A workshop for children

This past weekend I was excited to run my very first Children's Writing Workshop! It wasn't the first writing workshop I've ever run, as I'm often invited to do workshops with students as part of school visits. But it was my first writing workshop that I'd organised outside of a school setting. 
It was held at the Koorong Penrith store, in their training room, and the team at Koorong were wonderfully supportive and helpful! As was my big son, who was my trusty white board scribe and general helper throughout the whole day. 

The workshop went wonderfully! (So wonderful we entirely forgot to take photos! That's me living the moment for you...)

We had 11 budding writers aged 7 through to 12 and discussed all manner of things writing, from where to find ideas to how to build a strong story.  I loved hearing the kids' original ideas and encouraging them to push their writing just that little bit further. We had some laughs too - especially when trying to describe the smells in the 'smelly boxes' or when I scared myself with the timer on my phone! 

It was also super encouraging to get some feedback from several of the parents after the event. I received a couple of messages just to let me know how much their kids enjoyed the workshop. One mum even sent me this photo - it's Annie's very first story. Apparently she was so inspired by the workshop that she went home and just started writing.

​What do you think? Isn't it brilliant?! 

(My next workshop - this time for adults who are keen to write books for children - will be on Saturday 19th May. I'll post more details soon. )