Our creative writing workshops are for everybody, from the loudest voices in the class to the quietest. Our simple yet revolutionary model encourages participation from even the most reluctant writers.
Furthermore, our model has proven to work especially well with neurodivergent children, those with secondary educational needs, hesitant or anxious children, and other children who may struggle in the traditional classroom setting.
Our workshops are designed to balance collaborate and individual work, we have volunteers to support, guide, and scribe for the young people who need it, and our experienced staff can adapt our delivery to ensure everyone can participate and have fun.
Everyone has a creative spark in them, and everyone has a story worth telling, and so every contribution is celebrated, and every child leaves a published writer.
Here's some things you should know before you book your workshop!
In our story-making workshop, students will be guided through an exploration of the basic elements of a story, deciding what they want to write about as they go and transforming a blank page into a completely new and original story.
Workshops take place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays with set slots for in-person and Zoom workshops.
Click the links below to view our availability and book a slot.
Please ensure that if you’re booking a Zoom workshop that you have a) a stable internet access, b) the ability to project the Zoom meeting on a classroom screen, and c) that the speakers and microphone functional.
The young people will also need pencils and paper for the second part for the workshop.
If you have any questions, please contact us by emailing outreach@fightingwords.co.uk
What does a workshop look like?
The workshop begins with an ice-breaker of introducing everyone with their name and their favourite story (which can be a book, movie, TV show, song, comic or video game). There is then a creative brainstorming session to come up with original ideas and decide which to use in their story. (It'll look something like this!)
Next, the group collaboratively builds Chapter One sentence by sentence as it is typed up on a screen. While they are working, an artist brings their chapter to life with an illustration. (This is what goes up in our Library of Stories on our website!)
Once the start of the story has been created collectively, the children have the opportunity to write the next part by themselves. Each child is encouraged to take the story in the direction they want and are free to write or draw whatever they imagine. The goal is for them to be creative without the pressure of worrying about rules like spelling or grammar. For in-person workshops volunteer mentors will help them during this time, including scribing if needed.
At the end of the workshop, the children have the opportunity to share their Chapter Twos. We will also take the time to show them their Chapter One published on the website, and our artist's illustration.
