Tag: children’s fiction
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Top Ten Joys of Writing Character
Creating and writing character is the breath and blood of good stories. As Will Storr says in The Science of Storytelling, “It’s people, not events,that we’re naturally interested in. The plight of specific, flawed and fascinating individuals that make us cheer, weep and ram our heads into the sofa cushion. The surface events of the…
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My Top Ten Inspirational Writing Haunts
From tumble-down manor houses to tropical islands, from ruined abbeys to capital cities, places have always been a big inspiration for my writing. Here are my top ten inspirational writing haunts with some of the book extracts they’ve inspired. I visited this little island off the cost of Wales with my parents when I was…
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Developing A Creative Curriculum Through Story Making
I’ve just begun a two-year project with Bradford primary schools, working with children in Year 3 to develop their oracy skills and confidence through story making. Over the past couple of weeks we have visited the Land of Treasures and heard about the King Beyond the Unknown Ocean, who wishes to own light itself. Today,…
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BBC Radio York interview for National Adoption Week
I was interviewed today on BBC Radio York for #NationalAdoptionWeek. We talked about the process of becoming an adoptive dad, the joys & challenges of adoption and how the experience inspired my new book Bea’s Witch: A ghostly coming-of-age story. What are your experiences of or questions about adoption?