Last week I spent a happy morning with Yr 5 and 6 pupils at Exning Primary School in Suffolk. Straight after morning assembly I spoke to all the children in the two year groups about how my writing journey began and where my ideas come from. In my experience, children always ask ‘Where do you get your ideas from’ when you do a school visit, so instead of dismissing the question with the obvious answer ‘Everywhere’ I decided to concentrate on some of my books which were inspired by very specific events or places. Sometimes something which had happened to me, sometimes a special place I’d visited, sometimes a news item that lived with me – and occasionally a subject suggested to me by a publisher which gripped my imagination.  It was the first time I had based a talk on the ideas and events which led to me writing my books (the stories behind the stories) and I found it really enjoyable to revisit these varied sparks which ignited my inspiration to such an extent that I felt I must construct a story around them.

After this, I did a workshop with eleven keen young writers, using my latest book ‘Break Out’ as a starting point. I read a few paragraphs describing a dramatic incident near the beginning of the book, explained a little about the main characters and the setting, then encouraged them to work in groups to construct a plot line using this starting point but creating their own story line and  incorporating a problem to overcome, motivation, jeopardy, a crisis point and a resolution. They came up with some really imaginative ideas, all of which were far removed from the plot line of the actual book!

A really rewarding day at a school where I received a very warm welcome from staff and pupils alike.

Signing copies of ‘Break Out’ after my talk

Doing a workshop with some keen young writers