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08 March 2019

Posted by Tabitha Hayward

New beginnings

Hello, my name is Tabby and I'm the new lead facilitator for the DO:Write Young Writers Programme at Poole Lighthouse. I am so excited to get started, to see what these young creatives come up with, and to be a part of their development as writers. 

My main goal for the workshops is to build a comfortable, relaxed and mutually stimulating atmosphere for the group, a space where everyone feels listened to, encouraged and happy to share their ideas and their writing.  I hope for the groups to be exciting and inspiring, and will take care to listen to how the young writers respond to different activities and sessions, to develop future workshops around what works best for the group and what the young writers enjoy and respond to well. 

My job is to be a 'facilitator', and with that in mind, I see my role as drawing out the best in the young writers and giving them space and opportunity to develop and engage with their writing, as a collective group, individually, and amongst themselves, learning from and bouncing off each other - in many ways, I should be the least important person in the room! The focus is on them and their creative development - and I can't wait to see what they come up with! 

The programme is undoubtedly also going to bring so much to my own personal development - it will teach me how to lead and manage a group, and within this, how to balance different people's needs - checking in on individuals and ensuring everyone is heard, happy and developing at a rate which works for them, alongside an overall focus on the progression of the group as a whole. It will teach me how to pitch things at the right level, how to adapt, on the spot, to changing situations, and which of my approaches for inspiring and engaging the young writers really work. It will also help me to think about my own writing, where my ideas come from, and how I approach constructing my own pieces of work - and perhaps to come up with new ways of doing this. I've no doubt it will build my own confidence too, and lead on to new opportunities in terms both of writing and delivering workshops - I have already been asked to give creative writing workshops in the summer holidays at my local library off the back of this! 

I feel very lucky to be given this opportunity and I can't wait to get started with what I am sure will be an inspiring, eye-opening, surprising, challenging and immensely rewarding experience. 
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