Photo by João Silas on Unsplash Disclaimer: If you haven't seen any of Highlander, there are some pretty major spoiler in here. World-building. No matter what genre or type of story you are writing, there needs to be some kind of world-building. It could be that actually you are setting it in the real world … Continue reading There can be only…well a few?
Category: teaching
Idea generation
Today in my writing group, we all brought prompts to the table. We'd been discussing the problems of coming up with ideas, especially if there is a theme at work so we decided to play with it. We brought a range of things: letters, photos, objects, story dice and I brought a song. In turn, … Continue reading Idea generation
Retrospective
So, I started this blog and my new writing habits about a year ago. Before this point, I had written but nothing had ever seen the light of day. So, I thought perhaps it’s time to think back and take stock of what’s happened. I started off starting a twitter account and religiously writing twitter … Continue reading Retrospective
Intervention (a poem)
For generations we've wished that the youth would act Now they do, we complain, belittle, push them back. Stop assuming they know nothing, been force-fed false truths, They're canny and wily, they know what's fake news. Perhaps you should listen, hear what they say They have views, made opinions and at the end of the … Continue reading Intervention (a poem)
Inspiration – where do you find it?
I've been trying to enter a lot of competitions and submit to anthologies lately. My writing group have been sharing the different outlets we've found and it's led to the conversation - does a theme make it harder or easier? I've submitted stories that fit themes and some that only fit a genre. And honestly, … Continue reading Inspiration – where do you find it?
Feedback Wars – to cry or not to cry..?
So since I started putting a lot of effort in to getting work out there in September, I've submitted to quite a few competitions (won none), offered work to zines and anthologies (one got accepted WOOOOOOO) and put the odd story up here. (Read the odd however you think 😉 However, with most, the time … Continue reading Feedback Wars – to cry or not to cry..?
Music Maestro Please
A new twitter prompt game has emerged recently called #MusicalChaos; the brainchild of a group of clever gents who go by @CreatorChaos. (I definitely suggest finding them on soundcloud and listening to their podcast.) Anywho, the game involves writing a twitter story based on a song. Initially, I just found it fun trying to guess … Continue reading Music Maestro Please
Déjà vu (Or- flashbacks: the curse English teachers are doomed to repeat)
In England, the national curriculum states that when children leave primary school at year 6 (aged 10/11) they have to take SATs. These are different from the American exams. (A cynic would tell you the English SATs are purely to judge the school and put children in their first sets for high school and the … Continue reading Déjà vu (Or- flashbacks: the curse English teachers are doomed to repeat)
Views- a short story
Today, I gave my class 30 minutes free writing time. I asked them to write a story based a picture and write about whatever the girl can see through a telescope. The extra challenge was whether they could make me feel hopeful when reding it. I decided there was no reason I couldn't write too … Continue reading Views- a short story
Lexikon 