in order to raise funds for children’s hospitals all over the country.

The charity event Write-a-Book-in-A-Day encourages people of all ages and writing ability to register a team of five-10 people and then challenges them to complete a children’s book in 12 hours.

Each team is given a random setting – including a topic, three characters and five key words – before they start writing the book at 8am.

Write-a-Book-in-A-Day founder Chris Oakeley says the challenge had gained strong support Australia-wide.

“Everybody can write a children’s story because everybody knows what a children’s story is like,” he says.

“We thought it would appeal immensely to children to write children’s books for other children, particularly sick children.”

This year in Melbourne more than 40 teams have participated in the challenge.

One of the teams from Mount Waverley North Primary School is very proud of their book Little Crow.

The group of nine children spent a whole day at school on August 25. Each child was responsible for one chapter of the book and others were assigned to tasks such as drawing and scanning the pictures.

Student Casey Dalton enjoyed writing the story. “I did it last year. It’s fun and it’s a new experience,” Casey says.

“The teamwork is really good, we have been working with others to find out what to do in each chapter. Everybody is doing their best.”

This year is 11-year-old Christopher Kennedy’s first time in the challenge. “It is probably the best opportunity that I’ve ever had,” he said.

Christopher raised $160 for the Royal Children’s hospital.

Each team is required to send an electronic version of the finished story to competition headquarters, where they will be judged by a panel appointed by Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers' Centre after August 31.

Then all of the books will be donated to children’s hospitals around Australia.

New South Wales co-ordinator of Write-a-Book-in-a-Day Jody McDonnell says they try to form a connection between entrants and the hospitals.

“We have a presentation down at the hospital, so the kids can actually can see the hospital and where the books and money go,”she says.

Ms McDonnell says they get positive feedback from the hospitals every year.

“They love it, every year the hospitals receive of all of the books and these books go to the hospital library or waiting room,” she says.

“The money goes straight into the charity for medical research on children’s cancer, so they are very grateful. We raised nearly $70,000 last year.”

The 2014 competition ends August 31 and is expected to gain the best outcome since it started 12 years ago.