Created in partnership with First Story, these short films for secondary schools offer exclusive insights into the ideation and writing processes of top writers working across a number of genres.
From playwrights to poets via children's authors and graphic novelists, each short film follows a real writer's journey – from how they find their inspiration and work with a stimulus, to how they edit and perform a written piece.
These short films are suitable for teaching English language at KS3 and KS4 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and National 4 and 5 in Scotland.
Six of the films – Derek Owusu, Hannah Khalil, Javid Rezai, Priya Hall, Ram V and Vicky Foster – are also supported by , offering extension activities to get your students writing.
You might wish to use these resources on National Writing Day, which is an annual celebration of creative writing. Each video will provide your students with inspiration for their own creative writing projects, encouraging them to find their creative writing voice. Each accompanying First Story resource will offer structured creative writing tasks to build on what students learn from the videos.
Derek Owusu – Writer. video
Derek Owusu, who works across a number of genres but is perhaps best known for his fiction writing, talks about the importance of finding your voice with your creative writing.
Priya Hall – Comedian. video
Stand-up comedian and comedy writer Priya Hall talks through her creative process and gives advice on comedy writing and performance.
Ram V – Graphic Novelist. video
Graphic novelist Ram V talks about how his background influences his writing, and the collaborative and creative process of creating a graphic novel.
Vicky Foster – Poet. video
Vicky Foster, who works across a number of genres but is perhaps best known for her poetry, talks through her creative process when writing and editing a poem.
Tomfoolery – Performance Poet. video
Perfomance poet Tomfoolery reveals how he first got into poetry and talks through his creative process.
Maisie Chan – Children’s Author. video
Children's author Maisie Chan talks about how a lack of British East Asian and Southeast Asian representation in books spurred her on to become a writer, and gives insight into her creative process.
Javid Rezai – Screenwriter. video
Javid Rezai, a British-Iranian-Italian screenwriter, offers insight into his creative process and how a collaborative writer's room works.
Hannah Khalil – Playwright. video
Hannah Khalil, a Palestinian-Irish playwright, talks about the creative process she goes through when writing for the stage.
Where next?
GCSE English Language. collection
A series of short films designed with the English Language GCSE curriculum in mind and looking at key topics such as analysing fiction and non-fiction texts.
Bitesize
Use these Bitesize resources to set homework, independent study tasks or to consolidate learning for your pupils.
Newsround
The latest news stories from Newsround to share in the classroom.
