CHILDHOOD GAMES

Droitwich Canal

 

 Childhood Games by Sue Johnson

 

Think of a game you played when you were a child – for instance:

 

• Hide and seek
• Making a den in the woods
• Dolls’ tea parties
• Cops and robbers
• Murder in the dark
   
  Pick an idea and free write for five minutes. This means not censoring what you write and no crossing out. Write as quickly as you can so that you trip up that nasty little voice in your head that says ‘you can’t put that.’ Concentrate on getting the ideas down. Don’t worry about correct spelling or grammar. Just fill as much paper as you can in the time allowed.
   
  Have a short break for a cup of tea or coffee then go back to what you’ve written and underline or highlight any bits you like.
   
  Free write again – this time thinking about a time of year. Concentrate on the sensory detail of the place you are writing about. For instance, if you played hide and seek in an old house, did the cupboards smell of mothballs and were the floors dusty? Did ice patterns form on the windows in winter?
   
  Who did you play with? What were they like? What sort of adult might they have grown into?
   
  Then play the ‘what if’ game. What if something had gone wrong and one of the group had died or disappeared (e.g. ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe).
   
  Allow your imagination to go back to how it was when you were a child.
   
  What if, years later, someone seeks revenge…?
   
  HAPPY WRITING – HAVE FUN!