Our challenge/Discussion:
We had a more challenging start to the class this month. There are a lot of words that are not in common use. Should we use these to enrich our writing? What are the pitfalls in doing this? In general it can be a problem if we use very strange words as this interrupts the flow of reading. But if we frame the sentence so the meaning is obvious, then it can be a bonus. So each class member was given a word at random, with its meaning, and asked to write a sentence that would make the meaning obvious. This led to identifying some words that could be used in the future, and others that should be avoided.
Some of our Stories:
Mrs Peters: A mysterious woman arrives, becomes known but remains a mystery, then leaves after someone comes looking for her. Why was she hiding – we are left to make up our own minds.
Miss Bossy Boots: An older sister arrives, believing her sister needs her but turns her sister’s life upside-down until a plan is set up to give her a new focus.
Citrus Blossom story part 6: A possible motive for murder is revealed, but is this the one? Tension is built, but the reader is still left questioning.
The White Shell: A single scene around a spy picking up a message but identified by the opposite side. Will she survive?
A Matter of Time: A mischievous toddler, a storm, a rescue, a local myth and full circle back to mischief.
Dreams Fulfilled: The end of a family saga post WWII, with dreams evolving and finally fulfilled.
Prompts:
We have a different approach for our prompts for the 14 October class. For this month there are two short paragraphs to choose from. Each of these has a character, a location and some action. The challenge to is to create a story starting with one of the two paragraphs. If anyone is interested in giving this try, let me know and I will send you the paragraphs.
Class members have been asked to bring along a sentence using a little used word and challenging the class to identify the meaning. Did the sentence achieve this?
Joy Shirley
We had a more challenging start to the class this month. There are a lot of words that are not in common use. Should we use these to enrich our writing? What are the pitfalls in doing this? In general it can be a problem if we use very strange words as this interrupts the flow of reading. But if we frame the sentence so the meaning is obvious, then it can be a bonus. So each class member was given a word at random, with its meaning, and asked to write a sentence that would make the meaning obvious. This led to identifying some words that could be used in the future, and others that should be avoided.
Some of our Stories:
Mrs Peters: A mysterious woman arrives, becomes known but remains a mystery, then leaves after someone comes looking for her. Why was she hiding – we are left to make up our own minds.
Miss Bossy Boots: An older sister arrives, believing her sister needs her but turns her sister’s life upside-down until a plan is set up to give her a new focus.
Citrus Blossom story part 6: A possible motive for murder is revealed, but is this the one? Tension is built, but the reader is still left questioning.
The White Shell: A single scene around a spy picking up a message but identified by the opposite side. Will she survive?
A Matter of Time: A mischievous toddler, a storm, a rescue, a local myth and full circle back to mischief.
Dreams Fulfilled: The end of a family saga post WWII, with dreams evolving and finally fulfilled.
Prompts:
We have a different approach for our prompts for the 14 October class. For this month there are two short paragraphs to choose from. Each of these has a character, a location and some action. The challenge to is to create a story starting with one of the two paragraphs. If anyone is interested in giving this try, let me know and I will send you the paragraphs.
Class members have been asked to bring along a sentence using a little used word and challenging the class to identify the meaning. Did the sentence achieve this?
Joy Shirley
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