Winter Writing Course: Stories to be Told (ages 8-13)

Some stories need to be read out loud... in this course we'll look at techniques that make stories really enjoyable to read aloud - and to be heard! The techniques we'll look at will be helpful for all writing, as often we need to read something out loud to edit it, and we'll build confidence in reading and writing.

You can book individual days or all five. Any day will be enjoyable for your child and they will be given materials so they can continue building their stories on their own.

Monday: We'll kick off the course by reading some short stories together! Each child can bring a story they've loved hearing read, and we'll discuss what makes good storytelling. We'll start coming up with our own ideas for stories - either as individuals or in groups.

Tuesday: We'll start playing some writing games together! These will focus on collaborative stories. We'll look at fairytales and folklore that would have been read aloud in the past.

Wednesday: We'll look at story telling techniques and have a go at some of these! We'll make shadow puppets and begin to shape our stories.

Thursday: We'll continue working on writing our own stories to be told! We'll bring the ideas we've looked at into practice and work on making a story that can really be told and heard.

Friday: We'll finish the stories and practice telling them to an audience! Parents can come and listen at the end and we'll have a celebration on Sunday 5th January for the Twelfth Night where we'll share our stories (if you want to!).

Sarah E Williams is an experienced creative writing tutor. For over four years she has been teaching creative writing to children an adults alike via online platforms and in person. Since moving to York last year she has been collaborating with The Blue House Bookshop in order to bring her love of writing to younger students. She brings excitement and enthusiasm to each class and helps every child believe that they can succeed in writing while enjoying the process.

Past student reviews:

I just wanted to thank you so much for the fabulous course at Blue House.
Rose came out of each session absolutely buzzing with excitement and she felt really proud of what she had achieved.
There was such a lovely energy and atmosphere in the room - I wish I could have done it too! - Bridget (Rose's gran)

Your class is the number one thing that Tom is looking forward to for the summer holidays! It's the ultimate highlight! - Leah (Tom's mum)

Host or Publisher Sarah Williams