Kate Cann: Be Your Own Chief Character!

I'm really keen on diary keeping. I don't mean the day-by-day "got up, went to school, had a burger for lunch" type of incredibly dull diary—I mean a plain-page notebook that you write in when you really want to.

Diaries don't have to be all literate and in perfect sentences. You might just want to write a series of words—write swear words, if someone's really annoyed you!

As you write what's happened to you, you become your own chief character in the drama that's your life. You begin to see why people behaved the way they did, you understand consequences, you chart all the emotions and interacting motives. It's great training for a novel!

When I wrote the Diving In trilogy, I dug out my old teenage diaries to get the authentic teen voice. I was amazed by the passion and the fury in those pages! So if you keep a diary—never throw it out.

When you're feeling strongly about something—get it down in writing. If you're moved and excited by something, your readers will be too. Teenagers make brilliant book characters—they're so intense and volatile.

Anyone out there keep diaries already? When do you write most?

Kate Cann
Author of Diving In