Pupils at Dyffryn Taf School, Whitland, were lucky enough to share the experiences and learn from an experienced children's author and feature writer when Ann Evans spent the day at the school on Monday. Ann Evans from Coventry has had seven children's mystery/thriller novels published and is an award- winning feature writer now working for the Coventry Evening Standard. Ann also writes for magazines and does regular author visits and workshops. Ann spent the day at the school library where pupils were giving this unique opportunity to work closely with her. Pupils from Years 7 and 8 took part in a 'Becoming an Author Workshop' during the morning. During these sessions, Ann shared her experiences of how she started writing and what's involved in writing a good story. The groups were given a story-writing task, where they had to build up a story from the bullet points given using the guidance and tips Ann had discussed. During the afternoon, pupils from Years 9 and 10 took part in a 'Journalism Workshop'. Again Ann shared her experiences in this field before setting the groups a task of interviewing a partner and writing an article about the interview. Ann said: "I was really impressed with the standard of the children's work and the visit has been a real pleasure. The children have been attentive and extremely pleasant making the day a great experience for me. I hope the children have benefited from some of the writing tips I have given." The day was a huge success and was enjoyed by all involved. School librarian, Mrs. Marion Tighe, and the pupils presented Ann with a hand-made plaque as a reminder of the day. Marion Tighe said: "The day went very, very well and we hope to invite Ann back to the school in a future years."
