大象传媒

Anyone can write. Yes, anyone. Even you, the one reading this because their teacher asked them to. Or you, the one who thinks they won’t stand a chance at winning the 大象传媒 500 Words Competition because you don’t know the difference between ‘there’ and ‘their’. Or even you, the one who thinks they aren’t very imaginative…

We’ve taught thousands of children at Little Star Writing - boys and girls from all over the UK; 5-year-olds to 16-year-olds; reluctant writers and aspiring authors; those who love to write and those who would rather ‘pull a sickie’ than put pen-to-paper. We’ve seen it all, heard all the excuses, and have one thing left to say to you… YOU CAN!

Whether you want to invent worlds, create characters, escape to another dimension, learn to fly, cast spells, talk to dragons, rule the world, or turn your teacher into a two-headed Minion, if you can think it, you can write it.

Don’t let a blank piece of paper scare you. Start by jotting down an idea, a phrase or a word. Just one word can spark a million others. Take the word spark, for example. I just wrote it down without giving it much thought, but what if I created an alien with electric, spark-like fingers? What if it had the power to inject life into any object? What if its name was ‘Spark’ or the planet it came from was ‘Sparktune’? These aren’t the most original or inventive ideas in the world, but we’re having fun with words, and that’s what writing is all about.

No one started out as a superstar writer. Not even JK Rowling, Roald Dahl or William Shakespeare. They would have mis-spelt words, changed their mind, and maybe even lost confidence in their ideas from time-to-time. But that’s the beauty of writing… you can change your mind, switch lines, correct words, add something in, ask for help, take a break and come back to it later, cross something out, or start all over again. Remember, there’s no such thing as a wrong idea. In fact, the one key to writing, to improving your craft, and to writing a successful story is to have fun.

- Don’t let the pressure of perfect spelling and grammar hold you back.
- Forget tick-lists of targets you have at school.
- Think about the stories and characters you like to read about.
- Don’t expect to write the best version of the story straight away.
- Ask for help or suggestions from family and friends.
- Don’t be too hard on yourself. Just having an idea and writing the start of a story is a fantastic achievement, and if you can’t think of anything to write about, try again later.
- Try not to compare yourself to other people. There’s no one else in the world like you, and for that reason, no one has ideas like you either.

What are you waiting for? GIVE IT A GO... WRITE. CREATE. EXPLORE. HAVE FUN!

Written by Melanie Taylor-Bessent, Director of .