Nothing is too far fetched...

....when you are a child.  And perhaps - as adults - we need to re-visit our childhood.  In the Sep/Oct/Nov 12 (issue 55) of Mslexia www.mslexia.co.uk/blog  Sara Hawthorn writes; ...The group of 8-13 year olds I work with has given me a sharp reminder of the freedom we have before our minds become clogged up with work, life and general tedious Grown-Up problems.  They've told me about haunted shoes, a bunny whose face is really funny, and a fight between a tummy and junk food.  Virtually nothing is too far-fatched for them - and why should it be?

In the same edition of Mslexia, Sarah Salway www.sarahsalway.net argues that play is a vital part of our creative lives.  She quotes psychiatrist Stuart Brown who says; Play can become a doorway to a new self, one much more in tune with the world, because play is all about trying on new behaviours and thoughts, it frees us from established patterns.  In other words Sarah writes, the more we play, the better our writing will be.

What is important with play she goes onto say, is that you choose what you want to do.  Write down the activities you loved as a child; blowing bubbles, drawing, growing seeds, cycling, comics, day dreaming, dressing up etc.  The problem isn't that we don't make time to have fun, says writer Catherine Smith. Most of us do things that waste time and aren't really fun at all, like watching boring TV or getting sucked into pointmless internet-related activites.  Fun doesn't need to be all ha-ha-ha.  It can be, as Catherine says odd, eccentric, and solitary - and we should all be honest and happy about that.

Play is risky and daring, Sam Holdsworth says. Far from being frivolous or silly, it requires committment, openness, flexibility and often results in a changed physical and emotional state.

Sarah concludes; So the next time your writing feels stuck, ring the bell for playtime.  Write your own play history or just spend an hour daydreaming, and see what happens.

And if we play with our own children then this is even better.  Am off now to see Bob The Builder at his yard while on my holiday at Butlins Skegness.  After that we are going swimming at Splash Waterworld and then going to see Norman and Fireman Sam.  Might get some Messy Play in while we are out or even get to dig in the sand on the beach!!