Article by Olivia P & Joshua G. Interview by Mira E-M & Olivia P.

During Book Week, the Senior School had the pleasure of meeting the one and only, Tessa Duder.

Tessa Duder started writing at 38 years old. She used to write as a journalist for the newspaper ‘Auckland Star’. One night, she woke up with an idea for a novel. She had never thought of writing a novel before. Tessa wrote for 4 years and the result was ‘Night Race To Kawau’. Tessa has edited many books, including ‘The Word Witch’ where she pieced together 98% of Margaret Mahy’s gorgeous poems and created the book. She said that “When writing a story, try to imagine being one of the characters”. Tessa Duder wrote a quartet series called ‘Alex’, the series was very successful. It was published in many different languages and sold all around the world. Ms. Duder’s ‘Alex’ series was her bestseller.

She was very passionate about her first ‘Alex’ book in the series. It kept her working for 4 years straight.

Tessa has about 50 books with her name on them. Her most recent release was about Sir Peter Blake. Her new book that she is working on is called ‘First Map’. It is about Captain Cook mapping New Zealand. Among her awards are three New Zealand Children’s Book of the Year awards and three Esther Glen medals, and a Gordon Award for ‘Night Race to Kawau’. 20 lucky Westmere students got to have a writing session with Tessa. Tessa was a great help to all the students that went to her workshop. They all learned so much about writing from her.

After the workshop 4 students got the opportunity to interview Ms. Duder about her work.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

All sorts of places:

• Stories
• Gossip
• Newspapers
• Experiences

What are some good tips for writing stories?

Choosing if it's going to be: First person or third person. Past, present or future, then sticking to it throughout the whole story.

When did you start writing?

When I was 38 years old I wrote Night Race to Kawau, but before that, I had two journalist jobs. The first journalist job I enjoyed, but the second was not very pleasant.

Why did you start writing? Did something inspire you or did it just happen all of a sudden?

It just happened all of a sudden. I woke up in the middle of the night after a dream that did not finish. I thought, ‘I will only know what will happen if I finish the story.’

What is your favourite type of writing?

Fiction because I'm in charge and I like being in charge.

Do you ever feel much of a connection with your book characters?

Yes. I think it is important to feel your characters so that you can really make the story interesting.

What is a good strategy for juicy writing?

• Interesting verbs

• Limit adjectives

• Detail

• Description

• Don’t overdo it

Why is writing important to you?

I look at it as a way of communicating. Stories explain how the world works, they help understand feelings. I'm a reader as much as I am a writer. You learn from reading. Stories are a way of looking into worlds you may otherwise not see.

Did you ever win awards for your writing as a kid?

No, not as a kid, mostly because writing was not as encouraged as it is now.

What is your favourite thing to do outside of writing?

I love sailing, spending time with my grandchildren, watching good films. I also like music. I know how to play classical music on the piano.