Hello and welcome to my Fun and Friendly blog. I'm Dorothy Massey, a freelance author and creative writing teacher. My Fun and Friendly Creative Writing workshops and courses are suitable for students of all ages and abilities who'd like to try out or develop their creative writing skills.

I live in Crook, Co. Durham, and am happy to travel to anywhere within an hour's distance from Crook. I"m an experienced and qualified teacher who writes children's fiction and educational materials. My stories for children  have won several competitions.  In 2007 I won the Pinestein Press' Things that go Bump competition and was commissioned by Pinestein to write The Ghost Twin Tales for the anthology Mini Mysteries and Kooky Spookies. In January 2009 my story, Munch the Storytelling Cow, was recorded as a downloadable podcast by celebrity mum and tv presenter, Gail Porter. Visit www.munchbunch.co.uk to print off or listen to the story.

Below is a poem written by a student on one of my Creative Writing courses:

Dorothy
         by Susan Hymer

I'd like to thank you, Dorothy,
for inspiring me on this course.
You taught me to be creative,
awakening my inside thoughts.

I have enjoyed meeting new people,
sharing stories from my own life,
to enjoy a break and a laugh,
the true me seen at last.

There are some lovely people,
Gillian, Margaret and Joanne.
We always have a good time,
working on the task at hand.

When our writing is over,
we read our work out loud.
Everyone listens attentively,
we all hope our work is good.

Dorothy, you give me praise,
it makes me feel so proud.
You explain how it could be better,
in an encouraging, sensitive, way!

I leave the course each week
feeling that I have improved.
So once again, I thank you -
your comments mean so much!

So please accept this poem;
It is dedicated to you,
Dorothy, our course leader -
Here's a big cheer for you!

The picture is of Susan at one of my workshops in Hamsterley Forest.