Many of us have memories of ‘creatively borrowing’ ideas from our favourite books, television shows, movies or comics. Many of us also have feelings of shame around our copying being exposed - by a teacher, a parent, or a peer. Copying gets a bad rap (sometimes for a good reason...we’re definitely not saying you should copy something and pretend it’s your own original work)!

Getting students excited about writing is a challenge faced by many of the teachers we work with at 100 Story Building. When teachers bring their students to one of our school workshops, many comment on how students who are normally ‘reluctant writers’ are suddenly motivated and excited to write. The central strategy we use to support young writers in our workshops is to encourage student agency.