Tamsyn Murray - Writing
Tamsyn
Murray
AIM High Writing
Summary
Age range KS1 to KS4
Books Yes
DBS Checked No
Booking
Contact
+44 (0)1535 656015
aimhigh@caboodlebooks.co.uk
Tamsyn Murray is the award-winning author of twenty-one books for children, teens and adults.
About Tamsyn
Long before Tamsyn was a writer, she was a reader. She fell in love with books at a young age and learned to write stories of her own through reading.
Tamsyn’s first book, ‘My So-Called Afterlife’, was published in 2010 and was Highly Commended by the Booktrust Teen Prize. She is a full-time writer and also writes best-selling novels for adults under the pen name Holly Hepburn. She studied Archaeology at university before going on to try a variety of jobs and settling on writing in 2008. When she’s not working on a story, she can be found singing and acting with her local amateur dramatics society. Tamsyn enjoys combining her two great loves – stories and acting – and her events often include an element of performance. She especially likes laughing, so you can expect plenty of fun too.
Tamsyn’s AIM High Writing Days
Tamsyn’s AIM High Day is flexible to fit in around the needs of the school but will generally follow this pattern:
Session 1
A brief introduction to Tamsyn and her books, followed by an ice-breaker session during which the children discuss how to create atmosphere in their stories. They will be given two types of story and will be asked to brainstorm words and descriptions that would create the right atmosphere for each story type, with particular emphasis on using all their senses.
Session 2
In this session, the emphasis switches to story planning. Tamsyn will introduce a famous screenwriting tool, the Three Act Story Structure, and show how it can be applied to the children’s own writing by breaking down Julia Donaldson’s Room on the Broom according to the structure. The children will learn how to start their story in the right place, where to add twists and turns, how to give their characters obstacles to overcome, and how to resolve their story satisfactorily to get that all-important WOW factor.
Session 3
The children get to plan a story of their own by choosing an object from a selection Tamsyn has brought with her. She will ask them a series of questions about the object, which she’ll help each child to answer; these written answers will form a complete story plan that draws on what they learned in the previous session.
Session 4
This final session is all about writing. Using their story plan, the children will be encouraged to write as much as they can in the time available, with Tamsyn circulating and observing their work individually, and offering advice where needed. They might complete their story or need a little more time to finish but they will have been given all the tools they need to produce a gripping, atmospheric, well-plotted piece of writing. And best of all, they will be bubbling over with ideas and enthusiasm for creating their own stories.
A Selection of Tamsyn’s Books
Bookings
To book Tamsyn Murray please contact
aimhigh@caboodlebooks.co.uk
Tamsyn also offers visits to schools and other settings, click here for more information.