If you were a Halloween pumpkin, what kind of story would you like to read?

Would you be a scary pumpkin? Or a scaredy-cat pumpkin?

This Halloween pumpkin is desperate to tell other people about the stories he reads but everyone is afraid of him. When he meets someone new he hopes he can tell them a story...and then they run away.

Write a scary story starring a Halloween pumpkin who loves reading stories. 

Make your story dramatic, either for the pumpkin or the people he wants to entertain with his stories.

How will he make them stay still long enough to hear his stories? 

Will he make new friends or remind people why Halloween is meant to be terrifying?

Don't forget to think about how to build suspense throughout your story. Adjectives are important but so is describing the thrilling events as this Halloween pumpkin struggles to find an audience for his stories.

For more creative writing and literacy practice, take a look at my books on Amazon.

This story is going to be written in the first person and you will have to solve some owl-shaped problems along the way!

You are going to film some owls for a TV show. Sounds simple, right? You just turn up with your camera, start filming the owls sitting on their branches in the middle of the wintry landscape, and it will all look fantastic by the end.

Or will it?

Using the picture to help you, write the story of your struggles to film some unexpectedly awkward owls in the cold, frosty landscape of a winter's day.

Try to include your feelings, some action scenes and think about what could go wrong - and what might go right.

What will your film be like? Will it be okay in the end? 

Hint: If you have trouble getting started, try describing the picture as if you are standing close to the owl. Imagine yourself in the scene and this will make it easier to turn it into a full story later.

This story is great practice for creative writing where you want to include yourself in the story without it being like your everyday life. 

For more creative writing and literacy practice, take a look at my books on Amazon.

What is happening in this moment?

Write a description for the picture which includes:

The setting

What the person is thinking and feeling

What the audience is doing

What is likely to happen next

You can include your own ideas and also describe the scenes not shown in the picture. For instance, are there TV cameras filming the event? 

Don't forget to use lots of descriptive phrases to capture the atmosphere of the event, the sights, the sounds, the feeling you have when something exciting is about to happen.

This activity is great practice for the English Language exam. You could try writing it as a story to see how differently it might turn out.

For more ideas on literacy and creative writing for GCSE, try my Creative Writing for Teens book.

Use this picture to write a action story or description about Feelings.

Imagine how you would feel if you were sledging down a hill.

Would you be scared? Or excited?

And how would you feel if the sledge hit a bump and took you up into the air?

You can write about physical feelings too, like how it feels to be bumped off your sledge or to fall into the deep, fluffy snow - but make most of your story about your emotions.

Don't forget to include extra details:

Who is there?

What can you see around you?

How do you feel at the start of the day compared to the end?

This story is great practice for creative writing and can help you prepare for tests where you need to create strong descriptions of scenes as well as activity and excitement. 

For more creative writing and literacy practice, take a look at my books on Amazon.

Creative Writing and Comprehension lessons for the 11+ exams combine strong groundwork with individual preparation and thorough practice and support for the various aspects of the 11+ exams.

Lessons target the particular 11+ exam your child plans to take and will focus on helping them to confidently prepare and sit the exams. One-to-one 11+ preparation means we can work on exactly what your child needs, including helping them to overcome any anxiety or specific worries about the exam itself.

I have written many educational books for children which can be found on Amazon.