The ability to see through an idea long after the enthusiasm in which it was conceived has passed.

“What? How many of you have climbed into a cardboard box and pushed yourself off at the top of the stairs.” Alarmingly 90% of the hands in the class go up. “Are you serious?” 30 nodding heads.

Mildew thoughtfully squeezed a blob of toothpaste. He brushed his teeth hard, before noticing it tasted a bit funny. He didn't have time to wonder how Mustard had managed to squeeze chili seeds into his tube of toothpaste. His mum found him downstairs with his tongue stuck to the inside of the freezer. His eyes were wild, cross-eyed and popping.

Michael disappeared up those stairs again so fast he flew up, and it took several minutes before he was coaxed down again with promises of mince pies for breakfast and It was only Rob being an idiot.

Ask the children in your life what works for them, what they love about the books they have, what they don't like, what scares them, what makes them feel good, makes them laugh, which parts make them tingle.

It smells like chocolate. Now get nosey.

This one is a challenging exercise, and one for you to do as well when working with children who are reluctant to write.

It is to do with creative writing, the imagination, lateral and logical thinking. And there are no hard and fast rules on how to complete the tasks. There are no right or wrong answers either, so everyone succeeds, whatever they do or don’t do.

The trick to a great story is to put ordinary characters of any species into extraordinary situations, climb into their world and go with what you find there, however outrageous or weird it might be.