Boys’ Writing Club
Recently I’ve been spending one lunchtime a week working with boys from a local infant school to help encourage their writing skills. On average, boys at this age are not as forward as girls at either reading or writing, so the initiative the school developed was to whet the boys’ appetites and ignite that creative spark. The first session involved me discussing how I go about writing, and the sorts of things they should be looking to add to their stories to make them interesting and exciting. They were encouraged to note down their ideas and thoughts in a rough drafts book, and soon everything from cowardly dragons to heroic ghosts were appearing on the pages. Initially the boys found it hard to break away from the ‘good’ ideas of those around them, so there was a degree of imitation through enthusiasm, but as the weeks have passed the boys have become more focused on their own tales and each have developed imaginative and rounded stories. One more session to go before Easter, so I’m looking forward to the results!