The sun’s out (or it was, at the time of writing!), the school holidays are approaching, and youngsters up and down the country have many long, carefree days ahead of them.
So, if you are wondering what to do in the weeks ahead, why not go about creating your own book? Or, if you are looking for ways to keep your young people entertained, set them the challenge to come up with a story of their own?
This activity can be for children of any age. You don’t have to be able to write yet; you don’t even need to put many words down on paper (or keyboard, if you choose to go digital). There are lots of ways of creating a book, so instead of words, you might like to use collages or drawings to weave a story around. At Happydesigner, we are firm believers in illustrating stories with pictures!
Alternatively, you might decide to make the book like a diary, journal, or scrapbook, mapping out your activities, what you’ve done, what you saw, what you got up to… It’s all creative, and through creativity we grow and develop.
How to get going on your book or journal
A great starting point is with other books – if you read widely, this will give you inspiration for stories and an idea of how to construct your narrative. Even if your own book is to be more of a diary format, you will still get some great ideas through reading.
Where better to find books than the local library, which is such a fantastic resource, is free to use, and open to everyone.
What to put in your book or journal
Anything! It is your story, so whatever interests, entertains, inspires or even makes you groan, why not put it in? You can use any format you like – words, or pictures, or photos. If you are scrapbooking, you can add in all sorts of bits and pieces – as long as they are not so bulky that you can’t close the pages!
Looking for inspiration for your book?
This can be the tricky bit, and even the most experienced, prolific authors can suffer from writer’s block from time to time. If you are sitting in front of a blank piece of paper, it can be very hard to get going.
But it’s the summer holidays! You have all this time off, so you have hours to plan your story or book, and you have time to go out and about, looking for inspiration.
So why not explore activities you can enjoy which are low- or no-cost? Here are some ideas:
- The library (yes, them again!) will often have free children’s activities – why not go along?
- Go for walks, either in town or country (with a parent if you are a youngster, or – if you go on your own or with friends – make sure an adult knows). Look up, down and look all around you. What’s above those shops that you see every day? There may be some really intriguing architecture or inscriptions that inspire you.
- Find old newspapers or magazines, cut up the headlines into separate words, and play around with making sentences – this could be the start of a really creative process. Or…
- Use your scissors to cut out different images and illustrations from the papers and magazines. Then arrange them into a collage, or mood board. Make up backstories for the people in the pictures… where will your story take them?
- Try some leaf rubbings, or potato prints, to make repeat patterns and pictures to include as illustrations.
- Pay a visit to local museums (which are usually free) and churches – even the cemeteries! You might find inspiration for stories from the names on the headstones.
- Ask your friends for ideas. They may want to write their own books or keep their own journals, but they might like to join in with yours. Writing a book together could be great fun, and a fantastic way to spend time with your best mates.
We hope we have given you some inspiration and that one day – maybe at the end of the summer – you will have a story that you’d like us here at Happydesigner to help turn into a book. If so, we’d love to hear from you, but if not, then you’ve had fun along the way.
Enjoy!
