Storymakers

Home
Groups
Workshops
Virtual Sessions
About
- Contact
Blog
Shop

Contact
Details

JOIN US

The Storymakers meet on Saturday afternoon during term times, from 2.20pm

Share this:

Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Print

Like this:

Like Loading...

Address

Linden Chase, Sevenoaks

Timing

Story Writers, 2.20pm-3.20pm,

Writer Buds, 3.40pm-4.40pm,

The Young Writers, 5pm-6.30pm

Email

storymakers@nikkiyoung.co.uk

Phone

07989142757

MAKE AN ENQUIRY

Email *

Name *

Message *

Type in the answer to the sum below: Please reload

Please reload

Storymakers Creative Writing Club

Storymakers offers weekly creative writing courses for children aged 7+, in addition to holiday workshops starting from aged 5. Held in Sevenoaks, on Saturday afternoons, Storymakers is a place for budding authors to grow and learn

Get in Touch

Email: storymakers@nikkiyoung.co.uk
Phone: 07989142757

storymakerswritingclub

Creative writing club for children aged 7+. Weekly writing groups in Sevenoaks, plus holiday workshops. Run by children's author, Nikki Young.

When you read a book, there’s a whole new world

When you read a book, there’s a whole new world of opportunities that can open up to you. It will feed your imagination, relax you, take your mind off everything that’s going on around, inspire and amuse. What will you find when you open up a book today? #readingforpleasure #readabook #feedyourimagination

Take one box, fill it with random toys and other b

Take one box, fill it with random toys and other bits and bobs, take out three objects and see if you can put them together to come up with a story idea. The possibilities are endless! #storymakers #storytelling #storyinspiration

A 7-line poem is called a Septet. It can also be k

A 7-line poem is called a Septet. It can also be known as a Rhyme Royal.
Traditionally, Rhyme Royals have the following rhyming sequence: ababbcc. What does this mean? It means that you give each line a letter i.e. first line is a, second line is b, etc.
In this pattern, the first line should rhyme with the third.
The second line should rhyme with the fourth and fifth.
The sixth and seventh lines should rhyme with each other.
The inspiration for this poem will come from one of the books on your shelf.

Here’s what to do:
– Go to your book shelf and take the seventh book along.
– Open this book at Page seven.
– Find the seventh sentence on this page and copy it down.
You will now write a seven-line poem, starting with this sentence.

You don’t have to follow the traditional pattern, but it adds to the challenge.

Here’s an example.
The book I chose was ‘It’s not the end of the World’ by Judy Blume.
Page seven is actually the first page of the book, but I went with that and picked out the 7th line. This was: ‘She got married over the summer and now she’s a witch!’
I changed this line slightly so I could fit it in with the rest of my poem, but here’s what I came up with:

She married in summer and now is a witch
I think it’s a little bit strange, don’t you?
Right after the service, she started to itch
Her skin started wrinkling and then she turned blue
Why this should happen, we haven’t a clue
But poor husband, Fred, when he started to goad
Will not laugh no more – he’s turned into a toad!
What do you think?
Like all the prompts I share, they provide an interesting and fun way to challenge yourself and your writing. Have fun with it and if you would like more writing inspiration, please take a look at the other blogs on the Storymakers website. #writingprompts #writinginspiration #creativewriting #creativewritingprompts #storymakers

First line, last line, creative writing prompts -

First line, last line, creative writing prompts - Storymakers

Are you looking for creative writing story prompts? Here’s a tried and tested one, with an example of how it’s done.

This is an exercise we’ve done a few times at the Young Writers Group.
It involves looking through the books on your shelf. You take the first line of one story and the last line of another. The task is, to write a story, or compose a piece of writing, that fits between these two lines.

Here’s one example.

First line: Carrie had always dreamed about coming back.
Last line: Not till the swallows fly.
This is the resulting piece of writing written by Ellen, aged 10:
Carrie had always dreamed about coming back. She loved the farm, especially the old barn because every year, the swallows came and nested in it. With their glorious blue, red and white plumage, Carrie loved watching them. But this time the swallows didn’t come. A few weeks went by, but still they did not turn up. Finally, they came and they were beautiful.
As always, they laid eggs and had chicks, but by the time it came to fledging, the chicks didn’t fly. That’s odd, thought Carrie. These swallows should be gone by now.
After what seemed like forever (which was in fact only three days), the chicks hadn’t fledged. As the summer flew by, Carrie became more and more anxious for the chicks. It was the last day at the farm and Carrie didn’t want to leave.
“It’s time to go, Carrie,” said her mother.
“Not yet,” she replied. “Not till the swallows fly.”
Try it for yourself. It’s challenging because you’re setting paramters for your writing, which you need to stick to if you’re going to make it work. What I find by doing this, however, is that those paramters provide a focus, which works well for children, particularly those who find writing a struggle.
For other creative writing prompts, please refer to the Storymakers blog. #creativewritingprompts #creativewriting #writingprompts #writinginspiration #storymakers

Danse Macabre is an orchestral piece composed by C

Danse Macabre is an orchestral piece composed by Camille Saint-Saens in 1874. Translated, it means ‘Dance of Death’ and it tells the story of the night of Halloween, when skeletons come out from their graves and spend the night dancing around the graveyard until the cock crows and it’s time to return once more to their beds.
Can you write your own story or poem to describe this ghostly gathering? Include onomatopoeia words (that describe sound).
Write a ghostly story of your own.
The skeletons have a leader who comes out and signals for the rest to join him. Write from his point of view – why does he want to get the skeletons out dancing? What does he enjoy about this particular night? #writingprompts #writinginspiration #creativewriting #creativewritingprompts #storymakers

Virtual lessons! This was me, yesterday, conducti

Virtual lessons!
This was me, yesterday, conducting my usual Saturday afternoon Storymakers lessons, but using Skype. Thoughts: it worked absolutely fine for up to four participants, but not for more than that using this option. Having said that, the children embraced the new way of working and were brilliant. Next week, I’m trying Zoom, but other than working out the technology, I don’t have a problem at all with working this way. Sure, it would be preferable to have us all in the room together, but that’s not going to happen right now, end of.

So, it’s business as usual for me and the Storymakers. If you want to join us, there are a few places left on my Easter workshops and now, it doesn’t matter where you are located! See my bio for links to the website, where you can book your place. #storymakers #writinglessons #englishlessons #virtualworking #skypelessons #zoomlessons

Instagram post 17871841360621871

Instagram post 17871841360621871

Instagram post 17874497161604968

Instagram post 17874497161604968

Sent via planoly #planoly

Sent via planoly #planoly

Here are my books. You might find (or should I say

Here are my books.
You might find (or should I say, are likely to find!) your children have to be home from school for an extensive period of time very soon and it's going to be tough to keep them motivated isn't it?
Can I start by suggesting you set aside some time each day to get them to read? You can get both my books from me at the reduced price of £5 each (full retail £6.99). Just go to my online shop: https://www.nikkiyoung.co.uk/shop/ (you can also get them on Amazon and Waterstones, but prices do vary).
There's a local pick-up option (I can leave it on the doorstep!), or post options to the UK.
Message me direct if you would like to be added to my mailing list. I am going to set up some free story sessions arranged around my books, starting with The Mystery of the Disappearing Underpants. There'll be a task to do at the end of each too.
Looking forward to (virtually) meeting you!
Love,
Nikki x

Hello! And welcome to all those who are new here.

Hello! And welcome to all those who are new here. In case you're not already familair, this is me. I'm Nikki and I'm an author, writer and creative writing tutor.
I run the Storymakers Club at my Sevenoaks studio, but in these strange and dark times, we have to get creative with how we work, so I am currently looking into going virtual. Watch this space!
If you would like your children to work with an author to help improve their English and writing skills, please get in touch to put yourself on my mailing list.
As we enter the unknown, now is the time to try something new and if you're normally in a situation where you can't come to my groups because you're too far away, well, not anymore!
Looking forward to potentially working with you.
Love,
Nikki x

Everything seems much better when you work togethe

Everything seems much better when you work together. And we do. At Storymakers, it’s a group effort and it’s something I think the children really value, as there’s no need to struggle alone. If you write something funny, we love to hear it. If you write something you think is not very good, we’ll hear that too and will likely tell you it’s ace. Just no touching of hands at the moment though, eh?! 😂 #Storymakers #workingtogether #groupeffort #learningtogether

Where will your imagination lead you? #storywritin

Where will your imagination lead you? #storywriting #create #imagine #storymakers

Join us for English and Creative Writing workshops

Join us for English and Creative Writing workshops this Easter. Book now on the Storymakers website. Link in bio, or visit www.storymakersclub.com/workshops #creativewriting #writingworkshops #workshopsforkids #storymakers #creativewritungclub

This is how I felt after Saturday’s Storymakers

This is how I felt after Saturday’s Storymakers session. How lucky am I to do something I love? I honestly feel it is an honour to work with such lovely children and getting to hear their ideas, watching them share their work, seeing how proud they are of what they’ve achieved. I love my job! #storymakers #writingtutor #creativewritingclub #writingisfun #getkidswriting #buildingconfidence #ilovewords

I’ve been talking all things time travel related

I’ve been talking all things time travel related this morning, working with children in Years 3 and 4.

Would you like to travel in time?
Where would you go - future or past - and why?

Let me know in the comments.

In 2017, after the publication of The Mystery of t

In 2017, after the publication of The Mystery of the Disappearing Underpants, I offered to do some creative writing workshops with a small group of a Year 6 children. There were only six of them but I was sooo nervous. It has been such a long time since I had done anything like that and I didn’t know if I had it in me.

But, they went well and I did some more, and then some more. The groups grew in number and size and before long, I found myself talking in front of fifteen or more and I even put myself forward to do a presentation at my local business networking group.

I knew as a children’s author it was important for me to put myself in front of the young people I hoped would become readers of my stories, but the idea simply terrified me.

So I built up to it. I worked my way up from small groups in my studio, to larger groups at a Literary Festival, then in the classroom at schools.

This week, I did a whole school assembly to over 200 children!

It just goes to show that you can do anything, as long as you believe in yourself and have the confidence to takes small steps, always forwards.

I can and I will.
#belief #courage #perseverance #thisgirlcan #icanandiwill

I will be out and about doing school visits this w

I will be out and about doing school visits this week, hoping to help inspire kids to write more and fuel their imaginations with stories. #bookweek #worldbookday #schoolvisits #authorsintoschools #inspire #encourage #motivate #storymakers

“An example of how literature can inspire young

“An example of how literature can inspire young people.” You know this is my aim anyway, but to have someone else say this about my work, well, I can’t ask for more than that, can I? #inspire #learn #create #bookreview #timeschool #getkidsreading #booksforkids #worldbookday #storymakers

When you do a school visit and then you receive a

When you do a school visit and then you receive a bunch of thank you letters from the kids. These are so lovely. They made my day. #author #schoolvisit #getkidswriting #inspire #storymakers

Load More… Follow on Instagram

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: There is no connected account for the user 7529176825 Feed will not update.

Nikki Young

What happens when a book launch is followed by a lockdown?
How can I home educate my children if I’m not a teacher?
Technology and Storytelling: Threat or Opportunity?

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Copyright © All Rights Reserved.

Home
Groups
Workshops
Virtual Sessions
About
- Contact
Blog
Shop

%d bloggers like this: