David Almond

In this broadcast, David Almond gives pupils fantastic ideas and tips for approaching their own creative writing. Pupils will also get all their burning questions on Skellig or My Name is Mina answered during the Q&A at the end of the broadcast.

If you only do one thing

We know time is tight, so here is just one activity you could complete with your class before or after watching this Authors Live event.

Write a journal entry LIT 3-02a, ENG 3-30a, ENG 3-31a

In the broadcast, David explores his book My Name is Mina, which is written as a journal. Look at this quote from the book: "Writing will be like a journey, every word a footstep that takes me further into an undiscovered land". Discuss the meaning of this smilie. Do your pupils think it is effective to talk about writing in this way? Do they agree? Do they think blank pages are an "undiscovered land"? 

Following this, ask your pupils to write a journal entry imagining they have travelled to an undiscovered land. They could imagine they are in a unusual place in the world they would like to visit, or a completely fictional place. Encourage them to include descriptions using their senses. How does the new place smell? Is it noisy? What do they see and hear? Do they taste any unusual foods?

For shorter clips from this event visit the BBC Scotland Learning(this will open in a new window) website.

A transcript of this broadcast is available to download.