Swim, Fly, Dig

In this week’s young writer’s workshop we took the perspective of an animal that swims, flies or digs.

What would it feel like to fly? ‘Free,’ one writer suggested. ‘Powerful - you could look down on everyone,’ said another. And swimming, what would that be like as a whale or fish? We wondered what they smell underwater. (Did you know fish have a great sense of smell?)

We also discussed moles. The only one in our group who has touched a mole has felt lots of them. They are silky, so soft and she confirmed their long, thick claws. Unfortunately she knows this because her cat catches them!
Moles and field voles dig, burrow underground. It is amazing to think of their underground world, the network of tunnels they live in and travel through.
Stories that came out of this session included:

• A killer whale swimming hard to join her pack (pod).
• A golden eagle who flies through a cloud, ‘the biting water consuming me’.
• A hungry pigeon flying over a cafe wondering what strange chatter from the humans meant, and finally finding the bins.
• A jellyfish who’s life cycle involves baby, grown, old and … baby again. Apparently these are actual jellyfish in the world, called ‘The Immortal Jellyfish’, they can go back to polyp, seeming to reincarnate.

This Story Club was an interesting mix of learning about the natural world and creative writing.