Third Prompt

At the meeting last night we discussed possible content for future meetings, including many things that will hopefully be of interest to many of you who were unable to attend; such as setting out a plot, drawing word clusters and of course constructive criticism. These will all be things that are looked at in the future.

To this end the ‘assignment’ for this month (deadline for posting stories is 7th April) is in two parts:

Part 1: Constructive Criticism


Select the stories written by the next member alphabetically (see the list below) Writers’ Group and write a constructive review of them. Of course, some of you may find that you only have one story on which to write any criticism.

This critique doesn’t have to follow any set format, but the following might help: What did you like? Why? What didn’t you like? Why? How do you think that this could have been improved? What do you enjoy about reading this story? What do you feel was unnecessary to the plot? Do you feel that the story was well put together?

Essentially look at the story through the eyes of a reader and most importantly, be honest. There is no point in saying that something is good if you didn’t think that at all. Of course, the most important thing to remember in writing constructive criticism is that it is intended to HELP the writer, not upset them or leave them totally demotivated. Inspire them to write more by giving them a gentle push (not off a cliff!) with encouragement as well as advice.

As I know that everyone is busy, but I really want to encourage you to give more than just “I like this” or “This was really well done” as feedback, take a maximum of 15 minutes on writing constructive criticism for each of your two stories (so a total of 30 minutes). If the writer you are reviewing only has one story then use the whole 30 minutes to think and write about it.

Part of the meeting next month will be taken up with giving this feedback – it is after all one of the things we all want.

Reviewing sheet (1 reviews 2, 2 reviews 3 etc until we get back to 1 again)
1. Keith Abbott
2. Sarah Johnson
3. Kerry Laundon
4. Jenny Ng
5. Nicola O'Brien
6. Kate Osborne
7. Jon Peacock
8. Emily Pears
9. Rachel Richardson
10. Carole Richmond
11. Sam Turner
12. Susan Turner
13. Megan Varilly

~*~

Part 2: The Story

Write a story. Yes, I know that this is easier said than done, which is why I am going to set a theme again. This time the theme is:

What happens after the happily ever after?

Select one of the following 6 characters from Fairy Tales: Cinderella, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Frog

Use one of the following (or a combination of two) tones: Satirical, Morose, Hyperactive, Soppily romantic, Cynical, Bitter.

Without drawing upon the many (in most cases dreadful) sequels penned by over-eager money-spinners at Disney, write a ‘what happened next’ story. For this exercise you have 45 minutes...

Second Prompt

This is by no means compulsory, but it is a good little practice exercise and only takes 30 minutes.

~*~

Pick one of these sentences as the starter:

It all started to go wrong when …

She/He would have never believed it possible in a thousand years but …

If she/he lived to be one hundred she/he knew that the sight of …


AND/OR


Use these five words in the story:

Mystery
Obligation
Biro
Sapphire
Sellotape


Use one of the following three emotions as a central theme:

Despair
Hatred
Excitement

And write for a maximum of 30 minutes (it doesn’t seem like much but you’ll be amazed at how much you can do).

There is no limit on length (some people can write upwards of 500 words, some struggle with 200) and there is no right or wrong. Do not go back and edit after you have finished, no matter how strong the desire may be to change something. The point of this exercise is to trust your instincts.

Your time starts now!

As I mentioned in the meeting, if anyone wants another prompt after using this one, email me and I will see what I can do (w.writersgroup@googlemail.com).

First Meeting

It was great to see you all today at the first meeting. Though it was a bit higgledy piggledy I hope that it gave you an idea of the direction that we will be going.

As promised I will be posting a new prompt on Friday.

In the mean time have a look around the blog (maybe set up one of your own) and post your "Sins" stories after this message (or a link to it if you would rather post it on your own site/blog).

Remember, the next meeting is in 3 weeks, on Wednesday 4th March from 5.15.

February Meeting

Due to the weather that we have all been experiencing this week (and the difficulties that this has caused to transport to and from work), it has been decided to postpone the first meeting of the Writers' Group until next week.

The posters around the Atrium are going to be updated today, and anyone who participates in the Wellness Week lunchtime activities on Wednesday 4th February (I will be in Ruskin 1 from 12.30 - 1.00) will be told.

The meeting is now going to be:

Wednesday 11th February 2009

5.15 - 6.45

As I am not sure how many people will be participating, we will meet in the Atrium Servery and take it from there. There is no point in booking a large room and having small attendance figures, just as there is little point in booking a small meeting room only to find there isn't enough room for everyone to sit.

I look forward to seeing you there.

First Prompt

Write a story featuring one or more of the seven deadly sins:

• Lust
• Envy
• Gluttony
• Sloth
• Pride
• Wrath
• Greed