I did the school run with my mum this morning and it was such a blast from the past going back to my old primary school, which I left ten years ago! I was amazed at the different changes that have happened since I left, and how the space has adapted to the growing intake and the ‘modern day’.
I went around the back and into the playground where the key stage two children queue up and found myself in an enchanted wonderland. From the pride flag, to a beautiful literary themed signpost, the playground had it all. I wish it had been like that when I was there, and it made me realise just how much has changed in the last ten years.
It also really inspired me to write.
I don’t know whether it was the reminiscent nature of it all, or the enchanting setting, or even whether it was just a good writing day for me. But whatever it was did wonders! I came home and bashed out a good chapter and felt really enthusiastic about where it was going and what I was writing.
I often really struggle for inspiration and forget to look closely at something. I can try really hard to think of something to write but when I read it back, I never like it. For me, the best writing always comes when I least expect it to.
Going back to the primary school today made me realise how fortunate I am, and how grateful I am to have had my education.
I thought about my protagonist and how they would feel at school. I thought about their own school ‘world’ and tried to build on one I had created before. I thought about my own experience of primary school and some very fond memories and friends.
It really helped.
It also made me think like a child.
A big struggle I think a lot of children’s writers face is getting into the mindset of a child. Unless you have/know a child, it is really difficult to imagine one without creating a subjective opinion.
It is very easy as an author to ‘write what you know.’ But the most difficult thing is writing for something or someone you find difficult.
We all have our own childhood which we remember (or not), but I think that makes it even more difficult when trying to imagine a child who is different to you.
If you were incredibly hard working, it is possibly quite hard for you to imagine being someone who struggled with work ethic. If you got on with your teacher and had a good relationship with them, it is hard to imagine being someone who really didn’t agree with the teacher. At least without stereotyping.
One thing I find difficult with writing a variety of characters is how well I’m portraying them to the reader. I don’t want the reader to see a stereotypical view on something. I want them to see the character I created. The character for themselves.
I think that having those unintentional inspirational moments can really help with this in your writing. You might be able to make your character more than just two dimensional. Having that inspiration, such as hearing a conversation between children, seeing them interact with adults etc, can really improve your writing.
You might not even realise it’s happened.
write me wild 