The Blank Page - Kelly McCaughrain

As I’ve mentioned before, I work with a creative writing group for teens and I’m enthusiastic about giving kids opportunities to be creative as their academic life becomes more exam-focused. My new role as Children’s Writing Fellow for Northern Ireland has given me a bit of freedom, funding and support to work on the things I’m passionate about so I’ve taken the opportunity to do something I’ve always wanted to and spread the gospel of assessment-free, non-classroom-y creative writing via a project I’m setting up!

I think it’s a little crazy that there’s only room in the curriculum for things that can be marked and measured, with the result that creativity either gets squeezed into a narrow, measurable format or it’s left out of the curriculum altogether. Writing was the only thing I was particularly good at in school and, as well as being important for personal development and mental health, it would have meant the world to me to see creativity as something that was valued as much as exam results.

I’m not a teacher but I’ve had many conversations with teachers and parents who feel the same. This seems to be a trend in education that’s only getting worse, and we’re seeing a decline in the uptake of arts subjects in secondary education as a result.

I don’t think creativity should be graded or corrected or used as a vehicle to teach spelling. Creativity is a personal thing. It comes from who you are, not what you know. Grading that work essentially tells kids that who they are can be ‘wrong’ or ‘bad’, or not as good as the person sitting next to them. That’s not only unhelpful, I think it’s harmful.

So I’ve created a blog! (Yes, another one. Can’t get enough, me.) It’s called The Blank Page and it’s going to provide support and resources for anyone (but particularly secondary school librarians and teachers) who’d like to run a creative writing group for teens but is maybe a bit daunted by the idea of coming up with writing exercises and lesson plans and all that stuff.

My whole message is that you don’t have to do all that. In fact, it’s better if you don’t. What I’ve learned from my writing group is that all you need to give a young writer is time, space, freedom, trust, encouragement (exactly what an adult writer needs, funnily enough. Why do we assume kids are any different?). None of which involves the group leader trawling the internet for writing prompts, publishing anthologies for Parents’ Evening, planning One-Act Plays for assembly, or even being a writer themselves. 

I’ve seen this work. I’ve seen my writers come back week after week, year after year, developing both as writers and as people and it’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. I’d love to spread that around. Wouldn’t it be amazing if all secondary schools had creative writing clubs as well as debate clubs and football teams?

It’s really not hard to provide this, and I’ll be posting loads of helpful info and resources on the blog so if you would like to take a look or if you know of any school librarians or teachers who you think might benefit from it, please do pass it on! 

This is the link: The Blank Page Blog

My fellowship is technically a Northern Ireland thing, and I will be visiting creative writing clubs in NI, but the beauty of a blog is its reach, because actually any school could use it and it’ll still be there when I’ve finished my term as CWF so it could still be useful years from now!

As well as resources and advice I’ll also be blogging generally about creativity and young people so if you enjoy my blogs at all, please check it out! (There will be memes, obvs. I debated being super professional but unfortunately my personality won out.) You can ‘subscribe’ to get email notifications of new posts.

And on a personal note, I’d like to say thanks to all the Sassies and Scoobies who read my blog posts and Like/Share/Comment. Your support and feedback has been a huge confidence boost in tackling this project.

Wish me luck, and I hope you enjoy The Blank Page!

Kelly McCaughrain is the author of the Children's Books Ireland Book of the Year,

Flying Tips for Flightless Birds. 

She is the Children's Writing Fellow for Northern Ireland #CWFNI

@KMcCaughrain

The Blank Page Blog

How to support a writer - Kelly McCaughrain

As further evidence that I am in fact living in some sort of benign Truman Show, to cap my incredible book-year, just last month I was awarded the role of Children’s Writing Fellow for Northern Ireland!

This two-year role was created by the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queens University Belfast and the Arts Council Northern Ireland to promote children’s reading and writing, and I think it’s a fantastic recognition of how important Kids’ Lit is. 

The best part is I get to spend two years talking about creativity, hanging out with young writers, and working on my own writing as well! 

I’m still working out my plans and finding out about all the exciting things I get to be involved in. When things are more definite, I will be blogging all about it (I will be blogging the hell out of this adventure).

Until then, can I just take this opportunity to talk about the writing part? Specifically writing spaces.

I’d like to point out that I now, for the first time in my entire life, have my own office! OK, in the grand scheme of things this may seem like a tiny detail but actually I’m starting to realise that it’s not. 

So far in my life, my working environments have consisted of:

• A cinema kiosk
• Poundstretcher shop floor
• Xtra-vision counter
• Back room of a bank
• Charity shop
• Open plan admin pool where I shared a computer AND A CHAIR
 

And my writing environments have consisted of:

• Dining room table
• Kitchen table
• Sofa
• Garden table
• Greenhouse
• Bed

For the last 20 years I’ve been a note taker for adult students with special needs. This means sitting in the corners of various classrooms trying to be as invisible as possible. I have no co-workers. I once got in a lift with my boss and didn’t recognise her.

In none of my jobs have I ever had so much as a coat hook to call my own, let alone a parking space, a locker, a computer, a kitchen, a drawer, a desk, or a door I could close. I’ve had a very nomadic working life. I’m a zen master in the art of packing a rucksack (never a shoulder bag, you gotta balance that weight evenly), making packed lunches, wearing the correct number of layers to ensure optimum body temperature no matter the environment, footwear you can spend a whole (rainy) day in, portable technology, and I have a thermal mug that will keep tea hot for about a month.

Basically me

I suspect many full-time writers endure similar conditions since they’re probably earning a living by hauling their butts around schools and libraries. I never thought about it much, I just occasionally daydreamed about being able to go to the bathroom without taking all my possessions with me.

But suddenly… I have my very own office. And it occurs to me that the Room of One’s Own isn’t just the fantasy of writers anymore, it’s probably a luxury for most people these days. Most desk-workers work in open-plan spaces. Privacy is a definite luxury.

But my office is in the Seamus Heaney Centre at QUB, a place dedicated to writing, and where they understand that asking writers to share an open-plan office would be like asking hermits to flat-share.

I’m used to writing in my garden. Rain, hail or shine I can spend ten straight hours sitting outdoors until I’m dragged in to go to bed (and I’ve found myself looking thoughtfully at the hammock at 11pm). Can I write in a small, skylighted, third-floor office?

Moving day!

Well, I’m giving it a go. I do feel slightly like feral cat that someone’s trying to tame but it could grow on me. And it’s so nice to be able to leave things there overnight! This is a revelation. It may not seem like much but it’s a little bit like having a home after twenty years of homelessness. In an occupational sense.

And the peace. The lack of distraction. Being able to take time off my paid work to do this. That’s the real miracle.

I don’t know why it hadn’t occurred to me that having my own office would be so important. I am passionate about the idea that kids need to be given time and space and freedom to be creative (in fact, that’s exactly what I’m going to focus the first year of the fellowship on). The Seamus Heaney Centre and the Arts Council have given me exactly that – two years, office space, no restrictions or conditions. This is how you support a writer. 

Needs more books

My little office in the Seamus Heaney Centre is not just a room, it’s a symbol of all that support. And I’m so very happy and grateful. 

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Kelly McCaughrain is the author of the Children's Books Ireland Book of the Year,

Flying Tips for Flightless Birds. 

She is the Children's Writing Fellow for Northern Ireland #CWFNI

@KMcCaughrain