We have recently read “Chalk Drawings,” a short story by TJ Rivard. What are your thoughts about this piece? Yes, it is short, but what other characteristics make this a short story? Would any of you make the argument that this piece is NOT a short story?
Hello, I just wanted to remind everyone that our Creative Writing Club Meetings have been rescheduled for Wednesdays after school. The majority of you communicated that this would be more convenient than meeting on Mondays. Hence, Lindsay will be presenting this upcoming Wednesday, February 7th. Please make sure to arrive with your annotations. If you know that you will not be able to make it, notify me ahead of time.
By the way, I would also like to introduce and welcome our newest club member, Angela Rymer. Angela is currently a sophmore. On her free time, she enjoys playing Dance Dance Revolution and reading. She is also an accomplished creative writer whose sole source of nourishment and life support derives from cereal, spaghetti, and peanut butter. Yeah, she’s quiet, but she’s not shy, and, yes, she’s strange even though she appears to be normal. I guess this means she’ll fit right in with us.
See you next week. Take care.
I think that everyone who was able to make it to our previous meeting would agree that Steven’s anthology/album of songs was engaging, dramatic, and, for lack of a better word, creative. Characteristic of Steven’s writing, themes of abuse, violence, depression, and suicide were conveyed through a melodramatic and, at times, satirical voice. Yes, we already know Steven has a fondness for the horror genre and storytelling, but I think that some of us were surprised that this particular story was told through a series of poems, a genre of writing that Steven has expressed he disdains. At any rate, I loved the fact the songs were connected by a storyline and, yet, could stand alone as an independent work, compact with meaning and depth. By the way, almost every song had a great title. My particular favorite is “Snow Falling Like the Ashes of My Father’s Cigarette.”
Okay, my poets, storytellers, playwrights, and bloggers, we will continue annotating and discussing fabulous heart-wrenching poetry, courtesy of Ashley, on Monday.
It has been a couple weeks since I was there, and I apologize that I have not been in touch. I want to thank everyone who participated in the workshop at the end of October. I had a great time, and I hope that you guys did too. I saw a lot of interesting stories and poems and a great deal of potential. As writers, you are very lucky to have a community of peers and faculty who are willing to read and comment on your work. I would say that most of the writers that I have known who have stopped writing quit because they did not have anyone to give them any honest feedback. Honesty does not have to be brutal (and usually when I have seen brutal attacks on someone’s work, it is far from honest), but genuine commentary and generous acceptance of criticism are essential to any writer’s growth. That’s what I would say is pehaps the single most imoprtant realization that any writer can make: that we have a lot to learn and everyone has something to teach us — even if it isn’t apparent right away — because as writers, we are constantly paying attention to the world and searching for the right way to say it. Who knows who will give us the right language? Take care everyone and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
TJ
This past Monday, we reviewed, annotated, and discussed Lindsay’s poems. Many of us liked the first poem, which was a narrative about the tragedy and injustice of fourteen-year-old, African-American Emmitt Hill. Our discussion of this poem led to a deep conversation about race issues in the U.S which resulted in various insightful perspectives. This conversation reminded me of the reason why I enjoy our after school meetings so much. We discuss our creative writing, make connections to real-world issues and our own personal experiences, and grow in intrinsic ways that translate into our writing as well as into other facets of our life that are both meaningful and significant to who are and who we aspire to be.
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