heart map

In last week’s and this week’s writers’ workshop we are still learning about how good writers collect ideas and write about things that really mean something to them. Another useful way to think about what is meaningful to you is to draw a heart map. This is a great visual way to think about the things that interest us and mean something to us.

Above is a copy of my heart map which I use to write about things which interest me and really mean something to me. Here is a list of the things on my heart map and a description of how I use them to write:

1. Family and Friends – Often stories and memories of friends or family help me create stories inspired by their actions or personalities.

2. Batman – I am a big fan of comics and movies. Sometimes I write stories based on or inspired by comics. When I was young I used to write a review of comics and movies for my school magazine.

3. Sport and Na Piarsaigh – I have pictures of my local football team on my heart map. Sometimes I may write a story based on football. Sometimes I write match reports for my club about recent matches.

4. Travelling – I have pictures of places I’ve been to. These places help inspire my stories and also give me ideas for good settings.

5. History – I have pictures of some of my favourite characters from history – Michael Collins, Charles Stuart Parnell and Winston Churchill. This is because I studied History and enjoyed writing essays on history. I may also from time to time write a fiction story based on a time in History. An example of this type of storytelling would be Under the Hawthorn Tree which is set during the Famine.

6. Animation – I have a picture of someone doing clay animation. This is because I love animation and making movies. I may even write a ‘How to’ piece based on animating.

7. Teaching – I have a picture of a drawing of a mind on a chalk board. This is because I’m a teacher and often write about new teaching ideas for myself. On this blog I write posts about teaching and what we are doing in class.

In this way a Heart Map is useful because it shows us the things we are interested in and we can look at it if we want to think about something to write about. I look forward to looking at your heart maps.