Following members producing excellent pieces of work (and getting published as a result) I've decided that we can always do with ideas to help us on our journey of writing. From July 2020 I will be pasting our voluntary homework tasks here on our website, for anyone to complete. Feel free to comment on your efforts. Carol M. Salter Founder & Facilitator.
2024 - doors open for new paid-up members to submit work for our Violet Anthology in January
2023
Commencement on our fifth Anthology - Indigo.
Generic homework on hold whilst members contribute to anthology. Feel free to try out any homework. Members can submit on our private FB critiquing page for reviews.
Commencement on our fifth Anthology - Indigo.
Generic homework on hold whilst members contribute to anthology. Feel free to try out any homework. Members can submit on our private FB critiquing page for reviews.
OCTOBER 2022 Following our meeting on Saturday, members were suggested to review a piece of their work and highlight any sensory descriptions that were not visual. Those who attended will know what to do next.
MARCH 2022 Put together your submission/query letter. It should be short and hooky. Just enough to hook an agent or editor.
1st Paragraph
The hook. This should be a few sentences. What’s unique about your story?
2nd Paragraph
The book. This is a mini-synopsis . The main plot. What is the character’s goal? What obstacles are in the way ? What will happen if she doesn’t accomplish her goals?
3rd Paragraph
Your bio. Publishing credits and blogs or sites you contribute to. Don’t add family, pets, or events that don’t pertain to publishing. Don’t say your mother read it and loves it. If you don’t have a bio, no worries, just leave it out.
4th (or 3rd) Paragraph
The closing. Note: Keep your query to around 250 words. Personalize your query to an agent.
My thanks for this information from BRENDA DRAKE at PITCHWARS 2019
1st Paragraph
The hook. This should be a few sentences. What’s unique about your story?
2nd Paragraph
The book. This is a mini-synopsis . The main plot. What is the character’s goal? What obstacles are in the way ? What will happen if she doesn’t accomplish her goals?
3rd Paragraph
Your bio. Publishing credits and blogs or sites you contribute to. Don’t add family, pets, or events that don’t pertain to publishing. Don’t say your mother read it and loves it. If you don’t have a bio, no worries, just leave it out.
4th (or 3rd) Paragraph
The closing. Note: Keep your query to around 250 words. Personalize your query to an agent.
My thanks for this information from BRENDA DRAKE at PITCHWARS 2019
FEBRUARY 2022
Suppose you have a person whose husband/partner comes home one day and says he doesn't love them any more and he is leaving? In our February meeting members were tasked with writing a list of all the possible outcomes they could think of of from the scenario above.
Homework - from that list, choose one item and write another list.
Suppose you have a person whose husband/partner comes home one day and says he doesn't love them any more and he is leaving? In our February meeting members were tasked with writing a list of all the possible outcomes they could think of of from the scenario above.
Homework - from that list, choose one item and write another list.
September 2021 - consider commencing your piece for our Indigo Anthology.
August 2021 - Write a piece about anything, but ensure you include a minimum of nine senses!
JULY 2021 - Choose one of these employments. police, nurse, hairdresser, solicitor, retail assistant, librarian, chauffeur.
1) Write down their profile - age, build, colour/ethnicity, family structure, specifics of their job.
2) Write down their dream.
3) Write down their fears
4) Write down their most annoying habit.
5) How what they behave and what would they do if their were spoken to whilst waiting in a que for tickets at the train station?
Now write a piece from that charters point of view.
1) Write down their profile - age, build, colour/ethnicity, family structure, specifics of their job.
2) Write down their dream.
3) Write down their fears
4) Write down their most annoying habit.
5) How what they behave and what would they do if their were spoken to whilst waiting in a que for tickets at the train station?
Now write a piece from that charters point of view.
APRIL - JUNE 2021 Members have been asked to bring 300 words of their own writing to be critiqued. This piece needs to be sent to Carol before the next meeting so she can share it on zoom.
MARCH 2021
Simplicity itself.
Choose one of the following below and write five sentences. That's it. Oh, and bring it to the zoom meeting on Saturday where we continue our journey on critiquing. Be prepared to work.
Either:
Simplicity itself.
Choose one of the following below and write five sentences. That's it. Oh, and bring it to the zoom meeting on Saturday where we continue our journey on critiquing. Be prepared to work.
Either:
- A dear john
- A spooky tale
- A romance
- An advert
FEBRUARY 2021
- Choose one of the six story arcs: Rags to Riches, Riches to Rags, Man in a Hole, Icarus, Cinderella, Oedipus covered in our February meeting (Notes on Closed FB page.)
- Write a six-sentence story based on that arc using the six elements of dramatic structure: exposition, inciting incident, rising action, crisis, climax, and resolution.
- Then, set your timer for fifteen minutes and expand your six-sentence story as much as you can.
JANUARY 2021 two options on character's emotions.
Either:
Pick an emotion and show a character experiencing that emotion by describing their body language, speech and action. However, you need to write the piece from another second, character's perspective (POV)
Or:
Pick two opposing emotions. i.e. Anger/calm, joy/sadness, boredom/excitement, fear/hope, and write a piece of dialogue between two people, each with the opposing emotion, using body language, speech and actions.
Either:
Pick an emotion and show a character experiencing that emotion by describing their body language, speech and action. However, you need to write the piece from another second, character's perspective (POV)
Or:
Pick two opposing emotions. i.e. Anger/calm, joy/sadness, boredom/excitement, fear/hope, and write a piece of dialogue between two people, each with the opposing emotion, using body language, speech and actions.
NOVEMBER 2020 Write a piece aimed at YA readers with a protagonist who is 15 yrs old.
Remember word choice, sentence & paragraph length, syntax, punctuation and cadence.
Remember word choice, sentence & paragraph length, syntax, punctuation and cadence.
OCTOBER 2020
Imagine yourself as the main character in a horror story and keep asking yourself, what you wouldn't want to happen next - then write about it.
Imagine yourself as the main character in a horror story and keep asking yourself, what you wouldn't want to happen next - then write about it.
SEPTEMBER 2020
Write a piece about a villain. Any length. Try and avoid tropes e.g. Dark Lord, Orphaned protagonist, Enjoy.
Write a piece about a villain. Any length. Try and avoid tropes e.g. Dark Lord, Orphaned protagonist, Enjoy.
AUGUST 2020 Simple one this time. All you have to do is continue this story...
The house stood on a slight rise just on the edge of the village. It stood on its own and looked out over a broad spread of West Country farmland.
Enjoy.
The house stood on a slight rise just on the edge of the village. It stood on its own and looked out over a broad spread of West Country farmland.
Enjoy.
JULY 2020
Your writing task should you chose to accept it is to:
Describe a lake from the viewpoint of a young man who has just committed a murder.
Two points
You cannot mention the murder
You cannot use the word 'was'
Any length, because we'll only bit reading a short piece if its too long and I don't want to restrict anyone's inspiration.
Remember our session in June covered 'show not tell' and I'd love to see plenty of imagery and sensations.
Your writing task should you chose to accept it is to:
Describe a lake from the viewpoint of a young man who has just committed a murder.
Two points
You cannot mention the murder
You cannot use the word 'was'
Any length, because we'll only bit reading a short piece if its too long and I don't want to restrict anyone's inspiration.
Remember our session in June covered 'show not tell' and I'd love to see plenty of imagery and sensations.