A MASTERCLASS in writing by a best-selling author was given to youngsters at a workshop hosted by Skelton Primary School.

GP Taylor, who has topped the New York Times Best-sellers Chart, inspired children with his talk about his reasons for becoming an author and the emphasis he puts on planning each scene meticulously before writing the book itself.

Mr Taylor also explained the process of coming up with a simple idea for a story, and then gradually building upon it until a plan for a complete novel is formed. The pupils were then set a creative task of their own, to describe their favourite character from a book.

Mr Taylor’s work includes The Shadowmancer, published in 2002, and its sequel, Wormwood, both of which are set to made into Hollywood films.

The author ended the workshop by telling scary ghost stories, which put everybody, including head teacher Mark Halliday, on the edge of their seats.

Mr Halliday said: “The children were very excited and entertained by Mr Taylor’s visit and I hope they can take some inspiration from him for their own creative work. I would definitely have him back.”