Hello! We’re back. Let’s think about that quick activity which really spotlights words and phrases. Many of us start a workshop with a list of words -words we like; words that have a special meaning for us and words that sound good; proper nouns -place names, brand names, friends’ names; small words like if and so; … Continue reading Body of Words
23rdJune 2021, iwas National Writing Day in the UK. First Story, the organisation behind it, organised lots of resources, available at the National Writing Day website: https://firststory.org.uk/writeday/ This year’s theme, after a year of lockdown and isolation, is ‘Connection’. There are so many ways of thinking and writing about connections. Here is one with the very … Continue reading Doll and Teddy
Here is the cupboard book we used to store our special things. You can open its doors and stash away special places, people and things. The good thing about this paper cupboard is that it will take anything from the smallest to the largest thing. It will even accommodate imagined and remembered things. I put … Continue reading Cupboard Book
We have recently been able to start writing club meetings again. We meet outside on the field during lunchtime and there is always a good-sized group. It is lovely to write outside in the sunshine, though it is good to remember to bring clipboards! We lay out rugs and groundsheets and bring a small box … Continue reading Write Outside
No, not an on-line meeting with a long agenda, but a great, wordless picture book by Istvan Banyai. The idea is simple and intriguing. I mention it because it builds on some of the ideas that may have arisen from the last post based on ‘Inside the Egg’. The book presents us with a series … Continue reading Zoom
Inside the Eggis a poem by Carol Ann Duffy. It is one of those poems like a Russian doll, one thing is inside another and inside that another and another. It can go on for ever if you are not careful – or just of you enjoy it. Ted Hughes’ poem Amuletworks in a similar way … Continue reading Inside the Egg
‘Write lots.’ Ian Rankin advises. ‘Read lots.’ Kate DiCamillo admits that when she started out to be a writer she hadn’t thought about reading. Almost every writer, when asked for advice, mentions reading. When we read, whether poetry or fiction, motoring magazines or non-fiction of any kind, we expand our repertoire, expand our horizons, absorb … Continue reading Read Lots.
When we brought this lighting box to writing club, one child, after quite some time, asked us: “What are writing rocks?” Good question. It made us laugh. And maybe you could write a story that includes writing rocks. However, when we had explained what we meant, we thought about good things about writing; writing affirmations. And … Continue reading Writing Rocks
It is really, really hard to write good instructions. Often drawings are required as well as words. Sometimes drawings alone do the job. One is, must be, more acutely aware of one’s audience than almost any other kind of writing. Very often the subject of the instruction is so familiar to us that we forget … Continue reading Instructions for a Friend
It’s the weekend and so maybe there is time for some fiction. Or maybe you are planning ahead. Think about telling a story through the eyes of someone who is not you. Start with a place you know well. It may be the view through your window, the local shop, a spot where you sit in … Continue reading Look through the eyes of another
Writing Box 