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A Miscellany of Writ Bits & Bobs!

What's next for Creative Write-it?

13/12/2020

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​What a year it's been. As we write this final update for 2020, we have been teaching online for nine months! The restrictions may have closed our physical studio, but it opened our online 'doors' to young writers far and wide. Our team has been able to continue working while being close to their loved ones at home, interstate and overseas. We've discovered new ways to support more young writers, their families, teachers, and each other so that when we return to in-person teaching we can incorporate the best of both the online and offline worlds into our programs. 

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A 100 Story treehouse winner!

5/12/2020

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Sammy's winning story was: "A ridiculous twisted tale of the number 1 writer, Andy, and his best friend, Terry! They went on a dangerous journey to the STONE AGE and bumped into their past selves on a quest to save their story writing careers!"
Meet Sammy, one of our amazing Story Writing Club writers!
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She recently entered the Coles Little Treehouse Competition, for which she wrote and illustrated a 'wild and wacky' story to be judged by Andy Griffiths himself. And out of over 6000 entries from across the country, she was one of the top 100 winners!

Her writing won her family a $100 Coles Myer gift card, 100 books for her school, and a book for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
Congratulations Sammy! We're incredibly proud of you, and so happy to hear about your words (and wackiness) having a positive impact on the world.

Read on to learn more about Sammy's book, her creative writing process, her advice for other young writers, and flying eyeballs.

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writ-bits 2020: A sneak peak!

28/11/2020

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It's nearly the end of Term 4! Again! How?!

​At this time of the year, we would usually be planning the launch party for our annual anthology, Writ-Bits. However, in keeping with the unusual (and not all bad) theme of 2020, instead of a party at the studio, we are individually packing and mailing the books out to make sure each of the young writers receives their copy before Christmas. AND we're 'launching' online from Monday December 7 (our last week of the year) - follow us on Instagram to join the celebrations!

For this year's edition, we invited the young writers in our Story Writing Clubs and Writing Mentorships to describe a character who goes through a weird time in their life, and how it changes them. As their stories developed, we asked them to reflect on their own experiences of unexpected change in order to provide depth to their fictional characters, and show how they came to terms with their own weird times.  

The result?

Rambunctious dragons, enterprising turtles, nervous horses, and other strange and wonderful characters coming to terms with their own weird times. In doing so, they show us how we can all adapt. And perhaps how we already have.

Read on for a sneak peak at some of the stories!

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The road to publication: On growing ideas, hitting obstacles, and reaching the final stretch - guest post by Tamara Drazic

21/11/2020

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Every time I finish a writing project, whether it’s a poem, short story, or novel, I’m hit with the overwhelming fear that I’ll never have a good idea again. I guess the fear is, in a way, justified. Ideas are mysterious. They come and go uncontrollably, sometimes leaving us in the dark for months at a time until the next one comes along and captures us. 

Some ideas come quickly with no warning. Others take hold slowly over years, sprouting from nothing, then gaining shiny new leaves at each big rain. I’ve learned that there’s nothing wrong with letting an idea grow slowly, tending to it in your mind until you’re bursting to let the story come out. ​

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books for young people by first nations australians

13/11/2020

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It's no surprise, we love books at Creative Write-it! Books are a great way to learn about the world. For kids, they provide a chance to see, hear, and feel the experiences of other people, helping them to develop empathy and understanding.
We are often asked by parents for book recommendations, so as part of our NAIDOC Week celebrations we thought we'd suggest some awesome books created by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the original storytellers of this land. 

If you know any young people who are looking for books to read this summer, check out the links below!

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"stretchING poeticisms into paragraphS" - INTERVIEW WITH GUEST POET RYAN PREHN

7/11/2020

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As part of NAIDOC Week 2020, we're celebrating books and words by indigenous writers. We were lucky enough to sit down (online) with Worimi poet Ryan Prehn, who spoke to us about discovering how poetry gives him a structure to express himself.

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creative fright-it!

29/10/2020

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Boo!
Each year for Halloween, our studio becomes Creative Fright-it! as we work on spooky prompts. This year we worked on two-sentence horror stories; a deceptively simple structure that challenges you to set up seemingly-normal scenarios then twist your reader’s expectation with a spooky second sentence. 
Our young authors were frightfully good at choosing their words to conjure up eerie atmospheres and chilling conclusions. Here are some of the highlights from this year!

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Writing with the senses: bring your writing to life! - guest post by atorina saliba

24/10/2020

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During the school holidays, Creative Write-it held a ‘Show us your Stories’ workshop. The basis of this workshop was to identify ways of storytelling by showing rather than telling. We used film as a means of visual storytelling, and we even looked at the senses (but more on that later).
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A vital tool we used was the art of the short film. With the two different age groups, we looked at two films. They were Piper (2016) and The Present (2014). With little to no dialogue in the films, the kids relied on visuals to tell the story. ​

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How My Writing Changed in 2020 - guest post By Izzy Woodcock

15/10/2020

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2020 was supposed to be the year of many things. 

For some, a shiny new decade symbolised a fresh start, a way to wipe the slate clean and start again. For others it was going to be a year of change, making resolutions to hit the gym, to finally land that dream job, or pick up an instrument. Back on January first, little did we know how much change we, as a society, would be faced with. ​

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“What did you do on the holidays?” 5 creative writing examples by young writers!

8/10/2020

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Last week we shared five prompts from our Workshop Leaders to get kids thinking creatively about a classic teacher’s question. Here are some of the responses from our workshops, which you can use as examples to help some young writers you know! We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Describing a Memory
by Zhilong

As I opened the door of our new house, I was engulfed with a new smell. My first idea was to go and explore this new house. I ran down the corridors and went to the alfresco and opened the door of the glass dome pool. I felt the sun on my hot skin as if I was being cooked like bacon in a big burger. Then suddenly without knowing, as if my body had its own brain, I jumped in the pool, the water splashing, the cold feeling of the water cooling me down as I came above the surface. I breathed the fresh air of relief, then sat in one of the sun chairs and dried off.

One-Upping!
by Karen

“Students, now we are going to tell your classmates about your holidays!” Miss Henry said with joy.
“Ooo! Ooo!” Jack called out, “Can I share first?”
“Yes Jack, you may. But next time please don’t call out,” Miss Henry answered.
“Oh sorry, yes I won’t next time,” Jack said.
“You may start now, Jack,” Miss Henry announced.
“Ok so first, I went to the park and with my friends made a human pyramid.”
“Well I made a human pyramid too,” another student called out, “but with 10 people!” 
“Well I did that and I touched a bird.”
“I did that too, but even better. I ate lunch up there!”
“Wowwwwwwwww!” the class said in shock with their mouths wide open.
“Don’t wow at that, wow at this. I was so high I touched a plane!”
“Wowwww, that’s amazing!” the class said.
“Well, I was doing backflips and tricks at the very top.”
“Oh wow, that’s amazing, I did 100 backflips non-stop up there.”
“Guess what?”
“What?”
“I was cooking my dinner at the top.”
“Well, I didn’t know you could cook, you're only nine.”
“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me,” Jack said with a grin on his face.

Holiday on Mars
by Shriejan

Dear Mike,

Let me just say that your holiday was so cool especially since you live on Mars. I want to share what I did for my holiday, my favourite part was going to the park and playing soccer with my friends, or as you would say, "kick the ball". My team won 5-3 and I scored 3 goals, also known as 'kickthree'. I also played my favourite game, FIFA 20, which is BALL 20. 
I loved my holidays and I did a lot of amazing stuff. I really hope that one day I can live on Mars with you, and we could do the amazing stuff together. 
One more thing I did was play the game you sent me through space mail. Let me say that this was kinda like ‘Fortnite’. Anyway, the game was great and I didn’t even need to go through the instructions, maybe I can send you ‘Fortnite’ through space mail next time we chat?
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From your friend, 
Michael   

Ordinary to Extraordinary
by Edilyn

I stared up into space while subconsciously fanning myself with a soft-cover copy of Harry Potter. I squeezed my eyes shut and imagined I was at school. The continual buzz of classmates’ chatter, the exhilaration when my friends chase me, the cool ice in my hand as I walk up to the playground from the school canteen. 
I opened my eyes and found myself sitting in my bedroom, scorching from the heat. Groaning, I went to grab a fan from the storage room. 
Suddenly I noticed a movement from outside. An orange hide brushed against the window. My feet took me to the window. A loud roar almost blew me backwards. 
A gigantic lion stood in the middle of the street, roaring. I heard screams of people in their houses. My eyes gleamed with mischief as I ran outside. 
Whoa, I thought. That lion was huge. I went inside and got a remote-control drone. 
Buzz, it went, as I steered it outside. The lion saw the grey drone and swiped at it. I steered it right. Left. Skilfully steering it away from harm’s way, I sat in the shade of my porch. The lion evidently got annoyed.

What I Wish I Did in the Holidays
by Amelia

If I could have done anything on the short holidays it would definitely be to visit a sunny beach. Why? I want to because first, I haven’t visited a beach for ages. Second, I love playing in the water and building sandcastles. And third, simply to get out of my prison house.
The beach is one of my favourite places to visit. The friendly, but sometimes violent, waves are delightful and perfect to play with on beautiful days. They are soft and gentle, not hard and rocky. Even though the grains of soft sand are rocky and disgusting, it is gentle and doesn’t try to harm you. Also, it is the perfect material to make a sandcastle.
Therefore, the beach is certainly the place I would visit. And that is not a lie.
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We acknowledge that we live, write, and share stories on the land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nations, the original storytellers of our country.

We vow to use our creative power to contribute to the land that has given us the freedom to imagine, dream, listen, and write a better collective future.

We pay our deep respects to elders past, present and emerging. 



  • About
    • Our Mission & Philosophy
    • Our People
    • FAQs
  • Programs
    • After School Programs
    • Creative Holidays
    • In-School Programs
  • Books
  • Blog
  • Online Studio
  • say hello