Christmas is almost here! So, for our last Dare to Write challenge of 2016, imagine this: You come downstairs on Christmas morning to find the snacks you left out for Santa gone. All that’s left are crumbs and an empty glass. Who ate them? Santa or someone else? Did they do anything else while they were there? And have they … Read More
Dare to Write: Advent Calendar Antics
We’re guessing lots of you opened the first doors on your advent calendars yesterday! Advent calendars count down the days to Christmas, with each door revealing a picture or present of some kind (usually small toys or chocolate, though there are some with puzzles, poems and other intriguing items hidden in each box!). For this week’s writing dare, start a … Read More
Dare to Write: Secret Lives of Snowmen
Winter has arrived, and with it sometimes comes snow. Maybe not enough for school to be cancelled, but usually enough to build a snowman. So for this week’s writing dare, we want you to imagine: What would your ideal snowman look like? Do they have snowmen friends and family? What about animals or enemies? What if they came to life … Read More
Dare to Write: Fantastic Beasts
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them comes out today! The new film takes place in 1920s New York and chronicles the adventures of Newt Scamander after his global excursion to find and document an array of magical creatures. So our Dare to Write challenge for this week is… Create your own fantastic beast. What do they look like? Do … Read More
Dare to Write: Tongue Twisters
This Sunday is International Tongue Twister Day! So, for this week’s writing challenge, we dare you to either… Invent your own tongue twister. It’s all in the alliteration, so pick a letter and start scribbling down ideas of all the words that start with that letter, then see how you can combine similar sounds so they trip up your tongue … Read More
Dare to Write: What I Saw in the Woods
Whatever your plans for the half-term holiday, chances are you’ll be seeing some of the evidence that Autumn is well underway. And there’s nowhere these seasonal changes are more obvious than when walking in the woods, so that’s our setting for this week’s writing challenge. Think about what you’ll tell your friends about your half-term when you go back, then … Read More
Dare to Write with Lucy Coats
Lucy Coats writes for children of all ages. Her first picture book was published in 1991, and in 2004 she was shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Prize for Atticus the Storyteller’s 100 Greek Myths. Lucy read her first book of Greek myths at the age of seven, and has been hooked on stories of all kinds ever since. We … Read More
Dare to Write: Cursed Pirate Treasure
Ahoy, me hearties! Earlier this week, it was Talk Like a Pirate Day, when salty sea-dogs and landlubbers alike make ordinary, everyday words walk the plank and instead spend the day discussing grog, parrots, powder monkeys, jibs and jolly rogers. In celebration, this week’s Dare to Write challenge is the perfect opportunity to invent your own sea shanty or spin … Read More
Our 100 schools challenge for #RoaldDahl100
The countdown has begun to 13th September 2016, the hundredth birthday of beloved children’s author and storyteller Roald Dahl. Dahl is the creator of some of the twentieth century’s most popular children’s stories, including Matilda, The Witches, The BFG, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and a long list of others, and his books have sold more than 250 million copies … Read More
Share your love of creative writing
Paper Nations is looking for published creative writers to take part in our pilot creative writing tutor scheme. You may be a published poet, novelist or non-fiction writer with an interest in working as an associate writer in one or more of our partner schools.