Creative Writing Competition 2019

You can interpret the theme The Clothes I Am in any way you wish. We’ve collected possible ideas below:

Story choices

• What genre and style do you want to write in? Genres include; Adventure, Mystery, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Horror
• Who are the main characters and what are they doing in the story?
• Because we don’t have long to get involved in your story – how do you make the reader interested in the characters or their situations?
• If it’s a poem, what sort of poem is it? Is it in rhyme, a narrative poem? Is it meant to be read aloud?

Types of clothing

• There are many types of clothes to consider! Outfits, costumes, uniforms, hats, shoes, underwear, space suits or nothing at all!

Traditional tales, myths and fantasy

• Fairytale characters often have magical or special clothes (red riding hood, Cinderella’s gown and shoes). Imagine that they wore something else – how would this change the story? What magical clothes would you like to have?
• Heroes from myths and legends and fantasy stories often have magic clothing, such as winged sandals, seven-league boots and helmets and cloaks that grant shape-shifting and invisibility, to get them out of (or into) trouble.
• Superheroes and their use of costumes

Clothing, and identity and culture

• What we wear as part of our identity.
• Clothes that make us the same as others, and clothes that make us stand out
• Being forced to wear something
• Wearing the wrong thing at the wrong time
• Can we tell who someone is from what they are wearing?
• Clothing that makes us acceptable to others
• Clothing and prejudice
• Clothes from the past
• Can we change who we are by changing what we wear?
• The colours we choose
• How wearing different clothes make us feel

Symbolism in clothing

• Implied status or identity
• Position in society

Clothing and Adventure

• Clothes that disguise us and allow us to become someone else
• Clothing that we need to survive
• Clothing for discovery, adventure, play and escapism
• Where do I want to be in the future?

Ethics and clothes

• Where do my/our clothes come from?
• Who made them and what are they made of?
• What is the environment in which they were made like?
• How long have I been wearing my clothes? When I don’t want or need them anymore, where do they go?

Clothing and humour

• Funny or inappropriate clothing
• Wearing the wrong thing at the wrong time
• Clothing that makes someone behave differently

Story examples

These are some examples of stories involving clothing as a central or significant theme

Fairytales/ traditional tales

• The Elves and the shoemaker
• The Emperor’s New Clothes
• Cinderella
• Red Riding Hood

Picture books

• ‘Mr Benn’ by David Mckee
• ‘Socks’ by Nick Sharratt
• ‘Traction Man’ by Mini Grey
• ‘Yuk!’ by Kes Gray
• ‘Tutus aren’t My Style’ by Linda Skeers
• ‘Made by Raffi’ by Craig Pomranz
• ‘Rosie’s hat’ by Julia Donaldson
• ‘Millie’s Marvellous Hat’ by Satoshi Kitamura
• ‘Jamela’s Dress’ by Nikki Daly
• ‘My Mother’s Sari’ by Sandhya Rao
• ‘I Want my Hat Back’ / ‘That’s Not My Hat’ by Jon Klassen
• ‘The Hueys in : The New Jumper’ by Oliver Jeffers
• ‘Sari Games’ by Naina Gandhi
• ‘10,000 Dresses’ by Marcus Ewert
• ‘A Kente dress for Kenya’ by Juwanda G Ford
• ‘Caps for sale’ by Esphyr Slobodkina

Fiction

• ‘Bill’s New Frock’ by Anne Fine
• ‘The Boy in the Dress’ by David Walliams
• ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ by John Boyne
• ‘The Killer underpants’ by Michael Lawrence
• ‘Captain Underpants’ by Dav Pilkey

Teenage

• ‘She wore red trainers’ by Nai’ima B Robert
• ‘Wonder’ by R J Palacio
• ‘Socks are not enough’ / ‘pants are everything’ by Mark Lowery
• ‘Divergent’ by Veronica Roth
• ‘The Hunger Games’ by Suzanne Collins