A NEW WORD - Tetractys

Had a brilliant session last Saturday with eleven Young Writers turning up including a couple of newbies so big welcomes to them.  We were looking at a new poetry form which, rather like Haiku and Tanka, are syllable-themed non-rhyming poems.  The Tetractys is made up of five lines with the following syllable pattern - 1, 2, 3, 4, 10.    There were examples on the worksheet of how such a poem would read, one of which was:

The
flowers
that bloom in
spring, make me feel
so very happy. I love the colours.

I only discovered this poetry form myself very recently and I think it was completely new to the Young Writers, but they all had a good go at it.  Some of the younger ones really struggled (and let's face it, at least two have not even learned about syllables yet) so I suggested they just write something in rhyme, reminding them of the nursery rhymes they themselves were very familiar with just a short while ago.  As usual, I was astonished at their application to the exercises and I applaud them all for having a try. Well done to everyone.

The next session is on 6th May and that is our Picnic in the Park session (weather permitting) so would appreciate as many mums, dads or grannies as possible to come along with us.  Don't forget your snacks and drinks as well.  No need to bring folders (unless they want to) as I will supply the worksheets and writing implements.  If the weather is against us, we will stay at the library but we have had three successful Picnic in the Park sessions so far, so fingers crossed for this one.

I have ordered some Addiscombe Young Writers business cards and I will be giving these out to everyone when they arrive.  They feature all the contact details so probably a good idea to keep it safe somewhere just in case you need to contact me for any reason.

The assignment set last weekend was to continue working on the Tetractys and bring in at least one complete one with the correct form and number of syllables and - don't forget - all assignments returned count towards the next certificate in our Certificate Trail.

Take care and see you on the 6th!

Don't Forget Saturday's Session...

Hello everyone.  Just got back from our Easter break in Suffolk and wanted to just remind you all that we have a Young Writers session this Saturday, 22nd April, same time, same place.

I have had a good idea for this year's summer project and I will let you all know about that nearer the time.  In the meantime, we will be starting poetry this weekend - a new form I recently came across that I think will both challenge and excite the young writers, and I will be handing out details on Saturday.

Hope you all had a splendid Eater.

See you Saturday.

Eggs-ellent !

Slightly more manageable group last Saturday when we had twenty Young Writers come along - this week there was twelve!   I actually split the session into two because at least five youngsters present had done comic books at least once before.  For the benefit of these, I put together a sheet about writing a Headline Story which identified the differences between writing a piece of fiction and writing a report for a newspaper (although I am aware that some people would disagree).  I gave a couple of examples and let them get on with it whilst the rest had a go at comic books.  The assignment set for the Reporters was to write a headline story and for the comic-bookers to finish their superhero stories.

The hour seemed to just fly by and, just before they left I handed out some certificates and returned some work, then handed out chocolate Easter eggs as they head off home.  And huge thanks to Alesha and Araf for the egg they presented to me - that was a nice surprise!

Our next session is not until 22nd April so all that remains is for me to wish you all a lovely Easter break.  Be happy and Keep Writing!!!!