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03 May 2025

Posted by Frankie

Junior & Young Writers: Week 1 - Folklore - New Forest Folk Tales

Hi Writers,


After a well-earned break, it was a joy to be back with our Junior & Young Writers in the New Forest for another term of creativity, laughter, and plenty of unexpected story twists. This week, we ventured into the strange and magical world of Folk Tales.

We began by welcoming both familiar and new faces, setting the tone with a reminder of our golden rules: Have a go, No self-diss, and Have fun. We introduced ourselves with our names and where we lived, saying it in a voice that matched how we felt about our hometowns.

Next, we chatted about our favourite genres. Some examples included Sci-fi, comedy, and first-person novels—and we explored our reasons for joining the group. Many of our returners said they'd missed the fun, and many also said they were eager to improve their writing skills. When asked what makes a good workshop, the answers ranged from playing games and the "no diss" rule to being led by 'fun senseis' (a.k.a. Claire and me).

With the formalities out of the way, we kicked off the sessions with one of our favourite traditions: the Check-in! We asked everyone to describe their week as an Easter egg, from flaming grey 'meh' eggs to a Star Wars-themed egg described through song to an icy-shelled egg representing a slow week.
Our reading check-in had a lot of variety, with titles ranging from Harry Potter and Hunger Games to Dogman, Dorian Gray, The Loop and The Things We Leave Behind.

To launch our theme, Claire read part of an eerie local tale, Yearnagate's Nap, from New Forest Myths and Folklore by Brice Stratford. Drawing on this, we looked at planning our own folk tales with the following prompts:
  • Setting: Where will your story take place?
  • What is the problem?
  • What are they going to learn? (The moral or message)
  • Who is the hero or main character?
  • Who is the villain?
  • Things happen or are said 3 times. (What?)
  • Is there magic?
  • Are there spirits or ghosts?
  • Are there riddles to solve?
  • Is treasure or wealth involved?

With our planning complete, the groups created folk tales or continued Yearngate's story. The groups were encouraged to:
  • Start with a classic opening line, like 'Once upon a time...'
  • Introduce your main character, their life, and where they live
  • Describe the problem
  • Show their three attempts to fix the problem
  • Finish with how it ends (Is there a twist? A punishment? A lesson?)
OR
  • Continue Yearnagate's tale – what happened to him?

As ever, they did not disappoint!

In the Junior group:
  • Wilf gave us a hilarious modern take with Giants at Law, coining the genius line: 'Fee fi fo fum, I smell tax evasion.'
  • Henry sent us into a cave with a giant beetle and three brave (and very silly) knights—'Three go in, but only one would come out.'

In the Older group:
  • Berry took on a darker tone, continuing Yearnagate's tale with a supernatural twist and a moral about trusting yourself, not blind obedience.
  • Daisy penned a touching romantic tragedy about a heartbroken giantess who becomes a mountain.
  • Sonny took a nonsensical route, giving us pure delightful chaos with made-up names and bold quests.
  • Georgie created a tale with a strong moral: don't be greedy—especially when immortality is at stake in a mysterious forest.
  • Ava crafted a gentle yet powerful story about a misunderstood monster ferrying souls to the afterlife. The twist? The townsfolk had spread lies about its cruelty. Moral: Don't believe rumours.

It was a brilliant return to the workshop, and we're already excited to see where the group's imaginations take us next.

Until next week,

Frankie :)

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