I have been digging up weeds in my garden and I have been learning about worms. They are amazing creatures, moving tons of earth every year, adding nutrients to the soil and making drainage holes that allow minerals to run deep into the ground and feed the plants that grow there. Yet there is very … Continue reading Up close
Smell is hard to describe. When we mention a smell, we usually just use the name of the thing that is giving off that smell – lavender, coffee, banana, even, chip shop. Smell is brilliantly evocative. I smell coal tar soap and think of my father; sterilised milk, that is my Great Aunt Addie. Smell … Continue reading The Smell of …..
At the beginning of November, when it is getting chillier and afternoons turn dark, it is good to be inside in the warm. We like to be warm inside and out, so thoughts turn to hot chocolate, pumpkin soup, roasted chestnuts, and buttered toast with … what? Write about making toast: brown or white bread? … Continue reading Toasty
Today it is all about touch: about hot and cold, about rough and smooth; slimy or dry; crispy or silky. Make a list of words that are all about the touch of things, the texture of things, the heat and shape of things. Now let’s freewrite. Here are some sentence starters to get you going: walking … Continue reading In touch
The artist, Richard Long, makes walking an art form. He documents the walks he takes in words and photographs. He often builds structures or carries stones from place to place, leaving then at points along the way. He once walked from the west to the east coast of England, picking up a stone from the … Continue reading Walk with a preposition
There is no colour palette like nature's colour palette. The colours of nature provide us with the perfect opportunity to fine-tune our observational skills and create our own colour charts. You could explore your local area and make colour charts using photographs or real specimens. What about a colour chart for the school field or … Continue reading Colours of Nature
Today’s post hides a special treat for people who love making things from paper – and a new fold up pocket book which could also hide some special memories, even some secrets. The fold up pocket book is a slightly more sophisticated form of the zigzag pocket book which you used to collect characters for your … Continue reading Fold Up Pocket Book
Sometimes the best ideas for writing come from drawing. When you start drawing you find that words start popping into your head and suddenly you've built a whole picture, a whole story. I've been reading a book called 'Flights of Fancy', which was actually a present from Jeni (she's very good at choosing books). There … Continue reading Shape game
Writing Box 