Creative Writing for Fun

Creative writing should be fun, right?

I started providing creative writing groups for kids in 2017 with the aim of making writing fun. Every year, the National Literacy Trust produces a report detailing the level of writing enjoyment in children in the UK. Sadly, every year, the figures decrease, with fewer and fewer children saying they enjoy writing in their free time.

Why is this happening?

I believe there are all sorts of reasons for the decline in writing enjoyment. Distractions come in the form of digital devices and computer games. Some claim computer games are educational, but they require children to follow a set of predetermined rules. They may require some critical thinking but they don’t allow children the freedom to come up with their own ideas.

Time away from the screen does allow for the development of the child’s brain into one of a creative and critical thinker, decision maker and problem solver among many other traits.

Writing requires focus.

Like reading, writing requires the brain to focus for longer periods, developing the part of the brain that is responsible for ‘directed attention’. There is a very good article about kid’s attention span in The Week, if you’d like to read into it further. I believe children are losing the ability to focus because they’re spending too much time scrolling through video ‘shorts’ and becoming ‘addicted’ to the dopamine effect this gives. They are less inclined to write as it doesn’t provide them with this same gratification.

What they don’t realise, but what we know, is that writing is an essential tool in the mental health arsenal. Being able to write, and to write well, provides you with the opportunity to communicate in a way that your voice does not always allow. Additionally, being able to articulate your thoughts through the written word is a powerfully cathartic process. Why deny our children that? Plus, you can’t deny the mental health benefit of being able to lose yourself in a story of your own making. As an author, I know this feeling well.

Details about the Creative Writing for Fun workshops.

Determined to continue on my path to make writing fun, I’m putting on a series of workshops over the summer just because. There is no agenda here other than to create time and space for children to join me for an hour of creative writing fun.

These workshops have now finished, however, you can join the Storymakers Writing Club for a regular weekly creative writing session on Wednesday evenings or Saturday afternoons at Writer Buds or the Young Writers group.

Why work with me?

I have been providing English and writing workshops since 2017. As a writer and author, I have six published books to my name. Alongside this, I work with children and adults to help them improve their English and writing. This includes targeted SPAG work, comprehension and reading skills, or editing and mentoring writers (young and old).

If you would prefer 1:1 tutoring sessions (in-person or online), please visit the booking calendar for available dates and times. Alternatively, you can book a discounted block of eight sessions via the Storymakers website shop.