Huzzah! I’ve been meaning to have a contest on this site for a while now, so here it finally is. A contest for all school-age Writers and Artists: write a short story (any length) about a Senior Citizen with a secret identity/amazing past OR illustrate any scene from Eldritch Manor. Or do both, if you’re super ambitious.
For all the details on prizes and where to send entries go here.
I can’t wait to see what you can do… just be sure to enter before March 15, 2014!
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Welcome back to Writing Club. In this post we will talk about Creating Complex and Intriguing Characters, but first a little warmup…
(5-minute, stream-of-consciousness exercise, write whatever pops into your brain on the topic. Don’t bother with sentences, paragraphs, or punctuation. Just write.) Continue reading
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Things are pretty busy on the road here, but here’s a little prompt for anyone who wants to keep their pens moving… From the Writer’s Digest, here’s a prompt for their November challenge to write a poem every day this month:
For today’s prompt, write an appearing poem. This could be a poem about something (or someone) appearing out of nowhere. Or it could be about appearances–appearing one way to some people; appearing another way to others. (c/o Robert Lee Brewer, on the Writer’s Digest website)
It may be a prompt for a poem, but I think it’s a good springboard for a story too.
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In my last Writing Club post I wrote about two kinds of opening sentences, 1. Description, and 2. Action. Let’s continue …
3. INTRODUCE THE MAIN CHARACTER
This is an extremely popular and effective way to open a book. It can be in first person-
Call me Ishmael. (Moby Dick, Herman Melville)
Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood. (The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan)
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(5-minute, stream-of-consciousness exercise, write whatever pops into your brain on the topic. Don’t bother with sentences, paragraphs, or punctuation. Just write.)
For this one you can write about your own grandmother(s) or grandmothers from movies or books. What do you think of when you think “grandmother”? Continue reading
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Here we are in our new home at the library, the smaller, cozier Teen Room.
(5-minute, stream-of-consciousness exercise, write whatever pops into your brain on the topic. Don’t bother with sentences, paragraphs, or punctuation. Just write.)
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Another meeting of the Writing Club has come and gone. We’re still working out who’s coming and when, but we seem to be settling in… Here’s what happened:
(5-minute, stream-of-consciousness exercise, write whatever pops into your brain on the topic. Don’t bother with sentences, paragraphs, or punctuation. Just write.)
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Here’s a writing prompt… come up with an explanation for this one:
Space Watchers Seek an Answer for Sky Riddle from N.B.
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We had an excellent first meeting at the library on Monday. Having a room full of energized, motivated writers was a lot of fun. (And exhausting!)
I’d like to share some of what we talk about at these gatherings. (I’ll group them in the category “Writing Club” for easy reference.) This week we began with introductions, then got right down to work —
This is a 5-minute, stream-of-consciousness exercise, write whatever pops into your brain on the topic of water. Don’t bother with sentences, paragraphs, or punctuation. Just write.
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Wow, where did the summer fly away to? September is here, it’s time to get back to writing and I’ve got the perfect incentive:
Writing Club
ages 10-14
3:45 – 5:00 pm
Mondays, starting Sept. 23
Teen Room, Salt Spring Public Library
$10/meeting
First meeting is Free – drop by and see what we’re all about.
(NB. We will not be meeting on holiday Mondays, or on Nov. 4.)
On the agenda – writing exercises and games, book and movie analysis, and discussions on all aspects of the writer’s craft, from sentence and paragraph structure to scriptwriting, genre, character development, dialogue and plot structure.
Writers are encouraged to bring in whatever projects they are working on for feedback. Whether you’re bursting with ideas or have no idea where to begin, it’s time to get your writing in gear!
Email me if you’re interested, or just drop by on September 23rd!
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