Thousands of teams participate in Write a Book in a Day across the country, but only a handful can be named as winners.
The schools and their writers that consistently see their names on the honour roll have it all down pat, and in a Write a Book in a Day world first, we managed to get them to share some of their secrets!
In the second of a three-part series on what it takes to create consistent success; we find out whether there’s a secret sauce being used among our winning teams.
Missed the first instalment? Read here.
Finding a winning formula is much more than simply writing and illustrating chapters as they come. Systems are the key, often created by the kids themselves.
Matthew McDonald from Huntingtower School proclaims that the secret sauce is going to be found in the teams themselves. The W-All Stars, Huntingtower’s National Winners for 2024, say as much.
“The ‘secret sauce’ is a combination of teamwork, time management, and creativity,” they say.
“A strong team plays to each member’s strengths, communicates effectively, and keeps a positive attitude even when things get tough. Being flexible and open to new ideas also helps a lot!”
Huntingtower School has more teams join year on year as the competition gains popularity. Matthew offers some insight into their process.
“Some are extremely creative and energetic, while others favour efficiency and structure with clear direction, and others still are meticulous in their pre-planning but then favour a highly-collaborative approach on the day.”
“No team is ever perfect and none of these teams tries to be the ‘best’ at everything: rather, they have learnt to maximise their strengths while acknowledging and catering for their weaknesses.”
Huntingtower School took home two other State Awards in 2024 with their teams Ernest C Mint and The Kurious Kittens, showing how a strong collaborative message rings true.
As W-ALL Stars puts it, “collaborating to brainstorm ideas, write, and illustrate a book in such a short time was both challenging and rewarding. It was amazing to see how everyone’s strengths came together to create something unique.”
“The most important aspect was continuously checking in with each-other and offering support.”
Tenille and Ursula Frayne Catholic College in Western Australia believe that time away from the rigours of Write a Book in a Day brings about a winning book.
“These students are so focused and determined they can sometimes forget to move around and stretch a little,” she says.
“The winning teams always have such a collaborative and constructive approach that comes through in the unity and coherence in their story structure – it was handy having an adjoining classroom where students could find a quiet space among the chaos to foster this, focus and really hone their ideas as a team.”
As Tenille indicates, the proof is in the pudding.
“Repeat participants have helped foster a tradition built up over a number of years, where we see older, experienced students mentor first timers in a lot of our teams.
We had a group of Year 12s who had competed every year since they were in Year 10 (and won in that year) – with their strategy down pat and were quick to collaborate with the Year 11s who joined their team that year.
“They had a team huddle in a quiet study room as they discussed their story ideas and which direction it should take. They emerged 15 minutes later triumphant, with their plan all ready to go. They won again last year creating their beautiful story ‘The Watchmaker’s Legacy’.”
One of the authors of The Watchmaker’s Legacy, Year 12 Student Grace, says those huddles gave them the confidence they needed to produce a winner.
“Taking short breaks and letting ourselves enjoy the process made a huge difference in making the day less stressful while keeping our morale high,” she says.
“Overall, we learnt that Write a Book in a Day isn’t just about the final product; it’s about having the maximum amount of fun, celebrating together through the highs and lows, and being proud of what you create.”
Cover picture provided by Ursula Frayne Catholic College