Had a mega session on Saturday! Ten Young Writers came along including two new members! This is so great! Huge welcome to the newbies, I am so glad you enjoyed the session and hope to see you again next time.
The topic this week was - back by popular demand - writing strip picture stories for comics. This is still a hugely popular area of literature with Graphic Novels for both adults and children currently making a big come-back. That whole novels can be told in this way clearly enthralled the Young Writers!
Having gone through the basics - getting the idea, outlining the pictures, adding the script and then combining all three - the Young Writers were soon working diligently away. Some invented characters and stories of their own and some "borrowed" characters from well-known comics and built new stories up around them.
It intrigued me that they mostly went haring straight into the pictures, making up the stories as each picture box emerged and adding the speech balloons as they went along. Talk about spontaneous! But the point of the session was really to get them to plan something out, come up with a simple story that could be told in three pictures and then develop it and I have made it very clear that when they hand in their assignments, I want to see how they worked on the story, planned it, developed it and produced it so perhaps you could gently remind them for me that I don't just want the picture stories back when they hand their assignments in, I want to see how they got to the end-product.
Maddie the AYW mascot bear went home with Shaan so let me know what she gets up to, Shaan! Don't forget you can write a poem about her, write it as if it's a letter or do it as a diary entry or story and it is perfectly ok to let your imagination run wild!
I have sent a letter to Croydon Advertiser asking for support from the local community to pave the way to the next Word Magic book. I had the idea of inviting local businesses and organisations to make a contribution towards the cost of producing the book in exchange for a mention on a special supporter's page in the book. Similarly, I have also suggested a special page where someone can write a dedication for a loved one or a friend in exchange for a contribution so let's see how it goes. Let's hope the letter appears in this week's paper first.
If the book is going to come to fruition, I need to raise around £300 so please put the word about. I am going to ask if we can hold a small sale at the library as well and if you can think of any other fund-raising ideas please let me know. I am desperate to give the current batch of Young Writers their own book but I need all the help I can get and that is an appeal from my heart and, I am sure, from the hearts of the Young Writers, so please give us some support if you can.
Next session is on February 26th so see you there. And good work everyone. Saturday's was a great session!
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