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IN PREPARATION FOR KERNOW INK PLEASE NOW USE THIS NEW EMAIL: kernowink@googlemail.com
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Monday 29 September 2008

Inspiration from Moira Andrew

Moira Andrew is a children's poet, writer, teacher and lecturer who runs creative writing workshops for schools. Her website is http://www.moiraandrew.com/. She has kindly let us publish the following poem to help inspire your own writing:

Recipe for a sandcastle

Take one sunny day,
a wide empty shore
and lots of sparkling waves.

Add one red spade,
a ton of golden sand
and a bucketful of sea-water.

Mix well, build high,
decorate with pearly shells
and top with a fluttering flag.

Bake under a yellow sun
where the tide tickles your toes
and you have made
a sandcastle!

(Please note: this poem is the Copyright of Moira Andrew and cannot be reproduced without her permission)


Perhaps you could try writing a recipe style poem/story on a holiday theme. Or a recipe for a scary poem/story - (for example: one hairy spider, two wailing ghosts and a pointy hat witch...........)


Please share your writing by emailing bodminbookworm@aol.com . Let us know if you found Moira Andrew's poem helpful and send us your Holiday/All things scary recipe style writing.

Quick Hints & Tips

When writing description remember to consider all five senses - taste, smell, sight, sound and touch.
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Try keeping a notebook handy for writing down your thoughts, ideas and observations. It's amazing how quick a fantastic idea can be forgotten if not written down!
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When creating a fictional character try interviewing them by designing a questionnaire that asks about their favourite things, family, hobbies, experiences, bad habits, physical features etc.
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When you are stuck for inspiration there are a number of tried and tested techniques for stimulating your imagination:
**Cut out appealing pictures/text from magazines/newspapers and make into a collage - use as inspiration or a visual mind map.
** Listen to different sorts of music
** Engage with other artists work (drama/art/fiction/dance etc) - visit the theatre, watch a film......
**Take a walk or visit a new place paying attention to every detail
** Pick five words at random and use all five in a ten minute timed piece of writing
**Play word games - word association, round robin storytelling.
LOOK OUT FOR MORE INDEPTH IDEAS/TOOLS ON OUR REGULAR BLOG POSTS AND PLEASE WRITE TO US WITH YOUR OWN IDEAS THAT WE CAN SHARE!
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Keep a journal/diary. A place to organise your thoughts and record your ideas/dreams.
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Read. Read. Read. The best way to improve your writing and find inspiration is by reading. (eg. Books, magazines, internet, and other people's work on the Bodmin Bookworm).
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Organise your thoughts and ideas using a spider diagram. Write your theme/subject inside a circle in the middle of your page. Draw lines off this circle (spider legs) and by each line add thoughts/ideas/what you want to include.
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