Michael Morpurgo has written over 100 books for children. Clare Carson met him at Cheltenham Literature Festival where he was signing copies of his book
The Best of Times.
What inspired you to write your latest book?
I wanted to write a story that tackled something quite serious while also being a fairy tale. So I wrote about a prince and princess who fall in love and get married but after about a year or so the princess starts to feel very sad, she doesn't want to dance, sing or eat, and whatever the prince does he cannot cheer her up. It's the whole story about her decline and his despair. It's about depression and how you can emerge from it.
You've taken a real issue and woven it into a story, is that how you get the inspiration to write a story?
I don't have good imagination and can't invent out of nothing like great fantasy authors such as JK Rowling. I can elaborate on something I've experienced but I try to tell stories because they are a great way to communicate our feelings. It's the way I deal with life, stories are the way in which I can explain to myself how I feel about things. It's all based on memories of my childhood and being a father, my travels and meeting people. I have my eyes, ears and heart open. A writer has to drink in the world.
I understand you spend a long time thinking about a story then write it down all in one go?
I don't think of myself as a writer - I'm a storyteller. I try not to let the process of writing get in the way of the story and the reader. I try to let the pencil flow with as little hesitation as possible so I can tell the story as I'm living and feeling it.
How would you encourage children to write?
When you tell a story tell it because it's important to you. Before that though you need to keep your eyes and ears open, listening to what people say. Keep your mind alert.
I try to write every day, even if it's just two or three lines, so I can remember things. It also gets you into the habit of writing as you speak.
Write it as you would tell it - don't worry about handwriting or spelling or punctuation you can always fix those later. Get it down on paper then you can improve it over time. Lastly, it should be fun!
Your books are very accessible to blind and partially sighted people. Is that a conscious decision?
My stepfather was blind for the last 25 years of his life and he used to receive great big cassettes through the door every week. He was always listening to a book. It did occur to me very early on that it was important that blind people and people with reading difficulties had as much access as possible to stories as everyone else.
Books by Michael Morpurgo:
Longer novels from former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo are always a treat, and
Private Peaceful is no exception. Tragic, surprising and engaging in equal measures, this novel charts both the childhood of young Thomas Peaceful in the early years of the 20th century, and his eventual underage enlistment in the British army to help fight the First World War. Available in DAISY, priced at £5.99, order number 800278.
The war theme continues with
The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips set in early 1944 and focusing on the evacuation of several south coast villages to make way for American troops as they practice for the D-Day landings. Twelve-year-old Lily and her family, along with 3,000 other villagers, are told to move out of their homes - lock, stock and barrel. But Tips, Lily's adored cat, has other ideas - barbed wire and keep-out signs mean nothing to her. Lily decides to cross into the danger zone to look for Tips herself. Available in DAISY, priced at £5.99, order number 800077.
Also available:
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The butterfly lion (braille 1v, giant print 1v and TB 17050)
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Born to run (braille 2v, giant print 1v and TB 16625)
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War Horse (braille 3v, giant print 1v and TB 16132)
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The sleeping sword (braille 1v, giant print 1v and TB 15371)
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Kensuke's Kingdom (braille 2v, giant print 1v and TB 12349).