I was disappointed to miss the October class and was pleased the class had gone ahead as usual.  Actually I was not very disappointed as I was in Tasmania helping our son celebrate his 50th birthday!
 
Hints:
This month we discussed some grammar traps.  Firstly we talked about when to use apostrophes, looking at some examples of correct and incorrect usage.  One simple example was the difference between “its” and “it’s”.  “Its” is around ownership and “it’s” is what is known as a contraction of “it is”.  We also looked at some common spelling mistakes/confusions, for example “principal” and “principle”.  One thought for working out which to use is that the principal of a school is a pal, so use “PAL”.
 
Our challenge:
We had a very brief challenge, identifying words from a description, with the only clue being the number of letters in the word was the same as the Scrabble value of the first letter of the word.  It was made more difficult as some of us had not played Scrabble for many years and so had forgotten the values if the letters.
 
Our stories:

For our written work to share with the class there were three prompts:

• The lady with a troubled look on her face
• Daffodils danced in the breeze their tiny yellow trumpets exuding music to willing listeners
• The reflections on the still water of the lake, did not reveal what lay beneath​

A range of new stories were shared this month.  In many cases these covered issues that are common to lives today – family violence, bereavement, mental health.  And as happens on occasion one of the contributions was a poem – about how inspiration had failed in finding the right story to write.  The poem was brilliant.

​The topics for our 12 December class are:

• She/he stood on the balcony
• She sat staring at the screen.  The words of betrayal sliced into her like a blade.  An intimate and intense email meant for her boyfriend but mistakenly sent to her.
• The rain was so heavy she/he could not see to make the right-hand turn, so she/he turned left

 ​
We are planning to continue writing over the Christmas break with a challenge to write every day as part of the plan.


​Joy Shirley

A variety of structures and genres this month for Creative Writing - monologues, poetry, reflections on a time spent in isolation, plays on words, visual descriptions, answers to questions,  and a ‘ did she or did she not do it’ poser.

And all this from prompts that talked about “magic,” “beasts” and “spring!”

As always plentiful discussion as to the hows and whys of writing, the roles of personal experience and imagination, and the difficulties in starting and fulfilling one’s ideas in writing. 

November prompts include:

• The lady with a troubled look on her face
• Daffodils danced in the breeze, their yellow trumpets exuding music to willing listeners.
• The reflections on the still water of the lake did not reveal what lay underneath.

Which would fire your imagination? 

​Pat Treleaven

With some of our travellers returned to Benalla we had a larger group this month, which always makes for interesting discussions.
 
Hints:
We talked about finding names for our characters.  This included not giving characters similar names, not using the same start initial, not using the same end letter and not using the same length.  All of these can interfere with the flow as readers struggle to remember which character is which.  Readers will often look at patterns like initial and length rather than actual spelling of the name.  Tim and Tom would be a great example of what not to do!  And watch for names that will have a preconceived meaning such as Buffy or Hannibal … unless of course it is appropriate to the story.
 
Our challenge:
For our challenge this month we looked at some more cliches, writing new versions of some well-worn phrases.  An example “His eyes dropped to the floor” became “His eyes did a backflip”
 OR
“A tear fell down her face” became “the faded freckle on her face was washed by a single tear”.  These gave a clear picture of the emotions or actions.
 
Our stories:
For our written work to share with the class there were three prompts:

• On the road again
• They had both got out, and it caused a great sensation
• A storm was brewing and hours had passed since they’d left the camp

 
I have mentioned it before, but we always seem to have different people come up with a similar idea without any consultation.  This time two people wrote about young men and their first car.  You would expect that this would be an obvious coincidence as one of the topics was “on the road again”.  But neither author wrote on this topic.  One was about being caught in the storm and the other was around the great sensation with both occupants of a car being safe after an accident.  Outback travels appeared twice, with descriptions of the landscape and people met on the road.  Then we had a great description of walking around the lake, which inspired members of the class wanting to get out and take the same walk (if it had not been so wet).
 
Finally a class member had recently come across the concept of “Metafiction” and provided an attempt at writing in this manner.  This is a very hard to describe – a story in a story.  (I am not going to try to explain further, but perhaps try Google if you are interested in exploring this).
 
The topics for our 10 October class are:

• Magic! Whoever would have thought you could find it in….
• With a loud roar, the wild beast charged
• The promise of spring was in the air

 
We are always ready to welcome new storytellers to the class.


Joy Shirley

A smaller class this month with many taking the opportunity to travel.  Even so, the conversation resulting from the different stories took the full two hours.
 
Hints:
This month we talked about use of cliches, both in text and in the plot basis for our stories.  For example plots such as ‘The idyllic country cottage bequeathed to the heroine by a generous aunt’ OR ‘The Gothic house with ghosts in the walls’ have been overdone and will probably not be very interesting for a reader.
 
Our challenge:
The challenge this month was to complete some common phrases without falling into the cliché trap.  We had ‘As tall as…’ and ‘As warm as…’.  Two people came up with same idea for warmth – the hug of a granddaughter.  There was ‘As cold a morning hot water bottle’ and ‘As tall as a pencil pine’.
 
Our stories:
For our written work to share with the class there were three prompts:

• The accommodation was booked and the departure day set
• “What are you doing?”
• {Emma} liked to cook when she had time

 
Stories as usual varied.  Two were perhaps more serious with underlying messages.  One was a discussion between a couple.  The husband was concerned about the state of the world, and his wife thought they could not do anything so he should not worry.  This resulted in a discussion about how every small step can help.  We also talked about the treatment and encouragement of young children who have developmental problems.  This resulted from a story about a young boy with autism who was able to help police solve a series of crimes.  On a brighter note, we all had smile about a story giving personality to kitchen tools such as a mixer and knives.  It ends with them planning to form a union.
 
The topics for our 12 September class are:

• On the road again
• They had both got out, and it caused a great sensation
• A storm was brewing and hours had passed since they’d left the camp

 
And we are always ready to welcome new storytellers to the class.


Joy Shirley

Each month I eagerly await the efforts from the class.  I make sure I carve out the time to read the contributions ready to provide helpful feedback during the class.  This month was no different.  
 
Hints:
We discussed two point this month.  One was around some hints for editing our work.  These included printing a hard copy, reading it in a different location from where it was written, reading the work aloud, and not expecting the first draft to be perfect.
 
The second point was around the use of different words to describe colours.  While this can add to the richness of the text, it is a good idea to use words that people will understand without heading to the dictionary.
 
Our challenge:
The challenge for July was quite simple.  Close your eyes for 15 seconds.  When you open them, write 1-2 sentences about the first THING you see.
 
Our stories:
For our written work to share with the class there were three prompts:

• The caravan slowed to a cumbersome stop
• She sat on the tram, unable to make eye contact
• I ran away from home when I was ten

 
An interesting group of stories this month gave us a lot to talk about.  All prompts were used along the way, some humorous, other much more serious and challenging.
 
But what was really interesting was that we had three poetry contributions.  It is intriguing how we often have similar themes to our stories without any collaboration.  All three poems were around the caravan, one involving a runaway 10-year-old, the other two provided stories about old vans.
 
The topics for our 8 August class are:

• The accommodation was booked and the departure day set
• “What are you doing?”
• {Emma} liked to cook when she had time

 
And we are always ready to welcome new storytellers to the class.


​Joy

​We need to carve out the time to write.  For some of us this starts at the beginning of the month; for others, the deadline is what drives them to write.  Perhaps some of us are thinking during the month but only put pen to paper (or is that fingers to keyboard) as the deadline approaches.  Even so, we are still sharing many differing stories each month.
 
At the class this month we discussed some questions on writing.  Should we plan out our stories, or just start writing?  Both approaches are valid.  There are terms used for the approaches – planners or pantsers.  The meaning of planners is obvious.  Pantsers are those who write “by the seat of their pants”.  In other words, they have a vague idea and just start writing.  The story takes its own path – it does not abide by any rules set down by the author.  But this can happen to planners as well.
 
Another topic discussed was the practice of some authors to move around in time.  This can only work if very well written.  If not well written it can be either distracting or totally unreadable.
 
Our challenge:
Often you can add just one letter to the start or end of a word to create a new word.  Our challenge this month involved looking at a series of such pairs.  For example, using the clues “You find lots of these in a book / Knights wield them” you find the answers “words/swords”.
 
For our written work to share with the class there were three prompts:
 

• Mind the gap
• Appearances are often deceiving
• The sound of shattering glass

 
Of the stories this month, the shattering glass seemed to be the most popular topic, although all were used.  We had a romance writer being hacked by a wicked “ghost”, turning her books into pornography by subtly changing a letter or word.  One of the shattering glass stories was a kangaroo entering an empty house; another was breaking of a “fine-cut, expensive, and satisfyingly heavy, Scotch glass”.  There was even one using the “mind the gap” prompt that showed how many ways and places the term has been used.  Another month of interesting and creative writing.
 
As well as the creative stories, we had a couple of pieces on writing.  One was the use of body parts as idioms – ‘my brain hurts’, ‘apple of one’s eye’ and so on.  The other was around how many people who write are loath to call themselves writers because they are unpublished.  Actors, artists and musicians for example are proud to claim their skills, so why are writers not recognised in the same way as amateurs in the other arts.
 
The topics for our 11 July class are:
 

• The caravan slowed to a cumbersome stop
• She sat on the tram, unable to make eye contact
• I ran away from home when I was ten

 
And we are always ready to welcome new storytellers to the class.

​Joy Shirley

Another month of great creativity, with lots of imagination.  It is always interesting to see how differently we interpret the various prompts.
 
Our writing challenge this month was called a word ladder.  We start with one word, and progressively change one letter at a time to create another word.  We started with the word ‘writer’ and after nine changes ended up with ‘billed’.  To make it easier, each change did have a clue.  Some of the class found the clues did not help much, but eventually we found the final word.
 
One of the points that is often made about writing is the concept of “show, don’t tell”.  Some early classics use a lot more telling than is generally expected in current writing.  An example of the difference is:

• She was cranky and angry
• She slammed down the phone.  “I never want to talk to her again.”

The second point leaves the interpretation to the reader – the author does not provide a judgement, but the reader gets a picture of someone who is angry.
 
For our written work to share with the class there were three prompts:

• Just then an alpaca stuck its head out of the window
• Don’t go mistaking paradise for that home across the road
• They crouched in the ditch not daring to breathe until the footsteps faded into the distance

 
The Alpaca prompt was very popular.  We had an escape artist alpaca, an alpaca used to destroy a floral competition entry, an alpaca used to identify a fleeing van.  There was even a ‘ghost’ alpaca encouraging an alcoholic to stop drinking.  The ditch prompt had a couple of young boys hiding from bullies in the ditch while planning their revenge.  And a thought about envying the owners of a large house as ‘a home is determined by what goes on inside’.
 
The topics for June are:

• Mind the gap
• Appearances are often deceiving
• The sound of shattering glass

 
We will be having a class on 13 June even though it is a public holiday.  

​Joy Shirley

​A great set of stories again this month.  We had three prompts to choose from:

• She stood on the balcony
• The reflections on the still water of the lake, did not reveal what lay beneath
• The hotel was deserted.  Salt and pepper shakers sat on the dust covered tables.

 
We started with a quick challenge identifying collective nouns for a range of animals.  Some were well known, such as a swarm of bees.  Others were less familiar – a stand of flamingos.  We finished the exercise with sharing some ideas for a collective noun for a group of caravans.  Some ideas were more creative than others – nuisance, lumbering, blockage, chaos – but also ideas such as caravan (of caravans) and convoy.
 
We talked about the concept of “white space” – creating space between paragraphs – and length of sentences – not too long and varying the length.  Without these practices a story can be very hard to read.
 
Stories ranged from descriptive to whimsical.  Feedback was always positive, even when it was providing ideas for improvement, such as overuse of the same word in a paragraph or adding an ending that was not necessary.  Overall the stories were interesting, varied and appreciated.
 
The topics for April are:

• She pushed the strands of wet hair from her face. 
• He could see the greedy look in {insert name} eyes
• She bolted out the door like a bat out of hell

 
I am eager to see what the new topics bring for our next class on 11 April.  Happy writing everyone!

Joy Shirley

We welcomed several new members to the class this month.  It was pleasing that even our new members were able to contribute a story for the class to read and discuss.

We had three prompts to choose from:

• The most adorable chocolate brown eyes stared at Susan from the face resting on the desk.
• They walked beside the river while {Charlie} weaved in and out of the reeds.
• The jury retired to consider the verdict

 
The class is based on creative writing, generally with stories of fiction.  But our experiences will always influence our writing, and this month one of the stories was based on a real-life experience written as the memories from childhood but including speculation as to what might have happened.  And other stories ranged from shape changing (adorable chocolate brown eyes) to murder (not only using the jury theme).  There were animals of course, including cats as well as dogs in and out of the reeds. 
​
The topics for March are:

• She stood on the balcony
• The reflections on the still water of the lake, did not reveal what lay beneath
• The hotel was deserted.  Salt and pepper shakers sat on the dust covered tables.

 
I am eager to see what the new topics bring for our March class.  This is on 14 March – a public holiday, but we will be meeting for those who are available.

Joy Shirley

Many of us kept our writing activity up during the Christmas break. We had four prompts to choose from:

• A breeze swirled, growing thick with the promise of rain
• {Evelyn} peered down the long table, searching out {Sally}
• From somewhere in the building came the loud clack of a typewriter
• By mid-afternoon, the study was already growing dark

​All the prompts were used by at least one person. The use of a typewriter did tend to take us back in time for some stories, although one handled the idea differently – what do you do when the power is out and a school assignment is due in the following day? Using a laptop makes completing the work possible, but how do you print the result. An aunt helps a student by typing the work on an old typewriter in a vacant office in her office building. The niece then decides that is what she wants for her birthday – a typewriter. Old technology can still come in useful sometimes.

Some of the stories were less light-hearted than we sometimes share, but the sadness or darkness was handled well. It has been heartening to see how we have all developed in our writing over the last year. 

We are looking forward to welcoming some new members to the class in 2022. I expect that there will be new directions to explore. I have set some topics for our February class for returning members. Of course, our new members are also welcome to start writing. Just choose one of the topics and write a story – any length you like.

The topics are:

• The most adorable chocolate brown eyes stared at Susan from the face resting on
• the desk.
• They walked beside the river while {Charlie} weaved in and out of the reeds.
• The jury retired to consider the verdict

Our first class for the year is on 14 February – St Valentines Day!
 
Joy Shirley

For our last class for 2021 we met at the North Eastern Hotel for drinks and discussion.  This also gave us an opportunity to farewell a class member who is moving to Queensland in the new year
 
The writing topics were:

• It was really starting to sound out of this world
• {Billy} and {Teddy} would always stay late
• And then, you know, the Sun comes up
• Solitude and sun-dappled air is a kind of magic, like music

 
Reading through the stories for this month, we realised there was a common theme in the topics – sounds of various sorts were coming through.  They were all interesting stories, and in discussing them as usual we went onto allied subjects.  We had one of hearing strange noises at night when alone in a house, which had us talking about similar events in our lives. 
 
I have spoken previously about creating pictures using words.  This month was of course no different, but there is one writer whose work depicts this well.  The story this month was about waiting for a fishing boat to return during a violent storm.  There were clear descriptions of the waves and clouds as well as the worry of the people on shore.  We could see them looking at the weather, watching for the boat, clinging together in support of one another.  And to add to the creativity, in using the second of the prompts listed, the writer named the boat “Billanted”!
 
We decided to continue writing over the Christmas break.  Given that the second Monday is early in the month, we decided that the due date for contributions would be 17 January.  We will not be meeting but sharing the stories via email.  The topics are:

• A breeze swirled, growing thick with the promise of rain
• {Evelyn} peered down the long table, searching out {Sally}
• From somewhere in the building came the loud clack of a typewriter
• By mid-afternoon, the study was already growing dark

 
I am looking forward to a new year of interesting and creative stories in 2022.


Joy Shirley

It is always a pleasure to be able to meet face to face.  We have enjoyed sharing our writing and providing written feedback, but it is even better when we can discuss the writing together.  This means we can manage conversations about the feedback, sometimes including “feedback on feedback”. 
 
The November writing topics were:

• “{name} turned her attention to the room and looked surprised
• Furniture Removalists, no job too big or too small
• My brain sloughs this off as unimportant

 
Our challenge at the start of the class this month was a little different.  Horses in the Melbourne Cup the previous week had a range of “interesting” names.  Everyone in the class selected two names (lucky dip style) and wrote a sentence or so incorporating the name, not necessarily based on racing.  For example:
 
He said ‘Certainly SIR LUCAN, come this way’ which is much more helpful than when I am just Luke.

Giuseppe loved to paint ceilings, until the chapel flooded and he didn’t notice until his palette floated away, and he became the FLOATING ARTIST.
 
As usual we enjoyed a varied range of stories and pictures created using words.  This month our conversations moved further, often away from writing, but starting from thoughts about the stories we had shared.  And once again we had two members writing about a common theme.  Both wrote about Italian immigrants to Australia.  It is intriguing when this happens without communication between the repective class members.  This time it may have been a case of stereotyping – both had a family business in removals which was a common activity for our Italian immigrants
 
Discussion this month included the need to grab the attention of the reader from the first sentence.  Sometimes this means our first paragraph is not needed. It is often in the form of what is called back story which can be better provided later in the story.  It is the second paragraph can be more catching.  Novel writing courses often suggest dropping the first chapter that is only scene setting (or back story), with the real story starting in the second chapter which is where the reader’s attention can be grabbed and they want to continue reading.  A challenge for our writing in the future!
 
The topics for December writing are:

• It was really starting to sound out of this world
• {Billy} and {Teddy} would always stay late
• And then, you know, the Sun comes up
• Solitude and sun-dappled air is a kind of magic, like music

 
As this will be the last class for the year, we are hoping to meet at the North Eastern for a final catch up for 2021.


Joy Shirley

Out of lockdown and we were able to meet face to face again!

The September writing topics were:

• “But why did William murder his brother?”
• She stood in the teeming rain, oblivious of the water soaking through her thin nightie
• She opened the envelope uncertain of what to expect

​
A couple of class members had mentioned that their work was a first draft and they believe needed some editing.  I had found a quote indicating “A crappy first draft is worth more than a non-existing one” which I shared with the class.  It was not accredited to anyone that I could see but was worth sharing.  I do think that our writing is developing with everyone finding their own writing “voice”.

Our first discussion was about hats – what hats we wear if any, why or why not, what sort of hats we liked or wore. Describing them if possible.  Many remembered wearing hats as part of school uniform, particularly berets in the winter for the girls.  Then we added the extra challenge of including a hat with description in one of our stories in the near future. 

We also had an interesting discussion around how we select names for our stories, including ensuring that the names we use fit the character and the era.

As usual we enjoyed a varied range of stories and pictures created using words.  All the topics were used by at least one member of the class.  In contrast with recent classes some of the stories were gentler.  We did have what could have been a murder but ended up not being; and there was a sequel to a very difficult story about foster and runaway children.  There were no duplicated concepts as we have had in previous months. 

The topics for our November class are:

• “{name} turned her attention to the room and looked surprised
• Furniture Removalists, no job too big or too small
• My brain sloughs this off as unimportant

With a pathway out of lockdowns, we will hopefully meet up for our next class on 8 November.

Joy Shirley

Out of lockdown and we were able to meet face to face again!

The September writing topics were:

• She had just two choices. She could forget all about it and move on, or …
• I have a friend who says she is the only person in town who …
• They walked down the drive and across the road

As usual we enjoyed a varied range of stories and pictures created using words.  Stories were a mixture of disturbing, slightly humorous and perhaps mystery.  And, is often the case, some of the stories could lead to a sequel.

Our topic for discussion for the class was “emotion” – how can we show emotion rather than telling our readers.  For example, “tears streaming down her face” could indicate sadness, or perhaps happiness or laughter, depending on the context, without actually telling the reader.  A challenge for our next class is to include some “showing” of emotion rather than “telling” in our writing.

The topics for our September class are:

• “But why did William murder his brother?”
• She stood in the teeming rain, oblivious of the water soaking through her thin nightie
• She opened the envelope uncertain of what to expect

​
With a pathway out of lockdowns, we will hopefully meet up for our next class on 11 October.

​
Joy Shirley

With the lockdown, we were not able to meet for our August class but shared our stories via email.  Then we each provided some comments on our fellow class members’ work.

The August writing topics were:

• Everyone stopped their activities and watched…
• When he’d hung up the phone…          
• Telephone calls were invariably answered by…​

As usual we enjoyed a varied range of stories and pictures created using words.

At our class in July, we spent some time talking about the sense of smell, and some of the class wove smells into their stories for the August class – well done.  This helps to create a picture of the scenes.  For example, one of the stories was set in a hospital, with including the smell of the disinfectant helping to create the feel of the environment.  Another was set in the bed sitter of an old man, describing the “acrid smell of smoke and burning tobacco … the heavy stale stench of alcohol accompanied by a lingering suggestion of body odour”.  With descriptions like this we can see and experience the room.  This is what it means to create pictures with words.

Once again, without any collaboration, two class members wrote about a similar topic – children experiencing the circus coming to town.

The topics for our September class are:

• She had just two choices. She could forget all about it and move on, or …
• I have a friend who says she is the only person in town who …
• They walked down the drive and across the road 

     
With restrictions once again reduced, we will hopefully meet up for our next class on 13 September.

Joy Shirley

​Hello fellow writers
 
I was relaxed about being able to meet on Monday when the news came through that we were heading back into lockdown.  So now to our other process – please share your thoughts about each of the stories via email.  As you would probably already have Monday afternoon set aside for the class, if you do not have a chance earlier, perhaps use that time to prepare your thoughts and then share with the class via email.
 
In addition, we would have been covering the fifth of the five senses at the class on Monday – sound.  So please also share thoughts about whatever it is you can hear on Monday afternoon – describe the sounds.
 
Finally, I will send out the prompts for our September class on Tuesday – so as not to get them confused with the August class.
 
Happy writing and reading
 
Joy

Our July writing topics were:

• He limped along…
• The feeling was comfortable as a daydream
• He wished he could believe it

 
We have been looking at the value of using the senses in our writing.  Rather than a writing challenge to start our class this month, we talked about the sense of smell – what we liked and what we disliked.  The smell of coffee was one of the popular smells, although not liked by all, and there was a brief inclusion of the taste of coffee – which in hindsight brings out the links between taste and smell.

With the current times, there was of course some mention of the impact of natural disasters and virus on a small town.  After all the hard times, with the town “limping along” it had a slightly brighter outlook for the local hotel becoming the centre of the community.  And this gave rise to a discussion in the class about community and how they support one another. 

​Interestingly, without any discussion between them, we had two very different stories about a homeless man.  Both provided a picture of the life led by the men, but also had them being found by someone who had spent time looking for them.  On a brighter note, we had the friendship between an old dog and an elderly man, providing companionship for them both.

We hope to continue meeting for our next class on 9 August.  The topics for the class are:

• Everyone stopped their activities and watched…
• When he’d hung up the phone…
• Telephone calls were invariably answered by…

 
We will be sharing the stories via email ahead of the class, allowing time to read and prepare feedback for discussion when we meet.

Joy Shirley

For our June class we returned to the 2020 process of sharing stories and feedback via email.
 
The June writing topics were:

• In the distance I could hear the roar of the jeep
• He parked the car where he had a clear view of the house
• "wickedness and sin" said (name) theatrically

       
We generally start the class with a quick writing challenge.  We have been looking at the senses and how to describe them to add to our stories.  This month the sense was taste, and some class members took the opportunity to write some sentences and share these with the class as well as their stories.
 
Events in our lives are often the catalyst for our writing, and this month was no different.  One of the stories was brought to life after seeing what looked like an unopened parcel in a rubbish bin around the lake.  A number of stories dealt with breakdown of family relationships.  Unsurprisingly, there was also mention of COVID19 effects.
 
We will enjoy being able to meet up again for our July class.  This is on 12 July.  The topics for the class are:

• He limped along…
• The feeling was comfortable as a daydream
• He wished he could believe it

 
We will be sharing the stories via email ahead of the class, allowing time to read and prepare feedback for discussion when we meet.

​Joy Shirley