Writing the wrongs

Writing the wrongs What does "love" taste like? - "Like passionfruit." What does "love" sound like? - "A pigeon?" In Ratton School's library in Eastbourne, Year 10 pupils are responding enthusiastically to questions from Hanna Miles about metaphors and similes. At another table, Gabby Grilla is listening to a group rip into the opening lines of Dan Brown's thriller, The Da Vinci Code . " It says the attacker is fifteen feet away, so how can he see the colour of his eyes?" Meanwhile, Rachael Keenan is helping a group shape their ideas for a short story about waiting in line. "It depends on what you're waiting for, and who's there with you." - "It could be for the afterlife." - "Or a Chinese takeaway." Hanna, Gabby and Rachael are University of Sussex students who are part of Sussex Writes, an initiative started by the University to help support the creative writing needs of secondary school pupils. Working with ten schools across East Sussex and Brighton, a team of around 30 students organise workshops twice a year for pupils in Years 9-11. Dr Emma Newport , a lecturer in English and the coordinator of Sussex Writes, says: "We make students come alive to the fact that storytelling is in everything.