“Entrapped” (colored pencil), by Andralyn Yao, 12 (West Lafayette, IN), and published in the April 2021 Issue of Stone Soup A note from William First quarterly reading by Stone Soup authors! Tomorrow, Sunday, April 18, at 10 a.m. Pacific (1 p.m. Eastern). Public readings of poetry and prose are a standard part of the life of established authors. Please come to listen to fabulous fiction and poetry—and to show support for our authors. We estimate the program will last around thirty to forty minutes. I want it to be simple for you to attend, so you can also click on the direct Zoom link here. Writing Prompt Reminder: Writing prompts are sent out every Monday along with news on the monthly flash fiction contest. If you are not on the list, sign up at this link. The past 147 prompts are on our website. You will also find them from the link. If you are a teacher, use them in your classroom. Spring Writing Workshop: The Spring Writing Workshop sessions started today. We now have two classes, one that I teach and one being taught by Conner Bassett. There are a few places in each of the classes. If you want to try out a class to see whether you like it, then please contact tayleigh@stonesoup.com. She will get you the link for next week. Summer classes: Summer school enrollment for the joint Stone Soup–Society for Young Inklings Summer Writing Program is open. The novel workshop is full. A second novel workshop has just been started. Poetry class: Emma Wood, our Stone Soup editor, is a working poet. She is teaching a poetry class in the summer program. It is the first class she has taught through Stone Soup. If you are a poet, then jump on this class while it is still open. If you have a friend who is also writing poetry, tell them about the class and you can take it together. Stone Soup Refugee Project: I have not written about the Stone Soup Refugee project for some time. This is the project we started inspired by former Stone Soup writer and blogger Sabrina Guo. For the last nearly six months, we have been building out a part of our website for the creative work of refugee students. The site is finally finished! It is currently being reviewed by our contact at the United National High Commission on Refugees. When they approve it, we will share it with you—and then take a deep breath—to move the project into its next phase. Reading and writing project: The Cookie Jar, the opening of which is below, is an astonishingly original and powerful piece of fiction. If you are an adult reader of this newsletter, and if you read novels for pleasure, then please read the story. This is not “student” writing. This is writing. Full stop! Isabella Chapman offers us a brilliant portrait of a character who has formed an attachment to a cookie jar. As improbable as this sounds, Isabella pulls it off. We feel along with the Elsie, the main character, and we feel for those around her. There is so much to say about this work! The character is fully imagined, as are the places where the story unfolds. Super realistic and evocative description of the beach scene, for example. A strikingly large and carefully chosen vocabulary. As you read the story, I’d like you to pay attention to place—the where the story is taking place. Also, pay attention to how carefully Isabella has worked out the story’s emotional logic—like explaining why Elsie kept the cookie jar in the duffel bag. For this weekend’s project, I want you to create a character who has an unusual interest, obsession, or focus. A character who does things differently. A great story, like this one, explores a theme—in this case, explores this child’s unusual obsession—by letting us experience it. Isabella doesn’t write, “Here is this eccentric character.” Instead, she brings us into Elsie’s world so that we see through Elsie’s eyes and Elsie’s feelings. For inspiration, perhaps there is someone you know who has an eccentric interest or an eccentric attachment to something, like Elsie and her cookie jar. Or just someone—or, as this is fiction, it could be an animal—who acts differently from others. Write your piece from the point of view of the eccentric character so that for them, the behavior is normal. Good luck! If you super like what you create, then please send it to Stone Soup so Emma can consider it for publication in the magazine. Until next week, Congratulations to our most recent Flash Contest Winners! Our April Flash Contest was based on our weekly creativity prompt #147 written by Stone Soup ’20–21 Intern Sage Millen. Her prompt, which asked participants to visit the same spot every day for a week and record what they saw—whether through art, photography, or writing—generated a wide array of fabulous submissions, from daily photographic representation of a lounging house cat to ultra-scientific observation notes reminiscent of natural science journals. Thank you to all who submitted their stunning work, and thanks again to Sage for providing us with the prompt! Congratulations to our winners and honorable mentions, listed below. You can read the winning entries for this contest (and previous ones) at the Stone Soup website. Winners “The Tales of Freeman Gardens” by Claire Liotta, 12 (Glen Ridge, NJ) “Dolly’s Home” by Elizabeth Sabaev, 10 (Forest Hills, NY) “Observing My Backyard” by Rishan Chakraborty, 11 (Portland, OR) “The Island” by Madeline Cleveland, 11 (Belleville, WI) “Over the Ditch” by Daniel Shorten, 10 Honorable Mentions “Magnolia Bliss” by Pranjoli Sadhukha, 11 (Newark, OH) “My Backyard” by Reena Bao, 11 (Bedford, MA) “Times of the Day in My Room” by Chelsea Liang, 11 (San Jose, CA) “My Description Paragraphs for Six Days” by Diya Chakrabarti, (Portland, OR) “Our Playground” by Tang Li, 8 (Palmetto Bay, FL) “Interesting” by Ava Shorten, 11 Selected for the Stone Soup COVID-19 Blog “My School” by Feifei Wan, 9 (Portland, OR) Selected for the Stone Soup Blog “Spring in Central Park” by Lila Laton (New York, NY) Writing Classes and Book
Newsletter
Saturday Newsletter: April 3, 2021
“The Fireflies” (Watercolor) by Audrey Champness, 12 (Green Cove Springs, FL),and published in the April 2021 Issue of Stone Soup A note from Jane At last—it’s April, and everyone can share the joy of reading The Trials and Tribulations of Swifty Appledoe by Ariana Kralicek! The first part of Ariana’s novella is published in this month’s issue, and the next two will appear in May and June. It’s funny, it’s thought-provoking, and it’s wise. Everyone involved in the production of Stone Soup magazine has been eagerly anticipating each episode (we have to run a few months ahead, so we have read the whole thing already!), and it’s wonderful that you can all now meet Swifty, Ariana’s delightful and memorable character. Print readers should visit the version on the website too: you can hear a recording of Ariana herself reading it aloud. You can’t beat hearing an author’s work in their own voice! Which reminds me to say, if you are reading this even minutes before 9 a.m. PDT on Saturday, April 3, come and hear our Writing Workshop students give live readings from some of their work from the winter/spring session. It’s free to attend, and everyone is welcome. Join us on Zoom, and then settle back to revel in listening to some great writing. For now, back to Swifty Appledoe. The novella opens with a quote from the poet, playwright, and novelist Oscar Wilde (1854–1900): “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” As you might expect from the quote, the main themes of the novella relate to exactly this—learning to be oneself. In the process of her intense and often hilarious attempts to transform herself into a popular, successful student, our hero Swifty learns to identify and relish her own unique qualities, value herself as she is, and thus find recognition, happiness, and friendship. I feel a lot of warmth and happiness in the gorgeous watercolor featured on this month’s cover too. Audrey Champness’s use of different tones is uplifting: her darker background colors are vibrant and joyful, not somber, and they make the lively focal point of the fireflies flitting around the bright jars just glow. She has captured the scene in a way that makes you think of balmy nights, candlelight or torchlight in the darkness, companionable chatter, and laughter. Both Ariana’s novella and Audrey’s watercolor made me think of this quote by Rumi (1207–1273), which a friend sent to me recently: “A warm, rainy day, this is how it feels when friends get together. Friends refresh friends, just as flowers do, in a spring rain.” What does friendship mean and feel like to you? How might you convey the warm, refreshing sensation of being among friends, understood, valued for yourself, in a lovely season of the year? Spend some time this weekend capturing that mood or feeling in an artwork or a piece of writing. And as always, send us what you produce so Emma can consider it for Stone Soup! Until next time, Writing Classes and Book Club Are you looking for classes to inspire, improve, and practice your writing with great teachers and a group of like-minded young writers and readers? Join us! We do charge fees for our clubs and workshops, but we try to keep them as low as possible, and we offer discounts to subscribers and scholarships to students who need them. Contact us at education@stonesoup.com with any questions. Writing Workshop: we have two new writing groups for spring/summer, starting April 17, that will meet via Zoom every Saturday except for the last Saturday of the month. Come write with us and share your work with your peers. Find out more and register for a workshop at Eventbrite. To see some of the great work produced by current workshop members, read contributions published at Stonesoup.com, or join us at one of our free public readings! Book Club: a book club for writers that meets via Zoom on the last Saturday of every month, with a new season starting on April 24! Find out more and register for book club at Eventbrite. Check out which books we are reading on our website. Young Author’s Studio Summer Camps: we are offering a wide range of classes through the summer jointly with the Society of Young Inklings. Each camp runs for two hours per day, Monday through Thursday. All details and bookings via Society of Young Inklings. Book Contest 2021 For information on submitting to the Stone Soup Book Contest 2021, please click here. To submit your manuscript, please visit our submittable site. Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at Stonesoup.com! Read Stone Soup 20-21 Intern Anya Geist’s Book Club write-up for a summary of last week’s Book Club and information on next month’s book. Iris, 11, wrote a review about the lasting relatability of Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice Check out the powerful personal narrative “Life Without a Smile” by Margaux for an account of her return to in-person learning. Roger wrote an uplifting flash piece, “COVID-19 in the Ocean.” From Stone Soup April 2021 The Trials and Tribulations of Swifty Appledoe (Part One) By Ariana Kralicek, 12 (Aukland, New Zealand) “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” —Oscar Wilde Chapter 1 “And that’s exactly why you should try Milky’s chocolate ice cream!” I conclude, bowing as my excited audience showers me in a standing ovation. It’s Saturday night, and my parents are sitting on our squishy velvet sofa, watching me rehearse for the big advertisement audition coming up in a month-and-a-half’s time. It’s important that an actress is very prepared because, as they say, the show must go on. The TV is blaring softly behind me, showering me in a spotlight effect and bathing the living room in a cool glow. If I look down, I can see the glassy surface of the coffee table covered in a sea of audition papers, a lone clipboard floating at the surface. You see, when I grow older I want to become a famous actress. I want to go to the Oscars and win incredible awards, go to the Met Gala and wear a spontaneous-but-stunning outfit, pose and give daring looks to the press
Saturday Newsletter: March 27
“Fist” (acrylic) by Claire Jiang, 12 (Princeton, NJ), and published in the June 2019 Issue of Stone Soup A note from William Stone Soup Friends! It is spring in Santa Cruz. My aviary birds are going crazy making new families! The aviary is already thirty feet (ten meters) long, but the parakeets and zebra finches are making so many nests that I am going to have to expand. The quince tree right outside my window is in full bloom, the lemon and Seville orange trees I see just past the quince are laden with fruit. The Mirabelle plum in my backyard has hundreds of tiny fruits, and the wild onions with their white, bell-shaped flowers are glowing in the afternoon sun. It is spring! Finally! I am now two weeks past my last COVID-19 shot. Perhaps by the end of the year we will be back to something closer to normal. Celebrate and support our great writers by attending these two public readings! We have two public readings coming up. One is a reading for the Saturday Writing Workshop next Saturday, April 3, 9 a.m. Pacific. The other is our first-ever official reading by Stone Soup authors. This is a new quarterly reading event. This first one is scheduled for Sunday, April 18, 10 a.m. Pacific. Registration is via EventBrite. Public readings are an important part of being an author. Please support our authors by attending these events. Thank you. Summer school 2021 Register for our many classes at the joint Stone Soup–Young Inklings Summer 2021 program. This year, for the Stone Soup portion of the program, classes will be taught by Editor Emma Wood, Jane Levi, Laura Moran, and our new writing teacher, Conner Bassett. Read more about him in the section below that introduces our new writing class. Spring Saturday Writing Classes Stone Soup digital or print subscribers receive a substantial discount. No student will be left out of classes because of financial considerations, so please write if you need a scholarship. Private registration only at this time. My class resumes April 10 until summer at its usual 9 a.m. Pacific time. Current students have received a private registration link. I look forward to seeing you all again. Register for our new writing class We are opening a second class Saturdays at 11 a.m. Pacific taught by Conner Bassett, a poet, translator, and creative writing teacher at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Conner is a brilliant teacher with extensive teaching experience. He is also Editor Emma Wood’s husband! Enrollment is limited to forty. As with my class, if you need a scholarship, let us know. We don’t want any student who wants to attend kept from the class for financial reasons. Art and Writing Project The amazing painting of a fist by Claire Jiang is a technical tour de force. It is very, very hard to render any object, much less something as complicated as a fist, with such accuracy. I am also impressed with the use of color—naturalistic, but not. And, of course, the fist emerging from black. A shadow. Another dimension. Is it a fist of anger? Should we be afraid of it? Or will the fist open to a hand, asking us to help rescue it from the shadow? What are your ideas? What does this fist imply to you? Try making a drawing, painting, or photograph that, like Clare’s fist, depicts a single object up close. And, like Claire, try to do something that will suggest one or more stories. I like the idea of emerging from darkness—as that always suggest the opposite possibility of falling into darkness. If using photography to make your image, experiment with taking your photographs in low light. You may also want to use a light to highlight the most forward part of the object you are photographing, letting the rest of the object fade into the dark background. If you come up with something cool, please send it to Emma so she can consider it for Stone Soup. Isabel Swain’s remarkable story “Innocent Yet Dire Words” is a true masterpiece. It would be difficult to render its power in just a few words—you would be better off just reading it. But I will say this: the piece interweaves poetry and fiction, long and short sentences, one form emerging from the other in a manner reminiscent of Claire Jiang’s Fist. Along with the form, the story’s content pushes and pulls—one moment you’re laughing and the next you’re in tears. Just as I have encouraged you to consider the multiplicity of meaning held within Claire’s Fist, so too should you look to Isabel’s story as an example of interwoven complexity. Until next week, Book Contest 2021 For information on submitting to the Stone Soup Book Contest 2021, please click here. To submit your manuscript, please visit our submittable site. Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at Stonesoup.com! Last week we had the final writing workshop of the winter/spring session, a workshop on antiheroes led by Stone Soup contributor Madeline Kline, 13. You can find a video of Madeline’s instruction here. Fittingly, Sita, 13, wrote a review on the Gone series by Michael Grant in which she attributes much of the novels’ intrigue to the “villainous antihero.” Stoke the fires of your imagination with Weekly Creativity Prompt #145: Make up a Fictional Government or Country. From Stone Soup June 2019 Innocent Yet Dire Words By Isabel Swain, 12 (Portsmouth, RI) Illustrated by Claire Jiang, 12 (Princeton, NJ) Like the mythical creature, It calls out a sound. Just not a pleasant one; A torture in its own way. Siren. I hold my ears and tell myself to breathe. One, two, three, four . . . 12, 13 . . . 20. This will pass; don’t worry. It’s just a siren. You don’t have to have another Freak Out, Lila. It’s okay, it’s okay. See, it’s leaving? Okay, okay. I open my eyes, slowly uncurl myself from my Freak Out Stance, and take one
