Starting a group - and keeping it going

Why?

Because it really is a pleasure. Because it will change the lives of the children you teach. Because you can develop a deep understanding of writing that will inform your teaching of writing in powerful ways. Because writing for yourself is nourishing, exhilarating, surprisingly full of pleasure. Because teachers writing together generate ideas and theories that change their teaching and change the way their students think and feel about writing. Because teachers writing together are a powerful force for change. Because language belongs to each of us and we can use it for good or ill. We need to keep it alive and trust our capacity to grow through it. Because it contributes to well-being through the head, the heart and the soul.

Why you?

Because you are interested in writing and teaching writing. Because you have been part of a group and have enjoyed it and would like to spread the word. Because you have been to a group but it is too far away/ on the wrong day and you would like to still have a group to go to. Because you want to grow as a writer and as a writing teacher. Because you know –or have a hunch- that writing together and talking about writing with other teachers will improve the way writing is taught. Because you want to have the knowledge and confidence to teach writing in human and creative ways and to share that with others. 

Some decisions (and don’t worry, you can change your mind about everything – and you can innovate!) 

When?

A time that suits location and circumstances: groups meet, variously, on a school night, immediately after school or later in order to allow others to travel; in the evening; on a Saturday, morning or afternoon. Most groups last for at least two hours. Some are longer. If it were a school group, even an hour might be good. 

How frequently?

Monthly, half termly, termly. I don’t know of weekly meetings, but you could consider that for a shorter, more concentrated sequence of meetings sometimes. 

Where?

In a school, one fixed, or rotated between group members; at a local university or college; at a coffee shop or room in a pub. Many groups meet in a different location every time. The location often then prompts the writing. Essentially, the venue should be free, possibly with drinks available and it should be pleasurable. Who? Teachers. You can decide how far you want to cast the net. There is general agreement that a mixture of primary, secondary and even tertiary teachers is a really fertile mix. Some schools have found that those who are not English teachers really welcome this opportunity. 

Spreading the word, growing the group.

Gather an e-mail list. Send out reminders. Encourage people to bring a friend. Use school networks. Word of mouth. Social media: Instagram those cakes and the writing hand! 

The meetings

At its simplest, a group can include a short breaking-into-the-blank page activity; an opportunity for longer writing; an opportunity to read aloud what you have written and to be heard; an opportunity to talk. How this works is up to you and to the group. I have learned that teachers take ideas and re-shape them in many ways to meet the needs of those whom they teach. I have learned that, especially in a mixed group, it is worth thinking sometimes about the age groups taught. Sometimes an idea is easily suited to the very youngest children or to ‘A’ level students. All teachers see the possibilities for their own teaching and so it is good to vary the focus. There should be no compulsion to read aloud, but gentle encouragement. Listening is important. Talking about writing is important. Seeing how the talk moves into and explores teaching is important. 

A shape for your meeting

It depends! It depends on who and where you are. Here is a suggestion: 

✎Introductions –names/ teaching focus/ writing interests just for starters. People are going to write together we need to start making the group comfortable so you need introductions every time there’s a new person.

✎ Words or a short writing activity that does not carry too much weight. Maybe some free writing or a slightly longer writing exercise that anticipates the main writing event.

✎ An idea/ reading/ resource to prompt a longer piece of writing. Allow plenty of choice. Help people to know that however you suggest they start, what they write is up to them.

✎ Time to read aloud some of all of what has been written, in small groups or as a whole group [see below]. Include time for reflection and feedback here if appropriate. 

✎ Time to reflect on the whole. Talk about writing, about teaching, about problem-solving and about ideas and issues raised by the writing. Just time to talk and to support each other. 

Where groups meet in a specific location, that can determine the shape of the meeting which is likely to be simpler and looser: 

✎ a warm up activity

✎a possible way into the space and writing from the space –the beach, the museum, the railway station

✎ a time to explore and write

✎ feedback and talk. 

Getting to know each other

This may seem an obvious thing, but given the nature of writing and how even the most confident person can feel about writing, the whole business of getting to know each other and managing a group is perhaps one of the most crucial elements of running a group. Each of you will have your own style. Good. There are things to think about. These things will become part of the way the group operates and what people come to expect. 

Everyone is respected and their writing welcomed. Be aware of how you think people are feeling. Encourage people to write [sometimes insist, gently]. Encourage, but don’t force, people to read back. Recently, a teacher at an occasional group who had said that she didn’t want to read her work out changed her mind simply because she didn’t have to read out. Notice people’s interests and orientations and build on those. Sometimes words spoken to an individual outside the gaze of the group can make a difference. Try not to judge. But make judgments and think about how you can help individuals to loosen up, shut up, have more confidence, move beyond the blarney, enjoy their gifts, and so on. When we write together, we surprise ourselves and are surprised by the writing of others. Sometimes we are ambushed. The group needs to be a safe place to talk about things that matter. 

Remember how you felt when you started. You need a mixture of tolerance, patience, empathy, and a carefully tuned critical ear –thinking about both writing and pedagogy. I suspect ‘tough love’ might be a good phrase to describe what is needed. We want to feel good about ourselves as individuals and as teachers of writing. We strive to do our best and a group can play a critical role in nurturing and championing the teaching of writing. The key to it all is kindness. 

The booklet, Writing Together elaborates on these ideas and provides a few more ideas. We will provide monthly plans for teachers’ writing sessions. 

Themes

When I am planning a session, I try to have a thread that runs through and connects all the parts of the whole. Sometimes the thread runs through a number of meetings [we concentrated on non-fiction for a while because many teachers were thinking about that]. I think about where we are, the time of year, who we are and what are our preoccupations. I try and and get to know the topics and curriculum demands that teachers are thinking about. I think about approaches that might engage different age groups. 

Keeping in touch

The most straightforward way of keeping in touch seems to be the e-mail group. But there are many other ways and the NWP website is one of them. You may also link up on Whatsapp or other social media. Some leaders summarise the group meeting and send it to everyone. Some keep a written record. It is worth thinking about how –and if you want to- keep in communication between group meetings. 

Keeping your spirits up Sometimes only a few people turn up to a meeting. Don’t despair. Writing is tough, potentially exposing and, paradoxically, very enjoyable. Sometimes the group is too pleasurable for us to allow ourselves to see it as legitimate and essential so other things take precedence. Hang in there. As long as there is one other person, you can write, read, learn about writing and teaching writing. Embrace that opportunity for yourself and be patient! I have been at any number of meetings where there were only one or two others. Don’t see it as failure, just enjoy the opportunity. Groups grow gradually and can be seasonal: think parents’ evenings, report writing, exam time, the school play....... 

Kit list You do need some ideas and resources to get the writing going. You need very little for a session: some provocations to write and possibly some readings about writing and teaching writing, if that is the inclination of your group. It is worth having some spare paper and pens, maybe cake, and then you are all set! 

We will supply a monthly series of ideas for writing groups. There is a growing library of ideas for writing. There are sections on theory and pedagogies. 

Other websites and organisations

Book Trust: Look at the section, Everybody Writes, which includes advice from writers, competitions, a writer in residence http://booktrust.org.uk

CLPE Centre for Literacy in Primary Education, www.clpe.org.uk in particular Poetryline which is filled with teaching resources and videos of poets reading their work and talking about writing.

National Writing Day www.nationalwritingday.org.uk This initiative founded by First Story supports an annual national day of writing and holds a good range of resources. 

National Writing Project USA www.nwp.org The American national writing project. This is a website which with resources and ideas.

The Scottish Poetry Library http://www.spl.org.uk/about/index.html An interesting and generous site with access to poetry and poetry resources.

Teachers and Writers Collaborative www.twc.org This New York based organisation is full of ideas and resources. The organisation was set up to get writers into New York schools. 

Books

There are quite a few. You will find the things that work for you; more are listed elsewhere on the NWP website.

Cowan, A. (2011) The Art of Writing Fiction. Harlow: Pearson Education. This is a really user- friendly book for writers of fiction.

Elbow, P. (1973) Writing Without Teachers. London, New York: Oxford University Press.

Geraghty, M. (2009) The Five-minute Writer: Exercise and inspiration in creative writing in five minutes a day. Oxford: How To Books. Does what it says on the tin. So useful when you are short of either.

Goldberg, N. (1986) Writing Down the Bones: freeing the writer within. Boston & London: Shambhala.

Goldberg, N (1991) Wild Mind: living the writer’s life. London: Rider. These two are also classics, particularly Writing Down the Bones, and they seem to appear on many reading lists. They provide a combination of reflection, writing life advice and ideas for writing. We dip in and out of them, and many students enjoy them. Natalie Goldberg is a Buddhist and so part of the advice derives from that tradition.

Goldberg, N. (2007) Old Friend from Far Away. The Practice of Writing Memoir. New York, London NY: Free Press. This book provides a rich store of ideas. Natalie Goldberg writes with great warmth and encouragement. It is possible to take ideas from anywhere in the book or to use it as the basis for a quite intense approach to writing memoir. One of the things she does well is to suggest ideas from an unusual angle so that one doesn’t think about one’s long and dull life and go into a quick decline.

LeGuin, U. (1998) Steering the Craft: exercises and discussions on story writing for the lone navigator or the mutinous crew. Portsmouth, Or: Eighth Mountain. Provocative and quite tough, but really worth it. 

PLease Contact Local Groups to help get you started in your area, alternatively Contact:

Helen Trelford, NWP Membership Committee Member: via email (nwpmembership@yahoo.com) or contact form (link opens in a new window).

Jeni Smith, NWP (UK) Co-chair: jenifersmith1967@gmail.com