With World Book Day just around the corner, we spoke to Martin Bright who shared his writing tips to help our pupils ahead of the school's writing competition for World Book Day. 

During his time at school, Martin was a keen writer. He wrote articles for the Elizabethan, in which he was an editor of the 1983 edition, and was thoroughly involved in participating in drama productions. In his final year, Martin played Henry V. After school, Martin went on to Magdalene College at Cambridge University to study English. 

Martin began his writing career working as a journalist for the BBC. He has since gone on to write for The Guardian, The Observer, The New Statesman, and The Spectator. After working in journalism for over 20 years, he decided to set up a youth employment charity, The Creative Society. He is also currently the Editor-at-Large for Index on Censorship.  

In 2003, Martin broke a story for the Observer on the democratic breakdown in the Iraq War which was turned into a major film in 2019 called Official Secrets.

Martin's three tips: 

1. Digest George Orwell’s Politics and the English Language.

Take his six rules to heart, especially rule two: “never use a long word where a short one will do.” 

2. Read a lot - ideally in print rather than on screen.

This may sound obvious, but the best way to become a writer is to learn from people who know what they are doing.   

3. Show your writing to other people whose opinions you respect and accept their constructive criticism. 

A huge thank you to Martin for getting involved and sharing his tips. If you want to hear more from Martin, make sure to follow him on Twitter @martinbright 

We also spoke to writers James Bailey, Adam Macqueen, and Ashley Pharoah. We will be sharing their tips soon -- watch this space!