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18 January 2025

Posted by Frankie

Junior & Young Writers: Week 2 - Wintering & Migration

Hi Writers,


This week’s creative writing workshop explored the themes of wintering and migration, taking

inspiration from both the natural world and our own experiences of movement and change.


We began by recapping our group rules and reflecting on what makes a great workshop.

Suggestions included incorporating drawing and writing, using our imagination, and playing

games to warm up. We also revisited our shared understanding of respect, discussing the

importance of active listening, allowing everyone the opportunity to share, and ensuring

responses were thoughtful and relevant.


For our check-in, we transformed into fancy dress costumes. Some were plain and grey,

reflecting uneventful weeks, while others were more dramatic, with one particularly

memorable chainsaw donut costume symbolising both a cool week and an unfortunate

accident!


Our warm-up games included Hibernating Hedgehogs, a twist on Buzzy Bees, and The

Band, helping to let out some physical energy and prepare for the session.


Before diving into writing, we discussed the definition of migration:

“Migration is the seasonal movement of animals from one habitat to another in search of

food, better conditions, or reproductive needs.”

[nationalgeographic.org/resource/migration/]


For our first exercise, the group imagined themselves preparing for winter migration.

Where would they go? 

How would they get there? 

What challenges might they face?


Building on the first exercise, the second activity encouraged the group to develop a full

migration story, using sensory details to describe the place they travelled to and what they

would do once they arrived.


x


In the Young Writers’ group, we followed a similar structure, with another round of creative

check-ins—this time featuring an ironic ‘this is my costume’ t-shirt among some more grey,

dull costumes. 


After playing Hibernating Hedgehogs and The Band, we looked at the

meaning of migration in depth. The writing exercises resulted in many participants crafting

stories that leaned into darker, more ominous themes, with many characters migrating due to

being chased or hunted, leaving us eager to hear more!


I really enjoyed listening to the innovative ideas about why and how people or animals might

migrate. The variety of approaches—from some light-hearted, fantastical journeys to others

that could be developed into horror stories—was exciting and inspiring.



keep writing, see you next time

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