Present: Adam, Alex, Stuart, Irena. Stuart wasn’t able to do the whole evening, but we were very pleased to have him attend.
Chair: Irena.
Apologies: Liz, Jayne, Sue, Jennie.
We were few in number but certainly made up for that by the enthusiastic way exercises were tackled and writing read! But first announcements were made. Adam drew our attention to two poetry workshops (Sonnets and Haikus) to take place at Bridgnorth Library on the afternoon of 25th August. If interested, it’s best to contact the library as soon as possible to book a place. I had recently visited the Poetry Pharmacy in Bishop's Castle, and recommended it. It is a large shop full of poetry books, a cafe and outside space, where browsing and lingering are encouraged. Their “prescriptions” are poems or parts of poems in jars to tackle your every mood! A lovely place to sit, read, write and drink coffee or whatever your fix!
Announcements done, we tackled our first exercise, which was titled “Points of View.” When we write stories, we often write from the point of view of the main character, because we need the reader to connect with that character. The idea of the exercise was to take a situation, and write a little about it from two different points of view. Each point of view should cause the reader to empathise or connect, even though the two characters would interpret the situation in a different way.
Adam wrote about fourteen-year-old Alan failing to understand why ewes with lambs chased him. After all, sheep are such gentle creatures, and all he wanted, was to take a walk. His mother Theresa, on the other hand, was frustrated. She pointed out she had warned Alan about possible aggression from sheep mothersa number of times, and had told him to stay away, but he had taken no notice at all.
Alex wrote first from Sophie's point of view: her cute little dog trampled a neighbour's flower bed, but it was a first offence and she was certain her neighbour would understand, especially as the dog was so loveable. The neighbour, however, was appalled to find the damage, especially as he had just worked a twelve-hour shift. He couldn't see why anyone would even have time for dogs.
I wrote an account of when I met our lurcher, from my point of view, some time ago, but had never written the same from Andy's point of view. I saw a disturbed dog with pretensions to dominance, and lots of unresolved fear. Andysaw a beautiful, elegant dog who instantly bonded with him, an experience which was new and exciting to him.
After points of view, we were ready to read some of the writing we brought with us.
Adam had continued the story he began last time we met at The Crown, “The Wark Forest Pyramid.” An archaeologist and an anthropologist meet on holiday in Northumbria. A UFO has been sighted above, and both characters had seen a strange object in the forest. They decide to investigate, and their conversationand investigative techniques show Adam has considerable knowledge of UFOs. We hope he will be able to continue the story and solve the mystery for us!
Alex brought a delightful sonnet, very evocative of late summer, and of relaxingtogether on a blissful late summer day. It featured a clever title, which fits in perfectly with the unexpected ending (Alex's trade mark, but they still surprise me every time!) We can look forward to another summer sonnet from Alex forthe meeting on the 22nd.
At this point Stuart joined us, so we spent time catching up. Stuart has been working hard, with little time to write, but has a bunch of post-it notes in his car full of ideas. He told us about how “Thought for the Day" on the car radio has sparked ideas and thoughts, so we enjoyed a time of discussion, and agreed that discussion in itself can be vital to the creative process.
Next, we tacked another exercise, called “What if?” Stories often begin with a writer wondering, “what if....” and so, I had prepared four possible “what if" scenarios. We could use those, or create a different one to use.
Adam wrote a topical and somewhat dystopian “what if...” “What if I was afraid to answer my phone, because it has developed a life of its own? What if artificial intelligence is growing more powerful and trying to take over our lives? It was scary!
Alex wrote a complex “what if...” What if we are all living in a world created by our minds, but we don't remember how that happened? But then, what if just one person did remember? It was thought-provoking.
Stuart also wrote about a situation where the protagonist was the only person to remember a series of events, and wasn't believed by anyone about what had happened, but was met with walls of silence. It was powerful. He may well add this idea to his bank of post-it notes!
After finishing with “What if,” I contributed a poem I had brought. It is ashort poem for the Lurcher Lore featured in my lurcher memoirs, and is about sounds dogs hear when we can't.
Adam then requested we listen to a piece he has written for the other writers group. It is called “Long Voyage of Agony,” and featured a sailor with toothache, suffering high up, in or near the crow’s nest. Adam asked for somefeedback, and I hope what we offered was helpful.
After that our time was almost up, and it was dark outside! I We decided to register for the poetry workshops on the 25th, and I believe we all enjoyed a full and creative evening.
2 comments:
Nice wrap-up, Irena!
The tasks were interesting -- and it was nice to see Stuart. A good session.
*****
Irena, Adam and I have enrolled on both poetry groups; I think the limit for each is eight people, so we've snapped up our places!
Alex
I have enrolled on both too 😊
Post a Comment