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| Found Magazine – full of unexpected treasures |
As the Seasons change, it has been another busy week for Creative Writes, with new discoveries and experiences. In this blog post, I wanted to share some of my reflections on the past week with you and also look ahead…
When planning for a new post – ongoing creative writing workshops with two groups in Kew, I rediscovered my ‘Found’ Magazine. This particular version is packed full of a fascinating selection of notes, letters, posters and ads that have been found by chance and occasionally returned to their owner.
I had decided to use objects for the first workshop yesterday, as it is a good technique with which to engage a group and to combine personal story/memoir with fiction. The contents from ‘Found’ Magazine are a natural way of extending this work for next week, where we can imagine the story behind the words.
Try This: A couple of notes and ads in particular stood out for me in ‘Found.’ One was an ad for a man & woman’s unused wedding rings and the other was a poster displayed by a landlady, looking for a couple who had viewed her apartment and never came back. She sounded desperate to find them and have them live there, so much so that she was offering them free rent for several months. Allow yourself ten minutes for each of these ads and free flow the story behind them. Why are the wedding rings being sold? Who was/is the couple? What about the landlady searching for the couple to live in her place…who is she? Why is she so desperate to find them? Don’t stop writing in the ten minutes and don’t worry about where it is going. Enjoy!
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| Story inspiration in a dice |
I also began a new block of workshops for children last week, returning to Pickled Pepper Books in Crouch End for Blotted Ink. I had been recommended Story Cubes and they worked really well with both the 7-9’s and the 9-11’s. We rolled all nine dice at the same time and then did some oral storytelling, before writing up the stories and illustrating them. It was good fun to use new resources and the children were excited by them too. I look forward to varying the games with the dice and having more fun in today’s workshops!
The Creative Writes Masterclasses in the past week have included inspiration from Ernest Hemingway with the following quote, which is very apt for us writers: “It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.” Try This: Take the following from the quote and use it as your topic for a ten minute free flow exercise: You were born that way/I was born that way.
We also read the opening paragraph of Hemingway’s long short story, ‘The Old Man & The Sea’ and continued writing our own version of the story, in a style inspired by the author. Try this: Pick a book that you don’t know very well and read the first paragraph. Set your clock for ten minutes and continue the story. Be inspired!
I have also been looking ahead as the energy picks up for this academic year. I return tomorrow Wednesday 18 September 7.30-9.30pm for our Spin A Story Workshop at North Bank in Muswell Hill – the glorious Victorian house and gardens. We will look at some of the many ideas that can be used to create stories from scratch. Next Tuesday 24 September 7-9pm sees the start of the four Creative Writes Workshops for Adults at Pickled Pepper Books in Crouch End. We will focus on a range of creative writing tools and techniques for memoir/personal story, fiction and poetry.
There are some places left on these workshops, please see our bookings page: https://www.creativewrites.co.uk/p/bookings-workshop-info-how-to-book.html
Bye for now!
Nichola