There are hundreds of millions of children in the world. Every child who goes to school has a go at creative writing. Many do this every day. Out of the billions of stories children create, every day, out of their own vivid imaginations, none are published. OK there may be one or two, now and again, that are exceptional and the dedicated teacher or parent brings it to the attention of a publisher. But this is unlikely. The section of the population best qualified to write children's stories are mainly ignored by publishers. And naturally they have a point. Stories such as these are rarely shown to publishers anyway. Instead they are put in a drawer, in a bag, maybe stuck on a wall for a few weeks, hidden away in folders, lost, screwed up, never to be seen or heard of again. Young people, like adults, will rarely produce a piece of work ready for publishing. Most need plenty of work, re working, even re writing. But it isn't the finished product that's exciting when children write stories, it's the free flowing way their ideas spread across the page. Perhaps the story comes out in one go, maybe a gem of an idea is hidden in what is otherwise a long, laboured piece of writing. Often this is the only way to get to a deeply hidden thought or concept that we're not even aware exists. This untapped source of stories has the potential to take children's writing to another level, and not just writing. Young artists are found in every classroom, many of them hiding away doodling in a corner, behind an arm, creating vibrant, brilliant ideas and images that also end up in a drawer, screwed up in a pocket and eventually in the bin. Few of these budding writers and illustrators will ever put their skills to good use. The two finest artists I know are both in their forties. One is a carpenter and hates it, the other is a painter and decorator, and he hates it as well. Both spent the majority of their school years getting into trouble and used art as a way of expressing themselves. Both are musicians too, as many artists are. They drew caricatures, cartoons, sketched, painted and played their way through school, coming out the other end as fine artists but with no direction. They both have a love hate relationship with art. Cant live with it, cant live without it, but this I know for sure. If enough people knew what they could do, they would be sought after throughout the world, would never be short of work and be acclaimed everywhere. Writers, artists. If this is your calling and you cant get away from the thrill of writing, of creating a piece of art, go for it. Follow that passion wherever it leads, because we cannot see into the future, and Providence has a way of giving us what we least expect, when we least expect to get it, and it comes from the most improbable sources. Young people and their art, their writing. This is the raw material we're working with, and it is the most exciting, creative place you can imagine. |
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