Posts

Creative Writing Workshops with a Danish Gymnasium
I recently had the opportunity to teach a series of creative writing workshops to students at Herning Gymnasium in Denmark. I feel so fortunate to have been encouraged creatively as a child at primary school (doubtless helping to shape me into…

Poems of a Teenage Girl
Last year, I spied a book in the window of my local bookshop, How to Grown your own Poem by Kate Clanchy.
I loved the cover and the title and often use poetry to help my students with creative literacy, so decided to treat myself to…

Creative Writing in Prison
Tilda Bowden is a friend from my Nairobi days who was in my writing group over there, The Turaco Tree Writers. In recent years, Tilda has been going into a women's prison to run creative writing and poetry workshops. I invited her onto the…

Origami
They stand lined in precise rows on your windowsill, a riot of colour and patterned paper: cranes and standing fans, boats and masu boxes. Your fingers work deftly as you fold the origami squares, your brow furrowing in concentration in the…

Introducing Trusha Ganesh: A young Indian Writer
I am always so happy to meet another writer. Whether it's a seven year old child who is tentatively but excitedly experimenting with the power of storytelling, an older person wanting to get their stories down for posterity or somebody who plays…

Lucy Paget: Living Bravely and Creatively
It is hard to know how to describe Lucy Paget, so wide-ranging are her skills. Perhaps polymath would be the best word for her: Writer, Osteopath, Business Owner, Yoga teacher, Nutritional Herbalist, Chef...the list goes on. Lucy has helped…

Four 5* Books from the first half of 2017
As we reach the middle of 2017, I thought it would be fun to do a short review of my four favourite reads of the year so far. After all, I am first and foremost a reader, and my love of the written word has, over the years, helped carve my path…

Ignite your Fiction Fire: 5 Tips for Aspiring Writers
Sometimes, trying to write and get our work out there can feel like flailing around in the dark. It can be a fraught journey, littered with the skeletons of defeated writers: I'm not good enough. I don't have time. I need to stop living in my…

Why engaging in poetry is a way into writing for kids
Ask a child to write a poem or ask a child to write a story. Which is less daunting?
A story, on the whole, needs a beginning, middle and end. But a poem? It can be pages long. Or it can just be a few words. That's the beauty of poetry, the…

Lessons learned about Reading & Writing in 2015
READING
Read outside your comfort zone. There is, I can't deny, something so wonderful and luxuriant about snuggling down with a book you just know you will enjoy. But taking a few risks with reading can yield surprising, exciting responses.…