Our week-long series of children’s creative writing workshops came to end on Friday with a brilliant play. The play “Aliens vs Astronauts” was written and performed by the children.

The week of workshops – a year and a half in development – were amazing to be part of if much more tiring than I could have anticipated. And, according to the feedback we got, the children had an amazing time too.

I was deeply impressed with how creative and expressive the children who took part were. It is not a stretch to say that I learned a thing or two as well. I have gone back to writing I am editing with a fresh perspective on storytelling.

The theme of our week was “Space Race” to tie in with the summer reading challenge. The children reflected on how aliens might feel meeting us humans and how different need not mean bad. We talked about acceptance of others and making friends with those that are different from us. We also talked about stars, spaceships, and big explosions because those are fun too.

Thanks to Charlie

Charlie from Read Now Write Now was our key presenter and head workshop planner. It is safe to say that without his amazing effort, we probably would not have had the workshops at all.

Quite how Charlie kept up that level of energy all week is beyond me. It was a pleasure to work with him for what I hope will be the first of many workshops and events.

Thanks to the children

The true stars of the week were the children. I feel confident that there are many future prize-winning authors among them; maybe one or two stars of stage and screen too.

Boys and girls, you were amazing. Thank you for coming to our workshops. You were all absolute stars. I was deeply impressed with the work you did.

Thanks to our amazing volunteers

Workshops like these don’t just happen. It takes a whole team of selfless volunteers to bring them to reality. Massive thanks are owed to Kier, Danny, Shaz, Dave, and Rosemary all of whom added so much to the experience.

If I am ever mad enough to start a creativity school, I know who I would hire. Seriously though, each of you deserves a big round of applause. Not to mention a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits.

Thanks to The Isle of Thanet News

Thanks too to The Isle of Thanet News who helped us get the word out about the workshops.

Free creative writing workshops for children to be held in Margate

Thanks to the Tom Thumb Theatre

It is hard to express just what an amazing venue this little theatre is. The Tom Thumb Theatre was perfect as a workshop space and performance venue.

Originally built as a coach house in Victorian times, the building was transformed into one of the smallest theatres in the world in 1984. The Tom Thumb is a striking mix of Japanese and Alpine Architecture, with a quirky, charming interior of velvet seats and flocked wallpaper.

That description alone does not do justice to just how inspiring the theatre is for creativity and expression. There were many a comment along the lines of “lets put on a (insert idea) night here”. With good reason too.

Our thanks to the staff who helped us feel right at home running our two-day workshop there.

Thanks to Turner Contemporary

Our giddy tour of workshops opened with story writing at the Turner Contemporary. As venues go, this was an amazing space. Light, spacious, and with fascinating exhibits for when young legs needed a good stretch and a change of pace.

Our workshop space saw an assortment of imaginative stories being created.

It was such a hot day and yet with the air-conditioning going, we were perfectly comfortable all day.

And of course, thanks to The Arts Council

Without the funding we received, we could not have run anywhere near as many workshops as we did. Their support in helping us apply for, and eventually receive, funding was amazing.