We are running a creative writing workshop day called ‘What If?’. We’re inviting just 4 primary schools in the area to send up to 15 pupils from Year 6 (or Year 5 to make up numbers) to take part, learn advanced secrets of creative writing and illustration and then return to you to write their stories within three weeks and then send them back to us to be published in an anthology.

The workshop will take place on Monday 18th October 9:30am – 2:00pm. Due to Covid considerations we’re inviting only 4 schools to take part in the day. Your cohort of 15 pupils plus a teacher will move through the four workshops on the day separate from the other schools. This means it’s first come, first served!


What you need too do:

Confirm by email that you have up to 15 pupils happy to take part ASAP!We’ll confirm your place.Arrive at Fyling Hall School by 9:20am on the day (with packed lunches and pencil cases)

The Day:

9:30 Intro 

9:45 Workshops (45 mins with 5 mins changeover)

10:35 Workshops (45 mins)

11:25 Break (15 mins)

11:40 Workshops (45 mins)

12:30 Lunch (30 mins)

13:00 Workshops (45 mins with 5 mins changeover)

13:50 Summary

14:00 End.

The Workshops:

All the workshops ask the question ‘What If?’ To explore ideas in speculative fiction.

1. Visions of the future:  A look at technology and how it may change how we live. How to find your core idea. 

2. How to write a narrative, to make events unfold to make a story exciting. 

3. Delicious details: develop strong characters and vivid descriptions of the people and places in your story. 

4. Drawing the future: ways to support your story and ideas, for characters and locations, with illustrations. 

After the day your pupils will then have until the 12th November to write, type and submit their stories of anything up to 1000 words via email (from your school email, not personal emails, in a batch). Stories can be emailed as txt or Word documents. 

Illustrations need to be on A4 paper with the artist’s name on the back, dropped off or posted to Fyling Hall to be scanned by us. (Illustrations do not have to be linked directly to a story.)

The book:

The book will contain around 50,000 to 75,000 words (approx 300 – 350 pages) with 15 stories from the four visiting schools plus from Fyling Hall’s Year 6.

The book should be available to buy by 8th December 2021 from Amazon and other retailers for £9.99.Each author will retain copyright to their work. By submitting they will be allowing us to publish their work in the paperback book and in an ebook version. 

Schools must check that pupils submit,it their own work and do not include copyright elements from other sources (e.g. Marvel, Harry Potter or Star Wars etc).

There is no fee to enter.Proceeds from the book sales will be going to the Anthony Nolan Trust in recognition of one of our junior students whose life was saved after being diagnosed with aplastic anaemia.

If you have any questions, please email me at a.instone@fylinghall.org. We look forward to welcoming local children and to hosting a creative writing workshop day called ‘What If?’

Ayd Instone, Head of Curriculum, Enrichment and Communications