• kirjastopalvelut
• Nuoret

Young writers are typically told, “Write what you know.” As a fantasy writer, I’ve always taken that to mean that a writer takes what is familiar to them and dreams up something new. I want to incorporate my writing experience into my work as a children’s and young people’s librarian, so I spoke to three librarians who have successful created writing groups for teenagers. Each librarian faced shifting demands, but they took the familiar fields of librarianship and dreamt up new solutions.

Librarian A works in a high school library in the UK. Students approached Librarian A, suggesting a crossover between the school library’s existing storytelling club and Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) club. Librarian A reported that the students “had vivid imaginations, wanted to use them, and often felt a bit stymied from doing this in classes.” Librarian A allowed her stifled adventurers truly free range: members could focus on their own D&D-inspired projects with assistance as needed.

In Finland, Librarian B formed a writing group in response to demand for evening activities and reading circles. A writing group is indeed a sort of reading circle: work is read and interest in literature is heightened.

The demand Librarian B worked to address changed rapidly within the first few sessions. The age range of attendees shifted from older teens to fifth graders. Librarian B had to reassess her sessions accordingly. Even with the varied and engaging writing activities that Librarian B prepared, the younger teens had energy and enthusiasm for additional activities like drawing cover art and enacting their stories.

Also in Finland, Librarian C founded her group in response to specific demand within her library system for creating writing groups. As her group developed, Librarian C found that members had different native languages beyond Finnish, a definite challenge in a craft that relies on language. As part of creating a safe and welcoming environment for everyone, Inari noted that she does not address grammatical errors. Instead, when group members share their work, the focus is entirely on the content of the story.
Even so, Librarian C said, “I have noticed that doing creative writing tasks has given many a successful experience of using the Finnish language and their own imagination. […T]he circle of creative writing is an important opportunity to develop in the Finnish language without fear of failure.”

The pattern I found across these varied writing groups is that the librarians clearly identified the demands they were trying to meet. When those demands shifted or became more specific, the librarians responded with creative solutions. A one-size-fits-all approach will not suffice; practitioners need to be flexible and imaginative.
(Quotes from Librarians B and C are presented in translation)