I’ve made a short film with five tips for writing a chapter book.

Please head over to see the video here – I hope you like my first foray into video tips. Expect more of these!

When I was twenty, I travelled with three friends through Indonesia. One morning, we woke on the beachfront and climbed aboard a boat attempting to get to the Gili Isles. This image reminds me of that journey, bringing back the faces of my friends and the feeling of freedom that morning gave me. Use this image to write about freedom and travel – either as a personal essay or as a short story. Think about who might be about to climb aboard, or who has recently left this boat ashore and why…

Today I want you to think about a character who has a collection of some sort. Write a passage that shows a reader each of the following:

What is the collected object

How did the collection start?

Why does the character collect these objects?

Which of the objects is the character’s favourite?