World Book Day message - and the final lockdown writing challenge

Hi everyone,

Here you’ll find my last lockdown writing challenge, and a message for World Book Day. After this my blog will become less regular again and more focused on special news and updates. But if your children or students - or you - could do with some creative distraction you’ll still be able to find the challenges on past posts, and right here, for a little while longer!

World Book Day:

Happy World Book Day for Thursday! All I’d like to say is this. Read however and whatever suits you. Read comics or classics, poetry or picture books, non-fiction or fan-fiction, hidden library gems or the latest shiny must-haves. Read old favourites and future-favourites. But whatever you do read, I hope you find something that moves you - something that lingers long after you’ve finished it. Because that means the story isn’t yet finished with you…

The last writing challenge:

Have you heard of the wood wide web? It’s an underground network of roots and mushrooms - yes, mushrooms! (well, fungi) - that trees use to communicate with one another and share their resources. Which is nothing short of amazing, don’t you think!? My challenge to you is: write down a conversation between trees. What would they talk to each other about? Are they making casual chit-chat or is there something urgent, scary or exciting going on? Does one of them have a squirrel tickling their branches or a bad case of the beetles? Have fun and go wild!

It’s been such a great pleasure to come up with these writing challenges, and I hope you’ve enjoyed them too. Maybe one day I’ll bring them back in some capacity or other. Until then - much love.

Reading, writing and... Mars?

Hi everyone.

Welcome back to my Monday mini-blog - which had a half term break and has returned as a mid-week mini-blog instead. I’ve been putting together a weekly writing challenge (bar last week) to provide a little creative distraction to children who’re at home - and anyone else who’d like to have a go. Previous challenges are here. And, for a change, I’ve recorded today’s as a video! Let me know what you think!

What I’m writing:

I always love it when authors put out a bonus short story or comic set in the same world as their books just for fun. It feels like such a treat. How about you - do you enjoy that too? Well, if the answer is yes (which I hope it is) then watch this space. Because I may have something up my sleeve, coming soon…

Reading and to-be-reads:

I’ve just finished Malamander by Thomas Taylor and let me tell you, it’s witty, thrilling (and, of course, supremely eerie) in all the right places: a truly rare and masterful creature. I’ve now started on Joseph Elliott’s second book in the Shadow Skye trilogy, The Broken Raven. I’m thrilled to be spending time with characters Agatha and Jaime again, as well as newcomer Sigrid, and the tension’s already rising!

Writing challenge:

Check out my video below for a prompt that I hope helps you spark some other-worldly story ideas!

Check out a video I made via Loom

Video transcript:

My writing challenge for you this week is all based around the Mars Rover that landed the other week and all the cool pictures it's been sending back. I just thought it was really awesome that it's on a whole new planet and is up there exploring things we've never seen before. So here's the writing challenge. Imagine that this Rover has moved on a little way over Mars, and it's taken some pictures and sent them back to earth. And the scientists are opening up these pictures right now. What do they see? There's something truly shocking in one of the pictures! That thing is completely up to you to decide: is it bones of some kind or even a live alien creature - or something completely different? Maybe it could be something completely random, like a teapot. It's also up to you to figure out why it's there…

New pages, new reads, a new writing challenge

It’s Monday, which means another mini-blog! I hope you enjoy this week’s writing challenge, as well as the latest updates from me:

Writing challenges get their own page:

I’ve created a page for my weekly writing challenges - so you can now browse them all in one place to find one that captures your imagination. I’ll be keeping it up to date every week when I add a new one - but keep an eye on this blog to be first to catch the latest.

What I’ve read, what I’m reading:

Last week I finished the most incredible book: When Life Gives You Mangoes by Kereen Getten. The story follows Clara who’s been having a difficult time with her best friend, and who can’t remember things about last summer. All she knows is, she used to love to surf, but now she’s afraid of the sea... The adult audiobook I’ve just started is The Martian by Andy Weir, which I’m loving listening to as an audiobook. I’m finding a few parallels between lockdown and Mark Watney’s experience of being alone on Mars!

Writing challenge #4:

We watched Spirited Away this weekend (man I love that film!) and the idea of there being a spirit in/for everything - based I think on the Shinto religion - gave me an idea for the next challenge. So here it is. In Spirited Away there are river spirits, stink spirits - even a radish spirit! Take any object you can see or imagine (a tree, an armchair, your favourite mug) or something you can’t (like a smell you love) and imagine it as a character. What would they look like? What sort of personality do they have? How do they behave/talk/move? Write all about them! And please share: I’d love to hear all about your character.

Stay safe and well everybody, and have a brilliant week.