Storytelling Challenges
Check out the resources, writing, videos and templates below for 12 storytelling challenges you can do whenever you choose and from your home!
Write back challenge: THE FIRST DAY
Every story needs a beginning, so why not start yours on the first day of something new. You could base your story on a memorable ‘day one’ - be it of a new year, a new school, a new home or a new routine. Check out the amazing example ‘Courage’ from one of our young writers and keep sending in your own stories to stories@write-back.org.
Write back challenge: A PIECE OF ADVICE
What words of wisdom do you have to share with others? What have you learnt from lockdown, London-living or life in general that you could pass on to someone else?Check out the video below where storyteller Chris introduces this week’s challenge and click the button to read Chris’ own piece of advice-writing. We’d love to see your suggestions too so please share do them on Instagram or email them to stories@write-back.org.
Write back challenge: TURNING POINT
Our most recent cohort of storytellers were inspired by the idea of turning points: moments of transformational change that have shaped you. So we’re following in their footsteps and inviting you to base your next story on a turning point - perhaps it’s an event that transformed your life, perhaps you are living through the turning point right now. If you need inspiration, look no further than ‘The Boat’, a powerful story created by one of our young writers who took inspiration from his family’s experience of migration. Click the link below and keep sending in your lockdown creations!
Write back challenge: INSPIRATIONAL INDIVIDUALS
This week we’re thinking about the individuals that inspire us. So take a look at the video made by Ayesha, one of the original storytellers and inspirational individuals who created Write Back. She talks through this week’s challenge and explains that her own Write Back story focused on her grandfather’s inspirational story of sacrifice for his family. Have a read ‘Endings’, the story she wrote at the very start of this project, by clicking on the link below and don’t forget to send in your own inspirational individuals!
Write back challenge: THE SEASONS
There are so many elements to a great piece of writing - but one thing that sticks out about great stories is how the author is able to transport you to the heart of the story. Sometimes they do this by describing the environment in a way that helps the reader picture the scene in their mind. So this week, we’re thinking about the seasons - using memories of spring, summer, autumn or winter to help create our stories. Make sure you check out the instructions below and click the button to read an example from one of our great young storytellers.
Please keep sharing your stories with us on Instagram (by tagging @writebackuk or #WriteBackWednesday) or by emailing them to stories@write-back.org.
Write back challenge: A Problem
Our project has always been driven by the views and values of our storytellers. These young people have used the programme to write about the issues that matter to them and this has included topics like mental health, peer pressure and racism. We’ve also been fortunate to introduce our storytellers to amazing people and organisations like Toynbee Hall that have helped them see the importance of using their voices. So this week, we’re inviting you to write about a problem that motivates you, that you want to see addressed. To help get you started click on the button below to read a great example by one of our recent storytellers.
Please keep sharing your stories with us on Instagram (by tagging @writebackuk or #WriteBackWednesday) or by emailing them to stories@write-back.org.
Write back challenge: OVERCOMING OBSTACLES
So many great stories follow a similar structure: a goal, initial success, setbacks and finally triumph against the odds. This can also be a powerful way to write about our own experiences or those of our friends and family. So why not try and use the guide below to tell a story of success. We recommend you also click the button below to read ‘Sacrifice’, a beautiful example of this which follows the young author’s uncle across the heavily policed border between Albania and Greece.
Please keep sharing your stories with us on Instagram (by tagging @writebackuk or #WriteBackWednesday) or by emailing them to stories@write-back.org.
Write back challenge: the gleaming detail
Often a great story has that image in it that stays with you long after you’ve finished reading. It might be the most everyday item but it somehow captures the whole story in one image. ‘Sewed Up’, a poem by one Write Back graduate is a great example so click the button below and see how this author uses the image of a teddy bear to represent tensions within a friendship group. Don’t forget to share your stories and maybe images of those ‘gleaming details’ with us on Instagram (by tagging @writebackuk or #WriteBackWednesday) or by emailing them to stories@write-back.org.
This challenge originated in the amazing advice from ‘How to tell your story so the world listens’ by Bobette Buster. We love using her ideas with our storytellers so make sure you check out the book for some more creative ideas during lockdown.
Write back challenge: AROUND THE WORLD IN STORIES
We’re going global this week. Choose a place that’s important to you and use this to inspire a piece of writing. It could be anywhere in the world - perhaps where you were born, perhaps somewhere you’ve visited, perhaps a location you long to travel to. Your piece could be a poem, a short story or even just a paragraph or two. Don’t forget to share your stories and maybe images of the places with us on Instagram (by tagging @writebackuk or #WriteBackWednesday) or by emailing them to stories@write-back.org. We’d love to see stories that take our imaginations out of lockdown and around the world!
Also, check out ‘My Trip’, one of the stories created by our very first cohort of young storytellers by clicking the button link below. It’s an amazing tale of identity and takes the reader from London to Afghanistan.
Some of our original storytellers at Robert Clack School with their global stories of migration and family history.
Write back challenge: SEEING IN COLOUR
It’s all about colour this week as we take our lead from ‘Filter’, one of the amazing stories created by our current storytellers. Can you choose a colour and use this to inspire your own short story or poem? You might want to download our template colours for inspiration or maybe even add your writing directly on top of the colour or colours.
If you want to see how it can be done, check out ‘Filter’ by clicking here.
Write back challenge: EXTRAORDINARY ORDINARY OBJECTS
This week we’re finding inspiration from the objects around us. What objects do you have in lockdown with you right now? Do any of them remind you of an important memory? Do they reveal something about you or your family? Maybe they even tell the story of what life is like for you in lockdown? Take a photo of the object and then write a short story about it - it could be a poem, a short paragraph or even a full piece of writing. Don’t forget to share your photos and stories with us on Instagram or email them to stories@write-back.org.
This challenge comes from one of our own original storytellers. Back when he was in Year 9, Najam wrote ‘A Pocket Full of Chilli Powder’ connecting the household spice to his grandfather’s childhood in East London. It’s a powerful tale that combines humour with serious subject matter including racist violence and language. We definitely don’t recommend carrying a pocket full of chilli powder yourself but we do suggest you check out his story below and this behind the scenes interview between Najam and his grandfather.
Write back challenge: coat of arms
The first Write Back challenge is to design your very own coat of arms to show who you are and made makes you you! Simply download the template document and copy and paste on the images that represent you. Or you could print off a template coat of arms and fill it with your own drawings or cut outs from magazines and newspapers. If you prefer you can simply draw your own coat of arms onto a piece of paper and get designing. Don’t forget to share them with us on Instagram or tag us in your post if you want us to highlight them on our story.
