It was good to be back together after missing a face-to-face class in April.
Hints/Challenge:
We discussed the issues that help us enjoy writing, and things that challenge us about our writing.
One of the ideas shared around enjoyment was finding out what would happen in the story – how the characters developed. A class member talked about how the characters fought her, wanting to go somewhere other than where she had planned and found this fun. Part of this discussion led to the difference between “Pantsers” and “Planners”. We discussed this last year, but it was new for people who had joined the class this year. “Planners” map out their story in advance, with the structure and characters defined at the start. “Pantsers” have a vague idea and then let the story unfold, with characters and structure finding their own way. Although all writing has a bit of each of these approaches.
One of the common problems was finding the right word. The thought is there, but it can be difficult to find the word they want, sometimes resorting to a thesaurus (on-line or hard copy) to find the best fit to create the picture or thought.
Our stories:
All our stories this month were good and from a writing perspective enjoyable, although not always having a pleasant topic or a happy ending. In each case though they worked for the story. A common theme for some was around religion, particularly religious hypocrisy. Others had a touch of humour or covered current events.
Prompts:
The prompts for our June class are:
And now it is time to start writing for our June class, using one (or more) of these prompts.
Joy Shirley
May 2023
Hints/Challenge:
We discussed the issues that help us enjoy writing, and things that challenge us about our writing.
One of the ideas shared around enjoyment was finding out what would happen in the story – how the characters developed. A class member talked about how the characters fought her, wanting to go somewhere other than where she had planned and found this fun. Part of this discussion led to the difference between “Pantsers” and “Planners”. We discussed this last year, but it was new for people who had joined the class this year. “Planners” map out their story in advance, with the structure and characters defined at the start. “Pantsers” have a vague idea and then let the story unfold, with characters and structure finding their own way. Although all writing has a bit of each of these approaches.
One of the common problems was finding the right word. The thought is there, but it can be difficult to find the word they want, sometimes resorting to a thesaurus (on-line or hard copy) to find the best fit to create the picture or thought.
Our stories:
All our stories this month were good and from a writing perspective enjoyable, although not always having a pleasant topic or a happy ending. In each case though they worked for the story. A common theme for some was around religion, particularly religious hypocrisy. Others had a touch of humour or covered current events.
Prompts:
The prompts for our June class are:
- She didn't notice me watching her.
- My shoes are talking about me.
- We'd always agreed on the important things until ...
And now it is time to start writing for our June class, using one (or more) of these prompts.
Joy Shirley
May 2023
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