An update from our sixty-fourth Writing Workshop with Conner Bassett A summary of the workshop held on Saturday, April 22 Conner started off the workshop by asking the question, “What is voice?” Participants answered the question in different ways, but we eventually summed it up as a “poetics.” A voice differs based on diction, register, and rhythm, and is “how the narrator addresses the reader.” To illustrate why voice matters, we were asked to write down a few things you would think of if you were told to write a one-paragraph story about the Holocaust. Afterwards, we looked at a story about the Holocaust written by the chatbot ChatGPT and compared it to a piece of flash fiction about the same topic, but by a person: “On Waterproofing” by Anne Carson. While the ChatGPT story was generic, boring, and loaded with cliches, “On Waterproofing” had a real voice. This was the same for the other ChatGPT stories we read versus the actual versions—“A Mown Lawn” by Lydia Davis and “Give it Up” by Franz Kafka. After reading these stories, we were asked to think of our own prompts. Conner picked a few of them and asked ChatGPT to write one-paragraph stories based on them. They were just as lacking in voice as the stories we read earlier. Then, we picked one of the stories and rewrote it, but better—in other words, with a voice. Finally, we shared our work. The Challenge: Take a story written by ChatGPT and rewrite it, better. The Participants: Emma, Anushka, Seva, Philip, Stella, Rachel, Polina, Liesl, Ananya, Yueling, Aaron, Madeline, Nova, Josh, Samarina
Saturday Newsletter: April 22, 2023
Tree Library (watercolor) by Li Lingfei, 10; published in the July/August 2019 issue of Stone Soup A note from Emma Wood Hello, again! Growing up, the public library was my summer haven. I would spend hours alone in the cool, air-conditioned lower level, discovering new books and reading them. It felt like a magical place, where all the sounds and worries of everyday life receded. Now, my daughter and my son are beginning to experience this special library magic as well; every week, they go to a free story time at the same library I frequented every summer as a child. When I tell my daughter we’re going to the library, she yelps with joy—“The library! Hooray!” And in turn, I have a new appreciation for all that libraries have to offer the communities they serve. So, this spring, I am excited to announce that, in honor of both Library Week 2023 and Stone Soup’s 50th anniversary in May, we are running a special fundraising drive to bring Stone Soup to more libraries across the world. From April 23 to May 20, 2023, all donations will go toward gifting a year’s print subscription to Stone Soup to a school or public library (of your choice, or ours!). Please help us celebrate Stone Soup and libraries by making the magazine available to more children across the country—and the world! Warmly, Celebrate National Library Week! Donate a subscription to a library of your choice today! Get your book published by Stone Soup! Stone Soup is thrilled to announce that we are accepting submissions for our annual book contest. This year we once again plan to accept two books for publication: one novel or short story collection and one book of poems. Read the full contest details below and get ready to write! Learn more about our annual book contest. Celebrate Stone Soup’s 50th Anniversary with us! Stone Soup turns fifty this May! Join us Saturday, May 20 at 11 a.m. Pacific time at our Open House and Giveaway for an update on the company from Editor in Chief and Executive Director, Emma Wood; brief readings from recent magazine contributors; and an open discussion about what Stone Soup has meant to you and your family or classroom. Winners of the giveaway—which includes an annual subscription to Stone Soup and a one-on-one writing consultation with Emma Wood among other great prizes—will be announced during the live event. Register for our Open House and Giveaway Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization registered in the United States of America, EIN: 23-7317498.
How Stories Work—Writing Workshop #63: Ways to Begin
An update from our sixty-third Writing Workshop with Conner Bassett A summary of the workshop held on Saturday, April 15 In this week’s workshop, we talked about different ways to begin a story. Conner began by saying we often feel the need to start a story with exposition—to start with loads of background information. We looked at openings of various stories and novels and found that in fact, there are many other ways to begin. We looked at stories that start in media res, or in the middle, such as The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Other pieces, such as The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, introduce a tone. Some examples, like Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice are humorous, others poetic. In the first few sentences of Toni Morrison’s Jazz, we even found the entire plot! To sum up the presentation, we reviewed three ways to begin a work of fiction that don’t involve mere exposition: we can reveal something, establish a style (or mood), or establish a theme or conflict. The Challenge: Write five different openings. The Participants: Emma, Amaya, Anushka, Ellie, Rachel, Samantha, Aaron, Philip, Yueling, Seva, Josh, Madeline, Polina, Ananya, Samarina, Stella, Nova, Catherine, Liesl
