Budding young writers wanted for national story writing competition with top children’s author

Perfect bank holiday activity for kids aged 9-10; Winning entries to be published in fun illustrated book and transformed into public exhibition at Eureka! Children’s Museum in October; Early entries also given chance to win a Kindle Fire

 Top children’s author and TV actor Ciaran Murtagh is calling on children across the UK to enter British Gas’ Generation Green’s The Powerful Story competition for their chance to become published authors before the end of the year.  After receiving some great entries from individuals as well as school classes, the competition – to create a story about the past, present and future of energy – has been extended to 14 August to enable more individual children to take part. Entries submitted before 2 June will also be entered into a prize draw to win a Kindle Fire.

In response to recent research, which discovered that nearly half (49 per cent) of kids think our biggest challenge in the future will be making sure we don’t run out of energy, Ciaran Murtagh and illustrator Lee Cosgrove are encouraging children to get excited about energy, writing about the past, present and future challenges as part of the story.

Children have been asked to write a chapter on a chosen energy subject for their region and invent the adventures of 11-year-old twins Billy and Zoe Spark and their great, great, great grandfather Jeremiah through the world of energy. British Gas Generation Green and Ciaran also want to hear children’s best ideas about energy in the future to include in the final chapter.  

Ciaran and Lee have created characters and written the first chapter, and are now handing over the rest of the book to cities across the country. More help and inspiration, including character descriptions, the first chapter and story writing tips are available on the website. 

 Ciaran’s Top Tips:

Ciaran Murtagh, author, shares his top writing tips to help children create their winning entries:

Before you begin, look at photos of what you’re going to write about and list as many descriptive words about each place as possible. This will inspire you and make your writing really exciting!

1. Always remember your reader – include action and adventure, but ensure the story makes sense from start to finish so the reader knows exactly what’s going on
2. If you get writer’s block, get a scrapbook out and start jotting down anything you can think of about the story – you’ll be amazed at the inspiration you get!

Once complete, The Powerful Story will be turned into an interactive exhibition at Eureka! The National Children’s Museum, in Halifax, West Yorkshire. The exhibition will run from 25th October-1^st November 2013 and will be free to visit.  In addition, one champion school from each region will receive a special visit from author Ciaran Murtagh.

Children’s author Ciaran Murtagh said:

“I’m excited to be helping British Gas Generation Green encourage children to explore the world of energy today and imagine what it could be like in the future. Children are fantastic at coming up with ideas, and I hope they are as enthusiastic as I am about publishing The Powerful Story and seeing it transformed into a life-size exhibition. I’d encourage as many children to get involved as possible – I can’t wait to read all the entries and meet some of the budding young writers who send in their chapters!

“Good luck to everyone taking part.  If you log on to generationgreeen.co.uk, you can find a short video with my top tips to give you the best chance of success in creating a winning chapter. ”

British Gas Generation Green gives all schools in the UK free access to teaching resources, educational experiences and energy-saving technologies. So far, more than 13,000 schools have signed up.

For more information about The Powerful Story competition or to enter, visit www.generationgreen.co.uk/powerfulstory.

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