Taking young people's creative writing seriously

It's often seemed to me that whilst the quality of young people's writing is taken seriously, their creative ideas aren't. Why does this happen and why should we do things differently?

External pressures and expectations

It's really important that children and young people learn to write with accuracy and clarity, so it's absolutely appropriate that schools prioritise these aspects of writing. The vast majority of teachers and schools will also aim to do this in a way that is creative and engaging. So why does it not always feel that way?

For me, it's down to the huge amount of pressure within the school system. With a big curriculum to cover in relatively tight timeframes, it's understandable that the 'nuts and bolts' of writing - structure, grammar, sentencing and punctuation, for example - take precedence over the actual ideas the children have. Unfortunately, we sometimes see a really formulaic approach to what might be considered the more 'creative' elements of writing, treating vocabulary, similes and metaphors as a tickbox exercise to be littered indiscriminately through a piece of descriptive writing. Creativity is expected to fit into a box - or more specifically, a mark scheme. Big ideas that don't neatly fit into a 45 minute, specific task get inadvertently thrown to the wayside.

Why 'just for fun' is more complex than it sounds

Creative writing can, and should be, really fun and incredibly rewarding. However, I've noticed that as children get older, a subtle message that nothing can be 'just for fun' starts to emerge. I see this in widely shared guidance such as 'read every day so that your vocabulary and reading age improves' and 'rest and eat well so that you can revise more effectively'. Of course, I encourage young people to read daily and look after themselves, but I try to be broad about my reasons. Reading is the most effective way to grow vocabulary and improve reading ability, but really it should just be enjoyable to escape into a great story. Yes, revision and exam success is compromised if you're exhausted and undernourished, but shouldn't our teens also be able to eat well and rest simply because it's enjoyable? This all points to wider concerns around productivity culture, but sticking to my point - I want young people to be able to write creatively for the sheer joy of it.

However, and this is where it gets a little more complex, by always referring to creative writing clubs and young people's creative writing practices as 'fun', I worry that it dismisses just how important the act of writing is for many young people. Creative writing - that isn't linked to a concrete outcome like an exam grade - seems to be considered a 'sweet' little hobby, yet to many young writers their work is very real and very important.

Real life experience

I've been coming up with stories since I was little, but it was as a teenager that I really started writing creatively. It was partly a wonderful outlet for my imagination, partly the ambition to create stories and worlds like those in my favourite novels, and partly a way of trying to process a growing understanding of life, the world and my emotions. I didn't always find it easy. Sometimes I desperately wanted to sit down and write but struggled to find the inspiration. Sometimes my mind was brimming with huge, novel sized ideas that I had no idea how to get started on! When, at the age of fifteen, I more or less stopped attending school and was mainly educated from home, I spent a lot of time learning about the craft of writing and developing my own work.

When I worked as a teacher in a mainstream state school, one of the first things I did outside of my core role was to set up creative writing clubs for students. I wasn't surprised to meet a number of young people who were really passionate about their ideas and writing. My clubs were really well attended, which I think came down to a few factors. First, they were a safe space where likeminded students could come together and feel part of something that mattered to them. Secondly, I took their writing seriously; I saw them as writers. In that space, I was their writing mentor: yes, more experienced with knowledge to pass on, but not the teacher that was trying to drag them through an exam. And thirdly - it was pretty fun!

So, why should we take young people's writing seriously?

Well, because it's an expression of being human, no matter what age you are. And, because it matters to them - and that's pretty important.

You can find out more about my creative writing groups - 'The Write Space' - for 11-16 year olds here: The Write Space.