November 1, 2013
Hello, writers,
How has your week been? Mine’s
been busy.
With writing for two
newspapers, subbing temporarily for an injured English teacher and starting a project
for a client, I’ve been swamped.
Meanwhile, here’s the recap
of Tuesday’s writing workshop, complete with a warm-up, an overview of our
critique session, links of interest and prompts for next time. There’s also
information on our holiday party.
Warm-up
We started the workshop with
a choice of warm-ups. Then, we wrote for 10 minutes. Here they are:
1. Coke or Pepsi?
2. E-reader or book?
3. Black and white or color?
4. Halloween memories
A few of us shared our warm-ups.
We then introduced ourselves, shared good news and started our critique
session.
Critique overview
Kaitlyn S. began
the session by reading the prologue of a new story based on her dreams. Members
said her piece had a good balance of dialogue and narration. Judy M. continued by reading a piece
about two orphan boys, Felix and Luca. The setting of her piece worked well,
according to group members, as did the mood of adventure she created. Dee C. then shared a piece set at
Bridgewater, a nursing facility in Boca Raton, Florida. Though we don’t yet
know what her character, Steely, witnesses, members are excited to find out
what comes next!
Lori L. continued
the session sharing a continuation of her piece featuring Sienna. Members
commented on the subtext her piece created as well as its good pacing. I, Nancy B., shared “Orange,” a poem based
on one of the prompts. The phrase “grapefruit’s sweeter cousin” resonated with
a few members. Connie W. then read a
piece based on the 20 Questions prompt. Her piece, written only in questions,
relayed the depth of Earl and Ethyl’s relationship as they watched “Wheel of Fortune”.
Cameron S. then read a piece
featuring Darko, a wolf who receives prophecies and Tall Star, the living
embodiment of good and evil. Her descriptions and struggle between good and
evil worked well.
Richard N. then
shared a continuation of his novel which showed the inner workings of
biological terrorism. Many members noted his excellent and ironic use of ‘missionaries’
in the piece. Lisa C. continued by
sharing a poem, “Tis the Season” using the candy corn prompt. Her Halloween poem featured skillful rhymes
and a light-hearted tone. Robert O. finished
the session by reading a continuation of his Gabriel Whitestorm piece. In this
installment, Gabriel tells a police officer he’s a drifter from Los Angeles.
Many members commented on how compelling his story is.
Great job, everyone!
Links of Interest
Local short story contest
The Florida Times-Union is running a holiday story contest. There are several
categories of winners, and the prizes are great.
Read more here:
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Teen magazine
Teen Ink
is a
magazine written by teens for teens. Since we have teens in our group, and we
may know more teens who write, I thought this link might be helpful.
Read more about how to submit writing,
photography or art work here:
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Young Adult Novel Discovery Contest
If you have a YA novel tucked away, please consider
entering it in this contest. It runs in conjunction with NaNoWriMo (National
Novel Writing Month).
Read more here:
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Prompts for Tuesday, November 5
There are two prompts for
next time. The first is Australia. The
second is the idiom, sit on the fence.
You’re free to use one or
both prompts for next Tuesday, or you can share a WIP (work-in-progress). Please
keep pieces 1500 words or less.
Holiday Party
Our CCWW holiday party will
be held Tuesday, December 3 at our house from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. I’ll prepare
a main dish. We passed around a sign-up sheet for side items, drinks and desserts.
Hope you’ll plan to come and bring a holiday-inspired piece of writing.
Have a wonderful weekend!
~Nancy B.
P.S. Thank you for the card
expressing condolences on my father’s recent passing.
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