All-sorts and Spirals

Ali Sparkes is a children’s author who leads writing sessions for Junior and Young Writers every Saturday morning at MAST Mayflower Studios. To learn more about her, visit her website: https://www.alisparkes.com and click on her profile: https://artfulscribe.co.uk/facilitators/ali-sparkes

Susan L. Edser, MA graduate in Creative Writing and Publishing and winner of Bournemouth University’s prestigious Vice Chancellor Award 2024, is Ali’s assistant and writes the weekly blog. To learn more about her, click on her profile: https://artfulscribe.co.uk/facilitators/susan-l-edser

This week we were in the Executive Suite in Mayflower Theatre for the last time. The Junior Writers learnt how to edit their writing, enabling them to produce the best work possible for the showcase in two weeks. Ali had prepared a paragraph filled with mistakes: repeated words, incorrect spellings, and non-descriptive language. The children worked hard to correct and improve the passage, making it more sophisticated and dramatic. The story featured a massive, hairy man demanding the person’s first child, much like Rumpelstiltskin. During break time, we watched a short animation of the story to highlight how themes like greed can be used in storytelling.

The next part of the session focused on Frankenstory, with each writer adding a few sentences to create a unique story. One of these will be chosen for the showcase, so we wanted their best writing. The story began with a sentence from Ali: ‘I should have never answered the door.’ Zombies and axes were common, along with Oreos as a more pleasant twist. Next week, we will continue writing them to ensure everyone has contributed to the final chosen story.

The second session of the day was with the Young Writers and focused on various exercises, beginning with spirals. Ali asked them what came to mind, and they had a long list, including black holes, cyclones, institutions, a helter-skelter, spider webs, seashells, ammonites, cinnamon swirls, and hair spirals. They then wrote their own spiral story, using a template Ali had prepared earlier. One featured a person’s spiralling thoughts, while another was about the reproduction of old people, which, entertainingly, included jazz hands as it was read.

Last week, the group wrote some brilliant Frankenstories, but today had to make the difficult decision of choosing one. Ali whittled them down to the best three, and the writers voted for their favourite one about a wedding. For those who had not contributed to it so far, they had a chance to add their sentences today. Everyone else was asked to write a short piece, beginning with ‘It was all spiralling out of control’. In one, a person ends up in solitary confinement, and in another, someone is lit on fire with a Bunsen burner. Hanna was awarded Writer of the Week for her pacy writing, featuring good dialogue and a relatable theme. Congratulations, Hanna!

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All-sorts and Spirals