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Creative writing charity for young people

BBC Teach x First Story

We’ve collaborated with the team at BBC Teach and some fantastic contemporary writers to produce an exciting new set of creative writing resources, Inside the Writer’s Mind. Packed with tips and insights, six of the films in the BBC series are accompanied by a free classroom resource by First Story.

Derek Owusu

Derek is a writer, poet and podcaster from north London. Published by Penguin, his first novel, That Reminds Me , won the Desmond Elliott Prize 2020.

Watch the film >

Classroom resource

Based on the stimulus, ‘ Imagine you’re sat on a train and someone approaches to sit down opposite…’ this resource encourages students to use their imagination and to focus on descriptive skills to produce a short narrative.

Download PDF resource >

Hannah Khalil

Hannah is a Palestinian-Irish writer for stage and screen who has been nominated for the James Tait Black award. She’s currently Resident Writer at Shakespeare’s Globe for 2022 and under commission to write new work for RSC, Shakespeare’s Globe, Soho Theatre and The Kiln.

This resource encourages students to write a dramatic scene — considering scenery, sounds, dialogue and characterisation — between two people who care for each other but disagree about an issue.

Javid Rezai

screenwriter

Javid is a British-Iranian-Italian screenwriter who won the BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Prize in 2017 for Children’s Media. As well as writing for TV, he has written and directed two short films, one of which was nominated for Best Screenplay at the 2016 Madrid International Film Festival.

Students are encouraged in this resource to put their own unique twist on a classic fairytale, working in small groups to rehearse and refine their reimagined scene.

comedy writer

Priya is a stand-up comedian, actor and comedy writer from Wales. She has written a new BBC2 Wales pilot show, Beena and Amrit , airing this summer, in which she will also star alongside Meera Syal.

This resource encourages students to have a go at writing a short comedy set (just a couple of jokes or funny stories) about someone they care about, while considering stage persona and delivery.

graphic novelist

Ram V is an award winning author and creator of comics and graphic novels. Since publishing his first book in 2016, his work has garnered critical and popular success. As well as creating his own original work, Ram has also written for iconic characters and titles at DC Comics and Marvel.

In this resource, students are challenged to write the script for a four-panel page from a comic or graphic novel, then collaborate with a partner to turn each other’s scripts into an illustrated story.

Vicky Foster

Vicky is an award-winning writer, performer and poet based in Hull. Her work has been broadcast across BBC Radio and her poem for the Commonwealth Games 2018 was part of the BBC’s national coverage. As well as teaching creative writing, she is currently writing a novel.

In this exercise, students are encouraged through observation and description and considering all the senses, to produce a ‘cut-up’ poem.

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Creative writing competition: BBC National Short Story Award 2024

Latest posts.

Poetry competition: The McLellan Poetry Prize 2024

09 may 2024, 23 january 2024.

David Walliams

Writing books for children.

Write stupendous stories with the author who's sold over 50 million copies worldwide.

This course includes:

56 exercises

Sorry, BBC Maestro is not yet available in your location

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What you'll learn

Join David as he shares his top tips for creating funny fiction for little readers – from snappy titles to unforgettable heroes and villains.

• Write your very own children’s book
• Learn about the industry
• Discover what makes a great title
• Find inspiration in your life
• Become an expert in toilet humour
• Your Maestro
• More like this

David Walliams, OBE, is an award-winning author of best-selling children’s books. He’s written 26 books that have sold over 37 million copies and been translated into 53 languages. He’s learnt a lot along the way and he’s here to teach you.

Writing Love Stories

Ken Follett

Writing Bestselling Fiction

Storytelling

Julia Donaldson

Writing Children's Picture Books

Writing Popular Fiction

Harlan Coben

Writing Thrillers

Bill Lawrence

Writing Comedy for Television

Carol Ann Duffy

Writing Poetry

Malorie Blackman

Writing for Young Adults

Jed Mercurio

Writing Drama for Television

Lesson plan (24)

Writing Books for Children Introduction

Research your childhood

Passion breeds inspiration

Stories out of stories

Take from the real world

Character inspiration

Themes and subjects

Power of opposing forces

Driving forces

Your villain

When to set your story

Where to set your story

Finding the funny

Toilet humour

Sitting down to write

Know where you're headed

The big idea

Grab their attention

Criticism & cuts

Reviews for this course

Explore all courses.

Food & Drink

Film, TV, & The Stage

Art & Design

Home & Lifestyle

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