As a writer you traditionally spend most of your working life sat quietly at a desk typing, pulling out what remains of your hair and banging your forehead on the wall for inspiration (other sources of inspiration are available and strongly recommended). But being a children's author gives another side to the job that's completely different - that of the school visitor (and this in itself also has two sides).
One is that of storyteller, performer and entertainer - while it's not something that all authors enjoy, I for one love it. I love the excitement of visiting a new school and introducing a whole new audience to my work. I share poems and stories, show how a book is made, answer lots of questions and even try out new work in progress... there's nothing like reading something out loud to see if it works. These days are fun and exciting and I love the feeling that by the end of the day I might have inspired someone to pick up a book and read - either mine or someone else's.
The other side to school visits is that of the writing workshop. These can last for an hour if moving from one class/group to another but the best and most productive sessions can last for a whole day (or even longer). Rather than coming along with the start of a story for everyone to work on I like to start with a clean sheet, a blank page... That's how it is for any author setting out to write a story and that's what I like to show the children. This way, the children get to create a character and build up a story from scratch which gives them complete creative ownership of it.
Yesterday I spent the day at Monks Coppenhall Primary Academy in Crewe, working with a group of year four writers - and we were joined by other eager writers from Beechwood Primary, Underwood West Academy, Leighton Academy and St Oswald's Worleston Academy... around 30 children in all.
Having the whole day together meant that so much more could be done, and at a better pace, than in a typical classroom environment with time constraints. Using a flip chart and pens we go on a story journey together - creating a character and marking out the rough map that our journey will take.
The children get to see the reason why I don't illustrate my own books as I draw a character and add a bit of background that can be the cover of a book. The children are soon chomping at the bit and eager to get started on creating their own character and they all take great joy in making a cover for their book. Even the shyest and most self conscious of the children dive in once they realise how much fun it is and how no one is being judged or marked on what they do.
Stories are made to be shared so I encourage anyone that wants to, to show what they have done to the rest of the class. A couple may be a little reluctant at first but it's not long before they are the ones wanting to share each new part of their story with the class.
Yesterday's story journey followed a little girl/boy whose adventuring parents had got themselves lost in the depths of a swamp. On the journey our hero encountered, amongst other things a giant talking frog - and there were far too many variations of this creature to go into here - some wore clothes, some had eaten the parents, one had the parents trapped in a giant pea pod and one was robotic...
It really was a joy to see how the children grew in confidence throughout the day and to see how much they really enjoyed writing and illustrating their own stories. Needless to say, there were a few tears shed, though that's what happens what you laugh so much. I can only apologise for the running mascara Miss.
The story word of the day was "Malodorous" suggested by "R"...
The odd thing of the day was "Hippo Water"
The special type of person of the day was "People That Wear Underpants" (and just to clarify - that means superheroes).
A huge thank you to everyone that took part... it was a truly fun and inspirational day. Have fun writing and drawing...
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