Nathan Bryon is a bestselling, award-winning children’s author best known for his 2019 debut picture book Look Up!
Nathan’s books were created in collaboration with illustrator Dapo Adeola - who is one of six incredible children’s illustrators working with 500 Words to bring our winners’ stories to life. Our bronze, silver and gold winners will all take home an illustration of their story alongside other prizes.
500 Words accepts entries from children aged 5-11 years old - but we know that for some of our younger children, writing a story can be a little daunting. That’s why we reached out to Nathan to ask him to share his advice for young children who want to enter the competition.
Play Nathan’s top tips in class or at home, to inspire 5-7 year olds and kickstart story writing for this year’s competition.
Don’t forget, entries for 500 Words are open between Tuesday 24 September and 9pm on Friday 8 November 2024.
Nathan Bryon
I'm Nathan and I'm an actor and children's author. So I'm here with you to share my top tips for writing a 500 Words story.
First thing's first, you need to come up with your idea. Think big you can write about anything you want! I wrote a story called Speak Up! about a little girl who found a way to save her local library from closing. Maybe you could write about a problem that you've had and then your character could solve that problem.
I'm an actor, so I think it helps to get into the head of your character by pretending to be them. Why don't you give it a go? Walk like them, give them a funny voice, pretend you're in different situations and think about what your character might do next. Like what if I was a t-rex who loves trainers, but I could never tie my own shoe-laces because I can't reach them with my tiny arms? What might happen next? How could I solve this problem? Pretending to be your character will help you figure out your story.
Try telling someone else your story, and have them ask you questions about it they can ask you what happens first, what happens in the middle, and how does it end? If you can write or draw these key points, they will map out your story and make it much easier to plan!
Now you're ready to write. And remember, your story should be 500 words or LESS. I know it's called 500 Words - but it's ok if your story ends up a little shorter.
Don't worry too much about spelling and punctuation and grammar, this competition is all about being creative. You can create your story with pictures, record yourself saying it out loud and then write it out or you can ask an adult to write down your words for you.
Do whatever works for you to get that story out of your head and into the world. Alright, good luck and have fun!
Need more inspiration?
Back to 500 Words
Click here for more information on 500 Words.
How to submit
Here's everything you need to know about submitting your 500 Words entry. We can only accept stories that have been submitted via our website.
The top 50 finalists of 2023/24. audio
Read or listen to the top 50 stories that made it to the 2023/24 final.
