Library Ethos

To enable young and emerging writers to be fully supported in their writing goals, Professor Bambo Soyinka and collaborators have developed an ethos to explain the thinking and research behind the Dare to Write? Library, and its approach to creative writing.

Scroll down to discover our free, downloadable resources for parents, guardians and/or the educators inspiring young writers.

Ethos

CREATIVE WRITING IS UNDER THREAT
It is vital that children have space and time to explore creative writing. With competing pressures and constraints on educators, the time and space for children to write creatively is in serious decline. This is why the Dare to Write? Library is so important.

CREATIVE WRITING HAS INTRINSIC VALUE

• Creative writing helps young people find their voice.
• Creative writing is a pleasurable, self-affirming activity.
• Creative writing helps children understand and articulate how they see the world.
• Creative writing has proven therapeutic benefits, increasing well-being and growing confidence.

THE PRINCIPLES OF THE DARE TO WRITE? ETHOS
We believe that creative writing should be:

• Exploratory: Creative writing should be fun, playful, and allow for freedom of expression. Learning about writing should be done in a fluid way, which reflects the needs and interests of the individual. The writer is not a set of criteria and neither is their creative process. The focus should be on the creative exploration of ideas rather than on testing grammar, handwriting and assessment.
• Supported to Flourish: Individuals, groups and organisations who are supportive of this ethos should collaborate at the local level to create communities where writing can flourish. Barriers and unequal access to provision should be identified and removed so as to make writing accessible to all.

This ethos has emerged from experience, practice and from the findings of a University-based research project. Read more about the research behind Dare to Write? here.