David Bedford - Writing

David

Bedford

AIM High Writing

Summary

Age range 3 - 12 years
Books Yes
DBS Checked No

Booking
Contact
+44 (0)1535 656015
aimhigh@caboodlebooks.co.uk

David has written over 80 books for children, published in 40 countries and 30 languages worldwide, from Turkey to Thailand, Australia to Iceland and many countries in between!

About David
David has been inspiring kids in schools for 16 years now – from Orkney in Scotland, through the Welsh Valleys, the Channel Islands, all across England, and especially in Norfolk, where here is located. He has visited British, American and other international schools in Spain, Slovakia, Jordan, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Sudan and China. And he has talked to trainee teachers, cub scouts, Dads and Lads clubs, the Roald Dahl Museum, shoppers in a mall, along a woodland story trail, and at festivals big and small.

David’s AIM High Writing Days

During an AIM High Day David gives children the experience of joining a professional, working author in easily accessible tasks, helping them to create enjoyable and exciting pieces of fiction. Students learn some of the secrets of storytelling and how to further develop their writing talents. And they have lots of fun doing it!

Timetable (with approximate timings):

9.30 to 10.45 (break)

A brief (10 minute) talk introduces the group to David’s background and published writing for their age. A very short reading leads directly into the first activity – a warm-up/ice-breaker which involves the whole group together.

Warm up: a ball is passed around in a circle as we begin to develop our characters, each person choosing a memorable name, and their character’s secret desire.

Story Improv – using the new characters, students begin their own whole-story improvisation. In practice, this involves the children writing a ‘skeleton’ plot of their individual story, with emphasis on creating a strong story structure: an irresistible start, growing the story through the middle, and finding a satisfying ending. David works on a flipchart, the children each work on a single A3 sheet, and David conducts the activity one step at a time, from start to finish.

Students can work individually, or in groups of up to 4 or 5. Staff may join in too!

11 – 12.15 (lunch)

Story Improv – there will have been a chance over the break to think about endings. The group finishes and review the story skeletons, telling a few of the story ideas out loud.

Writing As Authors – we have our story skeleton outline, and will now begin writing the story, usually from the beginning. This is ‘free writing’, using the story skeleton as a guide and writing swiftly and imaginatively. Children can choose their own story style – it might be tragic or sad, flowing and descriptive, and so on, though the nature of the Story Improv tends to make the majority of stories funny, bold, and imaginative.

There is time now to guide children individually (or as groups if that’s how they’ve worked) to help them complete their story skeleton and begin the writing exercise.

1.15 – 2.45

Writing As Authors – this continues for another half hour, with guidance, and readings of samples of the work.

Story Time – some of the stories will be read out, chosen randomly to aid inclusivity, and told by willing students, teachers, or me, and I will give constructive advice.

This is the pinnacle of the exercise. Children will not necessarily have finished their story (and certainly not had time to review and revise it!) but they will have experienced writing the way professional authors write, and be inspired to be authors themselves. They will leave with advice on how to edit, revise and develop their writing further.

A Selection of David’s Books

Bookings
To book David Bedford please contact
aimhigh@caboodlebooks.co.uk

David also offers visits to schools and other settings, click here for more information.