PLEASE NOTE:
1. I hold this workshop only for pupils who have heard my "How A Book Is Made" presentation.
2. I can do only one "Let's Start a Story" workshop per day. It takes a lot of creative energy drawing the story from the children.
When children have heard "How A Book Is made" they often want to go and write stories of their own using my Writing Recipe. I encourage them to do so. These children can be frustrated by the group story-making process. Some however, are keen to story-make but are held-up by their lack of mechanical skills. This doesn't mean they are stupid. It means that they haven't yet acquired the scribing skills to convey their thoughts to paper.Some, though able to write their own stories, enjoy the group activity. So I act as their scribe.
- I need large sheets of paper, clipped to a board or easel if possible. A flipcahart is fine. Blu-tac for sticking pages around room. I need thick felt-tip pens.
- I need a group of children. (No more than one class.) I explain that we aim to start a story. It will be a first draft. They can improve and finish it later.
- I remind them of the Writing Recipe
- We brainstorm, first taking some REAL LIFE. I ask for bits of real life they would like to put in. School? Home? Zoo? (SETTING) I ask who is going to be in the story. Boy? Girl? Monster?(CHARACTERS) Then we WHAT IF?(I remind them - writers can make anything happen!)
- We decide what is going to happen at first (PLOT begins.)
- We may decide what happens next. (PLOT continues - MIDDLE)
- We may decide how it ends! (PLOT concludes - END)
- We begin. The children experience the excitement and the frustrations of the process of creation as I write down their story.
- They may get stuck - but also unstuck.
- They see a script developing untidily as I cross out and add bits as they change their minds.
WARNING!
This looks and sounds chaotic - but "Out of chaos God created the world! So far, a session has always resulted in a story beginnig that teachers and pupils can continue afterwards.
Be warned though, this workshop can give rise to lots more work if pupils and teachers want to finish the story, re-draft and illustrate it, and even publish. I hope they do! The aim could be a book for the school library, or a particular class in the school. If so, some thought may be given to who is going to read this book?
