Writing Boxes at the Cumming Library

Submitted by Holly Raus

What can a writer write? Look inside a Cumming Library Writing Box for creative inspiration! Stories, poems, postcards, letters, recipes, memories, newsletters, zines, comics, scrolls, newspapers, treasure maps, hieroglyphics, and secret messages with codes are some examples of different ways to get students writing. 

The Cumming Library has two Writing Boxes available for patrons to use with everything you need to get going on one of these projects! Patrons can request a box at the Ask Us desk, take the box to a quiet table and browse for ideas to help their writing juices flow.

The boxes have a selection of notepaper, colored papers, and postcards and a box of writing implements with pencils, pens, markers, and colored pencils is also included. The boxes do not check out but are intended to be used at the library. The boxes contain folders bursting with ideas and the handouts can be taken home to work on further.

Although the Writing Boxes are targeted at elementary students and teens, there are plenty of ideas for adults as well like a sentence prompt to write a paragraph about food memories, “When I entered my home and saw the ingredients on the table, I knew (blank) was making (blank).” Templates inspire kids to write a family newsletter, layout the front page of a newspaper, or draw a comic story. Maps can be used to draw a treasure hunt or plan world building for a fantasy story. Prompts give tips on writing spooky stories, how to paint a picture with words, or spark a story by pondering, “Do you think a monkey would make a good pet? Why or why not?” Keys to secret codes and hieroglyphic symbols are available to help you write a mysterious message. 

A 9-year-old patron picked up a box and exclaimed, “This is perfect! I have to write a story for school and this will help me get started.”

Each box contains a laminated copy of “The Bill of Writes” listing the following guidelines:

I write to please myself.

I decide how to use the Writing Box.

I choose what to write and know when it is finished.

I am a writer and reader right now.

I have things to say and write every day.

I write when I play and I play when I write.

I can write about my experience and imagination.

I enjoy writing with technology.

I spell the way I can and learn to spell as I write.

I learn to write as I write and write as I learn.