A great start to our new year of Creative Writing. Returning class members seemed pleased to be back together and we were very happy to welcome some new members to the class. There was time spent at the beginning with introductions, as well as talking about the way the class will work.
Hints:
Words are the building blocks of our stories. As with all building there are different types of words – nouns, verbs, adjectives and so forth. And there are rules for using them – grammar. But there are also some other practices we need to keep in mind. Using common words can make a story boring. But using very unusual words can interrupt the flow of a story as the reader has to stop and think about the meaning. Getting the balance right is part of the challenge of “building” a good story.
Our stories:
As this was the first class for the year, there were only a small number of stories to discuss. This made for a good introduction to the class for new members.
Other stories were parts of ongoing manuscripts: supernatural happenings around an old Abbey ruin; and the life and trials of a family living in an old Manor house after World War II.
Prompts:
The prompts for our 11 March class are:
Joy Shirley
Hints:
Words are the building blocks of our stories. As with all building there are different types of words – nouns, verbs, adjectives and so forth. And there are rules for using them – grammar. But there are also some other practices we need to keep in mind. Using common words can make a story boring. But using very unusual words can interrupt the flow of a story as the reader has to stop and think about the meaning. Getting the balance right is part of the challenge of “building” a good story.
Our stories:
As this was the first class for the year, there were only a small number of stories to discuss. This made for a good introduction to the class for new members.
- Preparing for Success was about two teenagers trying to impress their new young male teacher. One seemed to do all the work on their joint project. The other was keen to provide cupcakes for the teacher as “The way to a man’s heart was through his stomach”. The author nailed the teenage voice well in writing the story.
- A Job to Die For was about finding the perfect job in Heaven. A great play on words in the title.
- A Tail of Twentyfour told of the exploits of a cow who was called “Twentyfour”. She was full of mischief, eating a hat, getting into the oat crop and so on. A great picture created.
- Mr Wentwhistle's Vacuum Cleaners was another story about an English teacher as seen by a student. It was an interesting format with the student writing about her impression of the teacher, listing the issues not enjoyed, but finishing with the admission that the class had actually “sucked in” a lot of learning.
Other stories were parts of ongoing manuscripts: supernatural happenings around an old Abbey ruin; and the life and trials of a family living in an old Manor house after World War II.
Prompts:
The prompts for our 11 March class are:
- I yanked out my ear buds. That noise had to be a scream.
- Margot always ate her vegetables first.
- Marcus pulled his cloak more tightly around his shoulders.
Joy Shirley
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