Well the Big Day is almost here! How exciting is that (I'm sorry - Christmas is the one thing I have never outgrown and I still feel exactly the same about it now as I did when I was little - and luckily I married a man whose inner child also has extra sparkle at this time of year!)?
Huge thanks to everyone for letting me know if your Young Writer (or Writers) can make our little Christmas Party on Saturday. I will be doing one short exercise with the Young Writers - but nothing too taxing - before the snacks and then the sessions start again on Saturday 16th January when - I hope - the next edition of AYW - ok will be ready for distribution. I won't be setting another assignment until the first session in January. The Young Writers have worked hard all year and I think they deserve a break. But my plan is to come back with all sorts of new ideas and new experiences for 2016 - and one of the things I am looking at, as long as I can get the funding, is a new anthology of their work. If any of you mums, dads or grandparents know of a printer or printing company who would be prepared to give us a discount, please let me know. The first Young Writers book cost almost £250 to produce, almost half of which I put up. I don't begrudge a penny of it but I am never going to recoup that now, so any help with the new one would be very very gratefully received.
All that remains for me to say is a big BIG thank you to the library staff for their continued support, to Ciaran for his enlightening chat the other week, to the Young Writers for their amazing enthusiasm and, of course, to all the grown-ups who hold the group is such high esteem. You are the real nuts and bolts of Addiscombe Young Writers and saying thanks doesn't seem to really convey how very grateful I am to everyone.
Have a brilliant Christmas and a happy, healthy, successful and peaceful New Year.
Big Hugs.
Wednesday, 16 December 2015
Monday, 7 December 2015
Ciaran's Visit!
It was absolutely brilliant to welcome local writer Ciaran Murtagh to last Saturday's Young Writer session at Ashburton Library. He was friendly, informal, informative and the Young Writers clung to his every word! Some had brought questions, most settled with a notebook so they could write down any ideas he shared and he had them eating out of his hand within seconds. He kicked off with a little bit of history about his career, then showed a number of his books to everyone. Then he read a snippet from one of his latest books, showed how easily random words picked from a dictionary can form the basis to any story, then took questions, all of which he answered at exactly their level! I will be putting a pointer sheet together highlighting his advice for all the members. Huge thanks to Ciaran and to the library staff for hosting the event.
We now have just one more session (I know - it only seems like yesterday we were coming back after the summer break) between now and Christmas and the library has given us express permission to host a tea party on Saturday 19th December. Please please let me know, if you haven't already, if your budding author can come along. I have a limited number of Christmas presents to dish out (yes I had a quiet word with Father Christmas about this and he said he'd do anything to further encourage these young wordsmiths - even if it meant them getting one present ahead of the Big Day), so it is really important I have a rough idea how many to expect that day. Please text or phone me (07909 518147) to confirm or leave a comment right here on the Blog.
No assignment was set on Saturday but the session before I asked for a couple of haiku (5-7-5) so it would be good if they could hand them in on 19th if possible. And finally a quick word about Notebooks. I issue one of these to every new member and it is for the Young Writers to use to get ideas down, write their assignments in if they so choose and to just play with words. They are not a formal school book because I am not a teacher. They are the sort of note books I used to go out and buy myself at their age and they are for them to use as they wish. I hope that clarifies the situation and huge apologies if I haven't explained this better before.
Looking forward to seeing you all on the 19th!
We now have just one more session (I know - it only seems like yesterday we were coming back after the summer break) between now and Christmas and the library has given us express permission to host a tea party on Saturday 19th December. Please please let me know, if you haven't already, if your budding author can come along. I have a limited number of Christmas presents to dish out (yes I had a quiet word with Father Christmas about this and he said he'd do anything to further encourage these young wordsmiths - even if it meant them getting one present ahead of the Big Day), so it is really important I have a rough idea how many to expect that day. Please text or phone me (07909 518147) to confirm or leave a comment right here on the Blog.
No assignment was set on Saturday but the session before I asked for a couple of haiku (5-7-5) so it would be good if they could hand them in on 19th if possible. And finally a quick word about Notebooks. I issue one of these to every new member and it is for the Young Writers to use to get ideas down, write their assignments in if they so choose and to just play with words. They are not a formal school book because I am not a teacher. They are the sort of note books I used to go out and buy myself at their age and they are for them to use as they wish. I hope that clarifies the situation and huge apologies if I haven't explained this better before.
Looking forward to seeing you all on the 19th!
Monday, 30 November 2015
Don't Forget Ciaran's Visit ...
Local Writer Ciaran Murtagh is coming along to meet the Young Writers this Saturday, 5th December. I know it is unusual to have week-on-week sessions but as I said before, this was the only way I could schedule in two December sessions and Ciaran so pray excuse. After this week, it will be two weeks before the next on 19th December and we will be having a little party that day - with drinks and crisps and fruit so it would really help me out if you could confirm your Young Writer will be present on that day so I can make sure I have enough for everyone. Could you all be angels and either comment on here, email or call my mobile? At least then I can get some preparation in place!
Last week we were looking at haiku again. This remarkable little poetry form is always a huge favourite and I get so much pleasure out of it when the Young Writers actually grasp the whole syllable concept of 5-7-5 - especially when tackling it for the first time like most of those present last Saturday! I knew it made sense when new member Shaan proudly told his mum his name has just one syllable when at the beginning of the session he hadn't even known what a syllable was let alone a haiku. It made sense to him to call the format of 5-7-5 the code. Since that clearly helped him to understand who was I to argue? I congratulated him on his clever idea and called it a code for the rest of the session!
Don't forget their assignment last Saturday was to create two haiku of their own and I gave them all worksheets to refer to but if they do get stuck, don't hesitate to help them; this isn't like homework; it is just to help them progress through the Certificate Trail. And they are all doing incredibly well, I promise you!
Looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday - don't forget to PLEASE let me know who will be there on 19th December.
Good writing everyone!
Last week we were looking at haiku again. This remarkable little poetry form is always a huge favourite and I get so much pleasure out of it when the Young Writers actually grasp the whole syllable concept of 5-7-5 - especially when tackling it for the first time like most of those present last Saturday! I knew it made sense when new member Shaan proudly told his mum his name has just one syllable when at the beginning of the session he hadn't even known what a syllable was let alone a haiku. It made sense to him to call the format of 5-7-5 the code. Since that clearly helped him to understand who was I to argue? I congratulated him on his clever idea and called it a code for the rest of the session!
Don't forget their assignment last Saturday was to create two haiku of their own and I gave them all worksheets to refer to but if they do get stuck, don't hesitate to help them; this isn't like homework; it is just to help them progress through the Certificate Trail. And they are all doing incredibly well, I promise you!
Looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday - don't forget to PLEASE let me know who will be there on 19th December.
Good writing everyone!
Tuesday, 17 November 2015
Amaaaazing!!!!
It was astonishing last Saturday when twelve children attended the AYW session at Ashburton Library! It was a bit of a squeeze, but we managed round three tables and the library staff later said maybe they should allocate us four from now on! The thing is of course that I don't know from one session to the next how many young writers will turn up! Sometimes I only have six or seven - in which case four tables taken out of library use would be a bit of a waste. Anyway, I think it is one of those things that has to be played by ear. If I start getting twelve children regularly, session on session, then I might take up the library's offer.
On the subject of poetry, we are looking at Acrostic poems at the moment. I passed round copies of a worksheet featuring the words FIREWORKS and BUNNY all set down the left hand side of the page and - as usual - the Young Writers delivered. Their different perceptions of a single theme never cease to surprise me and it is so rewarding to see so many unique pieces of work coming from one or two trigger words! The assignment set was to invent their own poem using the word BATHROOM so it'll be great to see what they come up with by next session!
After some collaboration with Sarah and Timothy, the new leaflet was finally handed round for the members to take along to their schools. One lad optimistically asked for a copy for everyone in his class so if any further copies are needed, please drop me a line and let me know and I will print off another batch.
The next session is on 28th of November and then - unusually - there is also a session one week later on 5th December with the final session of the year being held on 19th December. The dates immediately after Christmas are:
16th January
30th January
13th February
27th February
12th March and
19th March (to accommodate Easter)
But all dates will appear in the next edition of our new newsletter AYW ok which is out in January.
And speaking of Christmas - as one simply must at this time of year - presents this year will be designed to help with their writing aspirations - enough said; I don't want to spoil the surprise!
Think that's about it for now. Congratulations to those who were presented with certificates last week by the way! Good Writing all!
On the subject of poetry, we are looking at Acrostic poems at the moment. I passed round copies of a worksheet featuring the words FIREWORKS and BUNNY all set down the left hand side of the page and - as usual - the Young Writers delivered. Their different perceptions of a single theme never cease to surprise me and it is so rewarding to see so many unique pieces of work coming from one or two trigger words! The assignment set was to invent their own poem using the word BATHROOM so it'll be great to see what they come up with by next session!
After some collaboration with Sarah and Timothy, the new leaflet was finally handed round for the members to take along to their schools. One lad optimistically asked for a copy for everyone in his class so if any further copies are needed, please drop me a line and let me know and I will print off another batch.
The next session is on 28th of November and then - unusually - there is also a session one week later on 5th December with the final session of the year being held on 19th December. The dates immediately after Christmas are:
16th January
30th January
13th February
27th February
12th March and
19th March (to accommodate Easter)
But all dates will appear in the next edition of our new newsletter AYW ok which is out in January.
And speaking of Christmas - as one simply must at this time of year - presents this year will be designed to help with their writing aspirations - enough said; I don't want to spoil the surprise!
Think that's about it for now. Congratulations to those who were presented with certificates last week by the way! Good Writing all!
Wednesday, 11 November 2015
Excellent ...!
Had a very good session with the Young Writers on 31st October. Three possible new members! And a brilliant atmosphere! A couple of days after that session, hubby & I went to Scarborough for a midweek break. Lovely! Very lucky with the weather. Felt surprisingly refreshed when we got back - specially since I came home with a brand new book idea fresh in my head!
Returned to the Day Job on Monday and spent two lunch breaks walking up and down the High Street looking for someone who sells multi-packs of exercise books (I am down to my last one out of the batch from The Works so huge thanks to them for keeping the group in notebooks for best part of a year!). Could not find anyone at first but then found Wilkos do pack of three for a pound. I bought three packs plus some new colouring pencils and graphite pencils for writing and went home feeling very pleased. Then guess what? Found Morrisons now stock packs of three so bought some more this morning. Should keep the Young Writers going for a couple of months at least! Fifteen notebooks, two lots of colouring pencils and one pack of writing pencils came to just under a tenner so felt extremely pleased!
PLEASE let me know ASAP if your child's school is planning a Christmas Fayre or Bazaar anytime soon. I have fifty copies of My Writer to sell! Or maybe your local church?
Don't forget - we have our next session this Saturday (14th), same time, same place. Look forward to seeing everyone there. Oh yes - the assignment for the Hallowe'en session was to write a poem about Hallowe'en - any kind of poem!
Good Writing everyone!
Returned to the Day Job on Monday and spent two lunch breaks walking up and down the High Street looking for someone who sells multi-packs of exercise books (I am down to my last one out of the batch from The Works so huge thanks to them for keeping the group in notebooks for best part of a year!). Could not find anyone at first but then found Wilkos do pack of three for a pound. I bought three packs plus some new colouring pencils and graphite pencils for writing and went home feeling very pleased. Then guess what? Found Morrisons now stock packs of three so bought some more this morning. Should keep the Young Writers going for a couple of months at least! Fifteen notebooks, two lots of colouring pencils and one pack of writing pencils came to just under a tenner so felt extremely pleased!
PLEASE let me know ASAP if your child's school is planning a Christmas Fayre or Bazaar anytime soon. I have fifty copies of My Writer to sell! Or maybe your local church?
Don't forget - we have our next session this Saturday (14th), same time, same place. Look forward to seeing everyone there. Oh yes - the assignment for the Hallowe'en session was to write a poem about Hallowe'en - any kind of poem!
Good Writing everyone!
Thursday, 29 October 2015
Coming Up ...
Looking forward to seeing everyone this Saturday. Had a busy evening yesterday updating the certificate trail, printing off certificates (including the Special Awards for the three members who completed their summer project book), catching up on the admin, writing critiques - excellent! Bring it on! I love being so busy. Especially with the Young Writers who are my pride and joy!
Don't forget it is Hallowe'en this Saturday so it would be good if the members could bring in their Hallowe'en stories - they could even come in fancy dress if they want to!
See you saturday!
Don't forget it is Hallowe'en this Saturday so it would be good if the members could bring in their Hallowe'en stories - they could even come in fancy dress if they want to!
See you saturday!
Saturday, 17 October 2015
Today's Session
Brilliant session again today. Huge welcome to new member Dhilan. Carrying on with the story theme, today's brief was much more straightforward - to write a story called The Hallowe'en Mystery.
I made some suggestions but then let them get on with it as I chatted to Dhilan's mum and told her a bit about the group. Did you realise we are almost four years old already? Young Writers come and go but the spirit of the group remains as passionate as ever.
Over the next couple of weeks I shall be reading and commenting on the summer project books I have had handed in. Their young authors will receive a Special Award Certificate next session. And I was happy to confirm that Ciaran Murtagh - our Guest Speaker - will be visiting us on 5th December And huge thanks to Sarah and Timothy for their input regarding the leaflet to be handed round at schools - and also to everyone else for saying they'd like to help distribute them.
We will be looking at poetry again from next session so I will put on my thinking cap and see if we can come up with a new twist on an old idea! Well - I have to keep their interest somehow!
Finally to draw attention to our appeal - please consider making a small donation to our cause. I am almost out of complimentary notebooks plus I'd like to buy some small prizes and look at either another book of their work or an exhibition. That is the last time I shall mention it for the time being. But thank you for reading anyway.
Love as always. Jilly
I made some suggestions but then let them get on with it as I chatted to Dhilan's mum and told her a bit about the group. Did you realise we are almost four years old already? Young Writers come and go but the spirit of the group remains as passionate as ever.
Over the next couple of weeks I shall be reading and commenting on the summer project books I have had handed in. Their young authors will receive a Special Award Certificate next session. And I was happy to confirm that Ciaran Murtagh - our Guest Speaker - will be visiting us on 5th December And huge thanks to Sarah and Timothy for their input regarding the leaflet to be handed round at schools - and also to everyone else for saying they'd like to help distribute them.
We will be looking at poetry again from next session so I will put on my thinking cap and see if we can come up with a new twist on an old idea! Well - I have to keep their interest somehow!
Finally to draw attention to our appeal - please consider making a small donation to our cause. I am almost out of complimentary notebooks plus I'd like to buy some small prizes and look at either another book of their work or an exhibition. That is the last time I shall mention it for the time being. But thank you for reading anyway.
Love as always. Jilly
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