17/03/2010 - Tim visits Churston Ferrers Grammar School in Torbay
Tim visited Churston Ferrers Grammar School on 17 March 2010 to talk about creative writing and run writing workshops. Mercy, a Year 9 student, wrote the following article about Tim's visit.
'In a question and answer session Year 9 were lucky enough to have the opportunity to ask Tim about his work which proved to be very interesting. He divulged that not all his characters were purely fictional – they had elements of people he had known throughout his life incorporated into them. Beth, a student, found the session particularly inspiring. ’It was great fun to see a real life writer come in and talk to us. I found it inspirational and it will encourage me with my own writing.’
'In the creative writing workshop, Tim talked about the different ways in which to approach writing and how important the imaginative process is. Tim shared priceless advice with some of the aspiring writers, talking them through his own struggle to obtain his initial publishing deal while he was a teacher. He then gave Year 9 students the opportunity to share their own writing with him and undertook a variety of activities to keep the creative juices flowing. Hendrikus said, ‘The activities he asked us to do really made us think about our work and he gave us some excellent tips on how to improve our writing.’ '