An update from the twenty-fifth Writing Workshop with Conner Bassett A summary of the workshop held on Saturday January 29, plus some of the output published below This week, Conner enumerated what makes a great character, the most important attributes being that a character should be flawed and be put under stress so that, according to Charles Baxter, “the story goes forward, [and] something in the situation or the characters is forced to reveal itself.” Some famous characters we discussed were Don Quixote, Hamlet, Odysseus, Jo March, Anna Karenina, and Maleficent. During the workshop, we learned that oftentimes the best jumping off point for a character is ourselves. Before completing the prompt, Conner had us get in the mind of our character by finishing these sentences as if we were them: I spend my time worrying about…, What I want most in life is…, My biggest regret is…, My biggest secret is…,I believe in…, and The thing I do when no one else is watching is… And then we wrote! The Challenge: Write a short story, a chapter, or a poem in the voice of your character in a situation under pressure. The Participants: Nova, Amelia, Quinn, Emma, Alice, Zar, Penelope, Ellie, Josh, Lina, Gwynne To watch more readings from this workshop, like Amelia’s below, click here. Amelia, 11
Writing Workshop
How Stories Work—Writing Workshop #24: “And” (Revisited)
An update from the twenty-fourth Writing Workshop with Conner Bassett A summary of the workshop held on Saturday January 22, plus some of the output published below In his first class of the new year, Conner Bassett revitalized a scintillating lecture on the use of “and” in literature as well as visual art. Over the course of the workshop, we learned about the uniquely conjoining, relational, and aggregational nature of the swiss army knife contraction, noting specifically its different uses within the titles Crime and Punishment and Being and Nothingness. We also looked at Marcel Duchamp’s conversion of a urinal into a “fountain” in his famous museum exhibition, noticing how this subversion of meaning connoted the effect of the word “and.” Moving through the expression of “and” in works by Magritte, Warhol, the general nature of Islamic art, and in the effect of the comic panel, we read an excerpt from Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses in order to see the “speed” of “and.” Finally, we considered “and’s” ability to transcend time and conjoin the present with the past in Dylan Thomas’ poem “And Death Shall Have No Dominion.” And, of course, at the end of the workshop we wrote! The Challenge: In 30 minutes, write one of three types of pieces: one, write a story or poem where you replace every period with the word “and”: two, write a story or poem that begins “in the middle,” beginning with the word “and”: or, three, start a new story or poem at the end of an old one, beginning with the word “and.” The Participants: Lina, Gwynne, Amelia, Emma, Ethan, Samantha, Penelope, Nova, Josh, Ellie, Zar, Alice, Quinn To watch more of the readings from this workshop, like Zar’s below, click here. Zar, 11
Writing Workshop #54: Informal Writing
An update from our fifty-fourth Writing Workshop A summary of the workshop held on Saturday November 20th, plus some of the output published below This week, Liam led the writing workshop on the topic of Informal Writing. Liam went over the use of common vernacular in stories and gave us examples of why more informal language could be effective in writing stories. The class went through passages from Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Liam emphasized the freedom of informal writing, encouraging writers in the workshop to experiment with run-on sentences, incorrect grammar, and unusual formats like lists. The challenge: Write a short story, poem, play or other work of literature using an informal writing style. The participants: Liam, Ethan, Sierra, Rachael, Peri, Jonathan, Kate, Aditi, Tilly, Marissa, Kina, Elbert, Samantha, Nami, Sarah, Madeline, Grace, Iago Aditi Nair, 13, (Midlothian, VA) The “Friend” Aditi Nair, 13 I looked around as I spotted Kassie. Why didn’t she save me a seat? I thought. She always sits with her other friends, and most of them don’t like me. “Kassie! Where can I sit?” “Well, hello to you too. Just over there, by the teachers,” replied Kassie. She casually swung her arm to the seat she was saving, “This seat is taken, though.” I glared at her. There was noquestion that our friendship dynamic was well…chaotic, but even so, we were still friends. “I can’t sit near the teachers, Kass. I can’t, and I won’t.” “Well…too bad. You came too late, so yeah.” “But there is a seat, right there. Literally right there–” “Just go Lucy.” I stormed off, and back to the classroom. Throwing my stuff onto the empty desk, I looked around to see a girl in tears. I could’ve just stared at her or ignored her existence, but I didn’t. “Hey, you good,” I asked, as I reached into my backpack for food. Through tears and sniffles, she replied. “Been better.” “Clearly!” I laughed. As the lunch period came to an end, I forgot about Kassie and her friends… just kidding, I didn’t, but I tried. Peri Gordon, 11Sherman Oaks, CA Informal, Relaxed, and Unfortunate Peri Gordon, 12 Are you like everyone else? D’you think you can have everything? Ya can’t. D’you think you can work and play and be cool and popular and have it all and have it good? That’s what you think. Well you don’t know! This world’s a cray-cray place. I dunno how to navigate it, and you don’t either. Me and my dogs have been searching for the dude who stole our money for eight years now, and we’re still lost and sad and scared and y’know… As I walk in the rain with Heads and Tails, the dogs, I talk to them under my breath. “Today could be the day, y’know? Like, it’s my b-day and I think we’re pretty close, not like very close but like kinda close, to finding him. C’mon, I wanna get some food.” I tug my dogs’ leashes hard, ‘cause they’re distracted by some dude and his yummy-smelling fancy-pants pasta restaurant. “C’mon,” I say. “Y’know we can’t afford that. So stop listening to his blah-blah-blahing and let’s go get something cheaper. ” We cross the street and a car almost runs us over. We scramble onto the sidewalk in the nick of time. “Yikes!” I shout. “Arf!” I add so I show alarm in my dogs’ language too. We reach a soup place where I can finally talk to other humans. “What’s up?” I ask some dude. I’m always talking to strangers ‘cause everyone I see is a stranger, ‘cept my dogs. “I’m good,” he replies. I guess he talks to strangers too. “You?” “Meh,” I say. “You don’t wanna know.” He shrugs. “Guess I don’t.” The owner comes over. She eyes my torn-up, all-wet-from-the-rain jacket. “Don’t you have an umbrella? You’re drippin’ on the wood!” “Used to have one,” I say. “Lost it months ago. Can I still eat here?” “Fine. Come order, boy.” I get a cheap and pretty much inedible liquid-y thing that they claim is broth. My belly happy and my taste buds mad, I leave with the dogs. “Thanks for the soup,” I shout to whoever is listening.
