Author Ann Sei Lin ran a creative writing and origami workshops for Years 7 and 8. Ann Sei Lin is the author of Rebel Skies, a fantasy adventure inspired by Japanese culture. In her creative writing workshops she told us about the culture of papercraft in Japan, including ofuda (paper talismans) and shikigami (magical familiars that can be made out of paper), and how these inspired her novel. Pupils then developed characters, a story arc and an opening for a short story. After school, Years 7 and 8 Book Club did an origami workshop with Ann Sei Lin. They learned how to make a butterfly and a fox.

Over the course of 1.5 hours, we learnt about the author's childhood and her thought process in developing storylines, as well as some fun facts about Ann Sei Lin and her two books (Rebel Skies and Rebel Fire). Then, after creating our own characters and their personalities, we were given the opportunity to write our very own stories! Wacky, weird, wonderful or wholesome - all of the stories were amazing. It was so much fun to create our own characters (mine was called Saidie Jackson) and to bring them to life through creative writing! Finally, to finish off the session, we stood in a line at the back of the classroom and played a one-word story. This was a new experience for me - Ann started us off with ‘Once upon a time’, and we took it from there, each adding our own detail to the story using just one word. In the end, we created some very interesting plots, like a red chair eating a crocodile with lice. Overall, it was an amazing experience and allowed us to walk in the shoes of a proper certified author.

Holly K, 7JG

Ms Sei Lin gave an introduction to her book, Rebel Skies. The plot line follows a young heroine with a special ability to manipulate paper into delicate forms of origami. We discussed her personal connections with the book and its characters, influenced by her time spent in Japan. During the workshop, each participant was asked to create a fictional character and develop their backstory and character traits. We then set our characters into a scenario where a plot twist or misfortune occurs. Once written, we were invited to share our work with the rest of the group. The workshop was a great opportunity to meet the author and learn from her techniques and experience. I particularly enjoyed creating a character and learning how to bring them to life using only the written word. We are very grateful to Ms Sei Lin for taking the time to come and talk to us.

Lucy D, 8ZC

Here are some extracts from the short-story openings by Year 8 pupils.

Roxy F 8MH - Search

Edlyn B 8MH - Kyouka of the 23

Tati C 7JG - short story opening

Holly K 7JG - short story opening