Second meeting of the MW! Writers Development Group

Lists as a creative tool & insights on writing with children

Thanks to the participants of the Mums Write! writer’s development group at The Bell pub, Kemsing for a great night out — and for your thoughtful, fruitful responses to the evening’s exercise:  Write a list about, or from the point of view of a character you find interesting.

One participant discovered that her list fed into a story with which she’d been wrestling, and others used their lists as a source of inspiration for new work.  I finally recorded a list of my 18 month old daughter’s list of favourite things — something I’ve been wanting to do for months: Hiding big bro’s choice Lego pieces in her mouth, switches, levers & buttons, climbing equipment marked ‘unsafe for 3 & under’, etc.

When the discussion turned to writing with children, a speech and language therapist made the following observation, which I found particularly useful:

Children who are new to writing find the mechanical process so arduous that it can stifle their creativity — They will tell stories fluidly, but if asked to write, they will condense, flatten and simplify, so as to minimise the wordcount.  A better way to encourage young children to create is to ask them to narrate into a mobile phone, dictaphone, or camera.  You can then write it down yourself, or, if you want them to practice writing, play back the recording in small segments (of a few words) for them to write down.

I look forward to trying this out with my 5 year old (our family’s resident writer in recalcitrance) — and very much look forward to next month’s meeting at The Bell, on Sunday, 8 Jul.

If you are interested in joining the Writers Development Group in Kemsing — or in starting a London or Sevenoaks based group — please contact me at info@mumswrite.com.