Sunday, September 14, 2014
The rain may have kept some writers at home, but we had a
wonderful group attend Tuesday’s workshop.
Warm-ups
The warm-up prompts are listed here, in case you’d like to write
to them at home:
1.
Lost
2.
The clumsy magician
3.
Swamp fever
4.
A free-write on anything
After a few
writers read their warm-ups, we introduced ourselves and shared good news. Richard N.
entered his Dodge novel in a contest. We’re proud of you, Richard, and welcome back!
Lisa C. is now teaching creative writing
classes to elementary students at Sonshine Christian Academy (in addition to
teaching middle and high school students). Way to go, Lisa!
Critiques
Lori L. began by reading a first person
account of a woman meeting a man from Wyoming. Members said her descriptions of
the man and his love for his lady worked well. Cameron S. then shared a continuation of her Sophie and Jack story.
Members said her descriptions (“freedom and joy in her older brother’s dark
eyes”) worked. Connie W. then read “Fine
Print in the Cave,” a piece about Ariam Kiflemariam and her studies of cave paintings.
Members enjoyed how well-written and informative Connie’s piece was.
Lisa C. then shared a true account of a
caving expedition. Members said her realism and her word choice (“none of them
had been cursed genetically”) worked. Thomas
E. then asked Oliver M. to read a
story continuation. Members said Thomas’s use of sounds (“footsteps echoed in
1-2 tempo”) worked. I, Nancy B., then
read a chapter from my young adult novel. Members said my characterization
worked.
Robert O. then asked Thomas E. to read a continuation of his “wedding
bells” piece. Members complimented Robert’s pacing and descriptions. Richard N. asked Lori L. to read the first chapter of the sequel to his Dodge novel.
Members loved Richard’s writing, especially his descriptions of Washington D.C.
Danielle T. then shared a piece about
aging. Members complimented her descriptions (“look in mirror and see our
parents staring back at us”) and the thought-provoking truths about growing
older her piece presented.
Matt Y. then shared a prompt-based piece
(fine print) written from the perspective of a private detective. Members
complimented Matt’s powerful writing (“cat hair stuck to her dress) and said
they’d love to hear more. Oliver M. then
shared two pieces-a sermonette about individual responsibility and a riddle.
Members complimented the wittiness of his pieces and said they worked.
Wonderful work,
everyone!
Links of Interest
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)
For those of you interested in writing a novel during the month of
November, please check out this site. You can sign up, choose the amount of
words you write each day and receive support from an online writing community.
Read more here:
__________________________________________________________________________________
The Caregiver Story Contest
Here’s a contest about caregiving. There’s no entry fee. Deadline is
Nov. 30.
Read more here:
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Write essays? Here’s a contest
for you.
Here’s an essay contest with no entry fee. Deadline is Sept. 30.
Interested? Read more here:
Prompts for September 16
Prompts for September 16 are behind
enemy lines and a false start. Feel free to bring in a WIP
(work-in-progress) if you’d rather not write to one of the prompts. Also,
please keep pieces 1,500 words or less.
Quote of the week:
“Writing is like a contact sport, like football. You can get hurt, but
you enjoy it.”
~Irwin Shaw
Until Tuesday, happy writing!
~Nancy B.
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