Tips for Young Writers

Quick Notes to Remember from Michael Morpurgo

Write because you love it and not because it is something that you think you should do.

Always write about something or somebody you know about – something that you feel deeply and passionately about. Never try and force it.

The most important thing is to live an interesting life. Keep your eyes, ears and heart open.

Talk to people and visit interesting places, and don't forget to ask questions. To be a writer you need to drink in the world around you so it's always there in your head.

Read a lot – poems, prose, stories, newspapers, anything. Read books and poems that you think you will like and some that you think might not be for you. You might be surprised.

Always write your ideas down however silly or trivial they might seem. Keep a notebook with you at all times. (I use school exercise books that teachers and children give me when I sometimes visit schools!).

Write and re-write your poem or story to try and perfect it but also to help you find your voice and your own way of expressing yourself.

Try and live inside your story, hear and feel it all around you and become the characters.

CLICK HERE to visit Michael Morpurgo's official website.

CLICK HERE for a Q+A with Cressida Cowell.