Steve Way

I fell in love with writing when I was at primary school! I wrote some daft sketches and my friends and I performed them. To my amazement our audience of children and teachers actually laughed at the jokes and clapped at the end of the sketches. I was entranced by this unexpected opportunity I had been given to gain appreciation, which hitherto had been pretty thin on the ground and in particular to entertain others.

Years later I made the mistake of training to be a primary school teacher, thinking I would have plenty of time to write during the holidays! Ha! However my grim experience of being forced to grind out the National Curriculum inspired me to write maths-based and science-based stories, sketches and poems along with pieces to stimulate creative writing as one means of mitigating the National Sausage Machine of Education that children have to endure and hopefully helping them see that learning can actually be fun!

After having my first book published in 1996 I began visiting schools as an author in 1998. I have since visited schools all over England & Wales presenting my work, which has been published in the UK, Spain, the USA, New Zealand and Australia. I have given workshops to teachers in England and Northern Ireland and have also worked with children at International Schools in France, Germany and Egypt and at a SCE (British Services) school in Bergen-Belsen, Germany.

My web-site is at www.steveway.org

Credentials

Steve Way in 60 seconds

When did you start writing?

Chippenham, Wiltshire.

What do you love about short stories?

Being able to share them with others in schools.

Do you write in other forms?

Sketches and poems - I'm working on a novel!

What distracts you from writing?

Checking emails too much! Days being too short!

Outside of writing, what are your other passions?

Presenting my stories in schools, running.

What is your favourite book?

To Kill a Mockingbird - everyone should read it!

Who are your favourite writers?

Shakespeare - he was the master, Jostein Gaarder and Terry Pratchett.

Where is your dream location?

France.

What one item would you put into Room 101?

The National Curriculum.

Do you have any advice for new writers?

My advice would be to remember that only you can write your stories and NEVER GIVE UP!