Writing Inspiration — The Journey of Water

In this week’s Story Club, my young writers’ workshop, we explored the journey of water.

Water is life-giving, fascinating. All the world’s water is recycled. Water changes form, moving between clouds, mountain ice, ocean, plants and animals, and underground rivers. Water on Earth is thought to be up to 4.6 billion years old, predating the formation of the Milky Way.

What has the water seen? What does it know and remember?

Masaru Emoto measured changes in the structure of water molecules in response to music and emotions.

In Ojibwe culture (an indigineous people in the US and Canada), a water spirit, Nokomis, is said to appear as a woman dressed in fish and shells. She is a guardian of water’s sacred nature.

In Celtic stories, the goddess Brigid is often associated with water, particularly sacred wells and lakes that are believed to hold healing properties.

There is so much to draw on with this theme. We could have every Story Club on water, and not ‘run the tap dry’!

Amazing stories came out of this Story Club.

“Water sees, water knows, water remembers.” Amber’s story followed the journey of water over thousands of years. From fertile earth to the manky Thames in the Industrial Age, her water story gave us a compelling view of historical changes over time.

Mika wrote an enchanting tale where a daughter’s tear for her ailing mother fell onto the earth, awakening a seed that bloomed into a plant that cured her.

Paikea’s story focused on a water spirit named Ripple. She enjoyed going fast, but when she joined a river, faced with an underground tunnel, she became frightened of the dark.

From historical fiction to fantasy to fairytale, there are so many ways we can convey this ancient, healing and precious element. Does water inspire you?