Tag: writing clubs

Children’s Writing Clubs W/C 23rd March

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End of term Easter writing prompts for Zoom and writing prompt ‘hunt’ for school clubs!

Monday

CJS Monday Club: Today for our last session before the Easter break, we had various Easter writing prompts on offer but the twist was the kids had to find them first! Small egg-shaped prompts were hidden all over the room we use and once they had found a few they liked they could start writing. We also had egg-shaped poetry, or calligrams, as they are often known. The idea is to write a poem that fits into the shape of the egg!

Tuesday

11 Plus Zoom Group: More Easter and Spring themed writing prompts on offer for this group. These were the choices:

  1. Explore what happens when aliens invade and treat humans like we treat chickens
  2. Write a story about an easter egg hunt that goes terribly and horribly wrong…
  3. Spring returns after the floods, but what have the floods left behind?
  4. Spring cannot return and a forever winter begins…
  5. A character has the ability to resurrect themselves every day and be reborn as someone totally different
  6. Write about a society where people are encouraged to shed their old lives and personalities at the end of each winter in preparation for spring…
  7. Write a spring themed poem
  8. Write a scene describing a place slowly waking up to spring
  9. Consider the spring themes of rebirth and resurrection… perhaps something has been buried but refuses to stay dead? Perhaps something morphs into a new being at the start of spring, perhaps something is awakened by spring and is instantly hungry
  10. Introduce us to a quaint small town or village who take spring traditions very seriously…
  11. Write something using any or all of these words: forgotten, ditch, warped, postcard, daffodil, doorbell, pothole, sticker, broken vase, dirty window, cast away, bridge, egg cup, breathless, sanitised, collapsed, scissors, blossom, blood-stained, treasure hunt, vindicated, tea party, sunburn, monstrosity, canopy, surprise, trail,

Bransgore C of E Primary School: This school group really enjoyed hunting down the egg-shaped writing prompts and we had some wonderful responses to them, as well as some fantastic egg-shaped poems!

Wednesday

11 plus Zoom Group: In this group we had a mix of finishing fables, working on on-going stories and responding to writing prompts! Fantastic!

8-11 Zoom Group: This group all opted to respond to the spring themed writing prompts and were all happy to share their wonderful pieces so far!

CJS Wednesday Club: Another room, another writing prompt hunt! Some fabulous stories were started in response to the eggs they found, including one about an easter egg hunt that ends up with falling into a hole, a broken fairy ring, dragon eggs hatching instead of chickens, and much more!

Thursday

Burton C of E Primary School: These guys also really enjoyed looking for the egg-shaped prompts. We had some wonderful responses to the prompts and some great shape poetry too!

Have a fantastic Easter break everyone!

Children’s Writing Clubs W/C 16th March

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‘Something Happened In Lakeside View’ is finally published!

Hi everyone, as usual simply scroll down to find the club your child attends in order to find out what we got up to this week, but the big news Something Happened In Lakeside View, the latest book the children have written together, is finally published!

https://books2read.com/u/mVEyw2

Something Happened In Lakeside View is the result of over 80 children working together collaboratively to vote on a project, create a town, vote on a common theme and then all write their own stories or poems set there… We started the project last summer term and all the pieces had been submitted by January. It is now available across multiple platforms in ebook and paperback!

Here is the blurb:

Welcome to Lakeside View, a pretty little town much like any other. Or is it?

Scratch under the surface and you will find a place full of secrets and shadows.

A place full of darkness, magic, ancient curses and hidden horrors. Who would live in a town like this? Many people have come and gone and some have left behind their testimonies.

What happened in Lakeside View? Read on to find out.

This is an anthology of stories and poems written by the young people who attend creative writing clubs with Chasing Driftwood Writing Group.

Don’t forget to leave a review on your platform of choice if you do read it. And please be aware this is a creepy horror-based book that might not be suitable for those under 10 or sensitive readers.

Many thanks!

Monday

CJS Monday Club: Just a few young writers had to finish off their fables today and options for the rest of the group were various writing prompts, plus mini books, zig-zag books and comic books made up into various sizes and formats. They had great fun with this and some amazing comic book creations were started!

Tuesday:

11 Plus Zoom Group: Fables have all been finished in this group too so we had lots of writing prompts on offer, most of which were linked to fables, or stories with warnings and consequences… Some fantastic responses, well done guys!

Bransgore C of E Primary School: Again, fables are done in this group so they had the comic books, zig-zag books, and mini books with various writing prompts. One of the prompts was to create your own Bunny Vs Monkey style and this went down a treat, with examples such as ‘Teachers Vs Kids’!

Wednesday

11 Plus Zoom Group: Fables completed and so various writing prompts on offer in this group today, including:

  • start and end a story with wet feet
  • start an end a story with a cry of rage
  • ‘PRIVATE – DO NOT ENTER’ – someone ignores this sign, what happens next? plus more!

8-11 Zoom Group: Fables all done, so writing prompts on offer for this group too! Great responses from all.

CJS Wednesday Club: This club really enjoyed the comic books, mini books and something vs something type prompts, and we also had some fables finished and shared with the group!

Thursday

Burton C of E Primary School: Most opted for the comic books and the something vs something theme was also very popular with me vs my brother as an example!

Children’s Writing Clubs W/C 2nd March

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Progress on our fables topic!

Monday

Monday CJS Club: This club made excellent progress on their fables during this session. We reminded ourselves how to build and create a character bio and everyone made one for a character in their fable. This then led on to more ideas for the fables themselves and many of the children began penning their first drafts! We also discussed the different ways we could present our fables when they are finished, including traditional picture books, zig-zag books and scrolls tied with ribbons! Fantastic effort from everyone today!

Tuesday

11 Plus Zoom Group: We also moved onto creating characters for our fables and one fable was finished in the first draft!

Bransgore C of E Primary School: More progress on fables with character bios being created today.

Wednesday

11 Plus Zoom Group: Lovely progress with on-going stories plus character bios for our fables!

8-11 Zoom Group: Several mini fables coming out of this group each week, as well as working on character bios today!

CJS Wednesday Club: Progress for our fables in the form of character bios today!

Thursday

Burton C of E Primary School: This week we created character bios for our fables which we will write next week!

Children’s Writing Clubs W/C 23rd February

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This term we are writing our own fables!

It was great to be back to all the writing clubs after the half-term break. This term is short, just 5 weeks, and all the clubs will be writing their own fables. Fables are short fictional stories that convey a moral or a warning of the consequences of behaviour. Aesop’s Fables are the most well known and we’ve reminded ourselves of some of the classics such as The Boy Who Cried Wolf, The Dog and The Bone, The Hare and The Tortoise and The Wind and The Sun. The common elements of a fable are the moral or saying at the end, the warning that certain behaviours have consequences, and the use of animals, inanimate objects and nature as characters.

Monday

Monday CJS Club: With this group we introduced our new topic, fables, and started be discussing what a fable is. We looked at the common elements of a fable and made a list of morals on the board to generate ideas. Everyone had to come up with a moral they wish to explore in their own fable. Next week we will create our characters.

Tuesday

11 Plus Zoom group: We discussed the new topic and reminded ourselves of some of the classic fables, including The Ant and The Grasshopper. Everyone decided on a moral they would explore within their stories and then could get back to their on-going projects if they wanted.

Bransgore C of E Primary School Club: We discussed what a fable is, what the common elements are and made a list of morals to generate ideas. Most of the group then went on to start and even write and finish their own fables! Wow, that was amazing work! We will concentrate on our characters next week and all the fables already written will be developed and worked on.

Wednesday

11 Plus Zoom Group: This group also decided which morals they would explore in their fables. We had one fable written there and then and several more plans and ideas generated for the next session. Excellent!

8-11 Zoom Group: This group also made a great start to the fable topic, with everyone deciding on a moral to explore and a few of them actually writing their fables! Great work!

Wednesday CJS Club: This group also got on with generating ideas for fables in this session. Some of them made a start and we had some lovely discussions about modern morals as well. A great start!

Thursday

Burton C of E Primary School Club: This club were introduced to the new topic, learnt about the common elements of a fable and helped create a list of morals to explore. Everyone then decided on their moral.

Children’s Writing Clubs W/C 2nd February

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Competition progress plus character bios in school clubs and more quick everyday writing prompts on Zoom!

Monday

CJS Monday Club: This group had three options today. They could continue any story or poem started recently for the Bournemouth Writing Festival competition, or otherwise, they could create a character bio for a character they have in their story or they could use six memo notes to tell a story. We had a lovely mix of responses to the choices, with progress on stories, and lots of children opting to create their own character bio. Some of them also started writing stories using the memo notes! Fantastic. We also had the fountain pen to play with and I brought in my vintage typewriter which they took turns using.

Tuesday

11 Plus Zoom group: The Zoom groups have all had the following prompts to choose from this week OR they could continue with anything they already have on the go:

  • Write about every day small ‘wins’ or victories
  • Write a quick letter to your future self
  • Write about how writing makes you feel
  • What is your earliest memory?
  • Or take any of these phrases and write something in response;
  • “the ghost of you”
  • “the last shelter”
  • “that one time I forgot…”
  • “the river turned and churned then spat up a secret”
  • “everyone here is a little mad…”

Interestingly, everyone chose the same prompt! ‘Everyone here is a little mad…’

Bransgore C of E Primary School: These guys also enjoyed using the typewriter today and we had a mixture of things going on, with some choosing to do character bios, some carrying on stories they’ve started recently and others finishing off poems for the BWF competition!

Wednesday

11 Plus Zoom Group: This group had the same prompts to choose from and we had a wide variety of different responses, plus progress on on-going stories!

8-11 Zoom group: These guys have really been enjoying the prompts choices lately, and today was no different with lots of prompts being tackled in the spirit of ‘quick everyday writing’! Fantastic!

CJS Wednesday Club: I didn’t take the typewriter today as I walked to the club and the typewriter is very heavy! I have promised to bring it next week though! This group were either carrying on with the BWF competition stories or they were learning how to create a character bio! There was also the option to write a story or comic strip using the colourful memo notes.

Thursday

Burton C of E Primary School: These guys were mostly working on stories for the BWF competition or they were creating character bios! Great work from all!

Children’s Writing Clubs W/C 26th January

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Story planning with post-it notes in school and ‘quick everyday writes’ prompts for Zoom! Plus our first ‘Dark Club’ Zoom session!

Monday

CJS Monday Club: Today this group could either carry on any stories/poems started in the last few weeks from our ‘quick everyday writes’ prompts or they could make progress with their rescue dog stories for the Bournemouth Writing Festival competition. But we started with a quick story planning activity which really got them thinking about how to structure and plan a story. Everyone had six post-it notes but had to put three aside to start with. On three they had to write the beginning, middle and end of a story in quick note form. We talked about how helpful The Three Act Structure is in story planning. For example, Act 1 is the beginning of the story where you introduce a character and their world. Act 2 is the middle of the story where you make something happen and give the character a problem they cannot ignore. Act 3 is the end of the story where you resolve the problem. After everyone had written three notes, I then showed them how to interject three extra notes to provide more detail. We had some wonderful results from this. many of them said they now knew how to write their story better and many started stories because of the activity! Here are a few of their memo-note story plans:

Tuesday

Tuesday 11 Plus Zoom Group: These guys had the following prompts to discuss and respond to:

  • Write about the happiest sound in the world
  • Why do you write? How do you feel when you write?
  • What does it feel like to have a head full of ideas?
  • What is the one thing you always wish you were doing?

Some of them were also interested in the memo note planning technique I’m showing the school clubs this week so I talked them through that.

Bransgore C of E Primary School: These guys planned their stories today using the memo note technique, first coming up with three basic points of a story, start, middle and end, and then adding more detail. Fantastic! Here are a few of their plans:

Wednesday

Wednesday 11 Plus Group: This group had the writing prompt choices to go through and we also ran through the memo note planning technique. There was progress made on on-going projects too!

Wednesday 8-11 Group: The younger group seem to be really enjoying the quick writing prompts each week, with most of them doing more than one each time! We also had a look at the memo note planning technique and one member of the group decided to use this to plan her next story!

Wednesday CJS Group: With this group we discussed the memo note planning technique and everyone had a go at planning a story this way. Lots of them then went back to stories for the Bournemouth Writing Festival competition! Here are a few of their story plans:

Thursday

January ‘Dark’ club Session: This is a new monthly Zoom club for young writers interested in the darker genres such as horror, sci-fi, fantasy, crime, dystopia and post-apocalyptic. We will be meeting once a month at the end of the month to explore these genres and look at some famous authors who wrote in them. The aim is to learn more about the darker genres of writing and make progress with stories! Our first session went really well. We discussed various genres and what readers might expect from them, we looked at writing advice from Ray Bradbury of Fahrenheit 451 and tried his activity for writing a dark story which involves writing a list of ten things you love and ten things you hate then using some of that passion in a story. It was great fun and I am looking forward to the next one!

Burton C of E Primary School: Today at Burton I introduced the memo note story planning technique and as you can see from the photos below they enjoyed having a go at this! Some great story ideas evolved from the planning and some ongoing stories got a boost too. We also enjoyed using the feather and ink pen set, plus the fountain pen and my laptop to write with! Well done everyone, excellent work!

Children’s Writing Clubs W/C 5th January

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Welcome back and happy new year!

Not all of out writing clubs were back yet this week but here’s what we kicked off with the ones who were…

Tuesday

11 Plus Zoom Group: We kicked off our new topic this week which is ‘everyday quick writing’. What is it, what does it involve and why is it important? After discussing what quick everyday writing is (essentially small bursts of routine writing in any style or format) we had four writing prompts to choose from. The prompts were creative non-fiction but they could choose to respond with fiction if they wanted and we had a lovely mix of both!

Wednesday

11 Plus Zoom Group: This group also started the everyday quick writing topic and again, we had a wonderful mix of responses to prompts which were creative non-fiction, or fiction. A wonderful start to a new term!

8-11 Zoom Group: really lovely work from the younger group today. They seemed really pleased with the topic and again, a lovely mix of creative non-fiction and fiction responses were written! fantastic!

CJS Wednesday club: Wonderful to be back with this group today and they are also doing the quick everyday writing topic. The only difference was they had to make their writing books first! They could choose their covers and there were pages of paper on offer including, lined, plain, coloured and squared. They had treasury tags to hold all the pages together and used cut up words and phrases to decorate their covers. They then started allocating pages for different things such as ideas, doodles, or characters… here are a few examples of their books so far!

Thursday

Burton C of E Primary School: Finished the week off with these guys and they were all very keen to make their new writing books. We will start writing in them next week! Here are a few of their books so far…

Children’s Writing Clubs W/C 15th December

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Wintry and Christmas themed prompts on Zoom and making poetic bookmarks in school!

It’s been a shorter and quieter week for me without Burton or Bransgore school clubs running, but this is what we got up to on Zoom and at CJS!

Monday

Monday Zoom Club: A host of Christmas and wintry themed prompts for all the Zoom kids to choose from this week and the ‘write a Christmas horror story’ was by far the most popular prompt! Lovely work from this group as always and more progress on their long on-going stories.

CJS Monday Club: A small group as lots were busy carol singing, but the rest of us got busy making Christmas gifts in the form of bookmarks with poems written on! Haiku was the suggested poem due to its small size but they could do anything they liked and we had some wonderful creations!

Tuesday

11 Plus Zoom Group: The horror prompt was again very popular in this group although we did have one member choose the winter solstice themed prompt. They were all lovely pieces!

Wednesday

Wednesday 11 Plus Zoom Group: A lovely selection of prompts chosen to respond to today and again, the horror themed option was popular!

Wednesday 8-11 Zoom Group: More responding to Christmas themed prompts and again, more progress on on-going projects!

Wednesday CJS Club: This group got to make their poetic bookmarks today and what a beautiful selection of poems were created! Absolutely lovely!

Have a lovely Christmas break everyone and see you on 2026!

Children’s Writing Clubs W/C 8th December

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Character games on Zoom and a mix of Christmas writing and crafts at schools!

Monday

Monday 11 Plus Zoom Group: Today the challenge was everyone had to create a character and add a bio for them into the chat. We then challenged ourselves to write a ‘blind’ story, (in other words, we all write something without knowing what the others had written and then paste it all together) using these characters This was a lot of fun and the story actually made sense!

Monday CJS Club: Various Christmas themed activities were on offer today, including a host of Christmas story starters, mini books they could do anything they liked with and lots of Christmassy images and phrases to create a story or poem from! They had a lot of (excitable!) fun putting various books and ideas together. I forgot to take photos but I wish I had as they were all amazing!

Tuesday

Tuesday 11 Plus Zoom group: Only a small group today but we had a lot of fun with characters too. We each created one and put them in the chat. They could be written bios or pictures. We then spun a wheel and all got allocated one randomly which we had to write something in response to. This was so much fun and although it felt a little weird writing for someone else’s character for a bit, it then flowed beautifully and some great pieces were created!

Bransgore C of E Primary School Club: Our last session with this group before Christmas so they were busy making Christmas themed bookmarks with Christmas themed poems written on them to take home as a gift for a loved one. A host of beautiful bookmarks were created!

Wednesday

Wednesday 11 Plus Zoom Group: More character fun in this session and lots of them joined in to add a host of wacky characters to the chat. We then allocated them randomly and had a lot of fun responding with pieces of writing!

Wednesday 8-11 Zoom Group: Sam activity for this group and again, a lot of fun was hat! Some brilliant characters were put into the chat, including my favourite, ‘Bobeter’ the chicken! Some highly amusing mini stories were written for these eclectic characters!

Wednesday CJS Club: More crafty Christmassy activities and it’s fair to say everyone in this group went mad for the mini books and the images and words I’d brought in! I did remember to take photos so check them out below to see what wonderful writing and creativity was displayed. From stories, to poems, to recipe books, comics, adverts and more! Absolutely brilliant!

Thursday

Burton C of E Primary School: Our last session here before Christmas so this group were writing their Christmas poems and decorating their bookmarks! Fantastic effort. See you all soon!

Children’s Writing Clubs W/C 1st December

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Poetry in schools and responding to wintry images on Zoom!

Monday

Monday Zoom Group: Today we had a selection of wintry themed landscape images to respond to in the chat. They could respond in any way they liked, with poetry, flash fiction, a non-fiction descriptive piece or a story! The images went down quiet well with some wonderful story ideas forming!

Monday CJS Club: This group had a poetry prompt today, which involved writing a 5 line poem about memories of a favourite toy. They could have a Christmas vibe if they liked! They also got on with more work in their newspapers!

Tuesday

Tuesday 11 Plus Zoom Group: This group had the same wintry landscape images to respond to

Bransgore C of E Primary: As we are in the library for this club we had a slightly different poetry prompt. They had to use the last line of any book and use it to write a poem!

Wednesday

Wednesday 11 Plus Zoom Group: Fantastic responses to the wintry landscape prompts this week, with some new pieces written as well as some using the images to tie in with their on-going projects!

Wednesday 8-11 Zoom Group: this group also gave a fantastic response to the images. Everyone wrote a brand new piece and many of them decided these could grow into bigger stories they want to continue with next week!

Wednesday CJS Club: We did some poetry on this club today, using the same 5 line poetry prompt about a favourite toy or memory of a toy. This went really well and lots of them lined up at the end to share their poems!

Thursday

Burton C of E Primary School: This week we had a small break from the on-going mini newspapers and wandered into the school library. Everyone had to find a last line from any book and then use that to write a poem, story or comic strip from! This went really well. Here are some pictures from last week of their newspapers so far!