We reviewed a topic covered previously – ways to address writer’s block. This included:
- Change your environment – sometimes a new setting can spark creativity.
- Explore books or articles relating to your subject.
- Have your character drop something – it means the character needs to move, perhaps looking under a bed and finding something unexpected that leads to new ideas for the story.
- Discuss your ideas with a friend.
Our challenge:
A simple challenge this month. We had two definitions for a single word, even sometimes pronounce differently. Two examples:
- Under most cities + makes clothes by hand – SEWER
- To practise something + rail transport - TRAIN
Some of our Stories:
- The Lost Dog: a sweet story about a couple finding a lost dog and ending up giving it a home.
- I Understand Triage: a confronting story about a car causing carnage in a city street. Use of short sentences created the atmosphere and reinforced the protagonist’s confusion.
- The Mismatch: A mismatch between a quiet woman and her more outgoing guardian angel. When she has a fall, she thinks the guardian angel has deserted her only to find it was the guardian angel who had convinced Heaven not to take her.
- Memories: A mysterious letter appeared on his computer screen telling him about a granddaughter, initiating memories of a long-ago relationship. A strange Instagram message is sent to the granddaughter about a grandfather.
Prompts:
The prompts for our August class are:
- The last key on the keyring did not fit any lock in their new house.
- It was such a simple recipe so why had it turned out inedible?
- The box on the step had no identifying markings.
- It was the middle of the day, but the sky was black.
Joy Shirley