Creative Writing Workshops for Schools

Creative Writing Workshops are available for both primary and secondary school students

All workshops are designed for class sized groups

Requirements for workshop sessions: Data projector, screen, whiteboard and markers. Students to come provided with pens/pencils and paper. No electronic devices, please.

Early Primary

Puppies and Puddles!

• Suitable for: Prep to Grade 2

• Duration: 40-50 minutes but can be adapted to suit school timetables

• Class size: Maximum 25 students

Session 1: Puppies, pets and the people we love

An interactive reading of Kirsty’s picture book ‘When Billy was a Dog’ and a brief look at ‘Puddle Hunter’s as a springboard for talking about how love makes a story. What do you love? How do stories grow from our passions and our love for families and friends? Students are encouraged to explore ideas about pets and family relationships, including acting out their favourite animal for the class. Imaginative role play connects deeply with finding inspiration for stories. We then do a guided drawing activity together to create illustrations of animals and family members that may feature in our stories.

Session 2: Wild Weather and Puddle Hunting

 ‘Puddle Hunters’ celebrates outdoor play and engaging with local environments. An action- packed reading of Kirsty’s picture book ‘Puddle Hunters’, includes practice puddle stomping, and a brief look at ‘When Billy was a Dog’ as a springboard for talking about finding inspiration in the world around you. It’s liberating for children to discover that everyday outdoor activities and familiar landscapes can be a source of inspiration for stories.  Students are encouraged to discuss outdoor play in all weathers and the tools and costumes that enhance being outdoors from boots to puddle-hunting sticks. We then do a guided drawing activity together to create an animated map of an outdoor adventure in their local landscape.

Mid-Upper Primary

WORLD OF STORIES

• Suitable for: Grades 3 to 6

• Duration: 60 minutes but can be adapted to suit school timetables

• Class size only – maximum 30 students

Session 1: My new best friend

Entering somebody else’s life and seeing the world through their eyes is a magical experience and at the heart of enjoying good fiction. Great characters trigger empathy in readers and empower young writers. In this dynamic workshop, students are encouraged to consider every aspect of character development. By breathing life into a new character, students will discover how their stories can connect them to other people and fresh perspectives.

Session 2: Places of the Heart

Capturing a setting and creating a vivid sense of place in a story is a key factor in writing original fiction. Students are encouraged to draw upon their own experiences of place to write a descriptive vignette. We’ll look at how sensory writing can make their prose sparkle and use our senses to create authentic settings for stories.

Session 3: True stories and true courage

Every kid is the hero of their own story and every family can yield a treasure trove of epic adventures. In this session we’ll look at the difference between non-fiction and fiction and how true stories from our families and our own lives can be the inspiration for all kinds of narratives. Each student will draft a story based on a real-life incident from either their own life or someone they know and love.

Secondary School

Mastering the art of story

• Suitable for: Year 7-10

• Duration: 60 minutes but can be adapted to suit school timetables

• Class size: Maximum 25 students

Session 1: Under the skin – creating convincing characters

Creating convincing characters is the key to writing powerful fiction. It also requires empathy and the ability to take an imaginative leap into the lives of others. In this interactive session, students will explore key aspects of understanding character through observation. We’ll work on active listening to create a character’s voice and consider how research can help to build a character’s world. Each student will finish the session having created a new character with a rich back-story as a starting point to a piece of fiction.

Session 2: Places of the Heart

Capturing a setting and creating a vivid sense of place in a story is a key factor in writing original fiction. Students are encouraged to draw upon their own experiences of place to write a descriptive vignette. We’ll look at how sensory writing can make a piece of prose sparkle and how to use our senses to create authentic settings for stories.

Session 3: Truth is Stranger than Fiction

Drawing from the past, the present, their friends, families and the world around them, students will explore how to shape stories inspired by real life. This session will sharpen students’ understanding of story plot and structure, hone sentence and language skills for clarity and power, develop skills in analytical reading of texts and inspire a sense of joy in storytelling.

Session 4: The End of the World – writing dystopias

Dystopian fiction challenges our understanding of the past, the present and the future. This workshop examines the key drivers in creating dystopian narratives. Using examples from my futuristic dystopia, ‘Vulture’s Gate’, students will explore plot elements and the philosophical underpinnings of dystopian narratives. Suitable for Years 8-10. Other Genre workshops available on request include Historical Fiction, Magical Realism and Romance

Session 5: Creative Writing Masterclass

A session for committed young writers who want to take their creative writing to the next level. In this session we’ll look at the four key elements of prize-winning fiction and then work through a series of exercises to help young writers perfect their stories. We’ll also look at writing for competition and how to submit their work for successful outcomes.