Creative Writing with a Twist

Intergenerational creative sessions that have families working together and encourage imaginations to come alive.

These sessions are extremely creative and tactile. We know that everyone is a different type of storyteller so we use collage materials and pens in these sessions. Literacy skills should not be a barrier for accessing creative writing and families comes in all shapes and sizes and children at all ages and stages. Over 15 years of experience of working with families, children and young people has taught us that nothing will illicit a greater groan than asking children to write, especially outside of school time. We think of these workshops as a stepping stone to creative writing so we are unlikely to expect families to do any actual writing within these sessions. (Although if anyone wanted to, we of course would not stop them!).

We work on big sheets of paper – minimum size is A2. While some families and comfortable stretching out on the floor, we would recommend having tables and chairs available for anyone who may struggle with working on the floor.

These sessions are perfect for holiday activities in libraries, arts or community centres and for families with children aged 5-11. We will always encourage older or younger siblings to join in too.

Quest

In this two hour workshop, create the world where your board game will take place and decide the challenges that players will face.

Using narrative techniques, families story build and create challenges for their very own board game. We provide all the materials including dice and counters for families to create, make and test their own board game.

World Building

From Aliens to Zippy Zebras, this two hour workshop has families working together to create a world of whatever they want. The workshop ends with the families having created a map of their imagined world to use as a play mat or as prompt for creating stories.

We loved having you both! The feed back from families was ACE. it was a joy to see the children so immersed!
Jenny Allen, Library Development Officer, Oldham Libraries