Weekly Writing Workshop #7: Friday May 15, 2020 An update from our seventh weekly writing workshop A summary of this week’s project, plus some of the output published below The Stone Soup Weekly Writing Workshop, held on Fridays at 1:00 p.m. PST, is open to all Stone Soup contributors and subscribers during the COVID-19-related school closures and shelter-in-place arrangements. We meet via Zoom to respond to a new writing challenge, write together in our virtual room, and then share what we have written with one another. At our session on Friday May 15, the group was focused on Point of View. This week’s presentation and discussion looked at the various perspectives writers can use to tell their stories and present their characters. The story will unfold differently, and the “facts” may even be very different, depending on who is telling the tale. Are we seeing the world and hearing about events through the eyes of an observer or a particular character? Are we in the hands of an all-knowing external narrator telling us about what happened to “him,” “her,” and “them”, or are we being told the tale by “I”, the one to whom it is happening? Are we able to see several points of view, directly from one or two different characters, or can we infer how others might feel by understanding the main character’s point of view? The Writing Challenge: Write from the first person (“I”) point of view. The “I” can be an object, a human, an animal, as long as it is a first-person perspective. The Participants: Ever, Emily, Analise, Liam, Kanav, Peri, Suman, Djin, Ma’ayan, Anya, Lucy, Georgia, Tristan, Gracie, Lauren, Sophia, Allegra, Arianna, Aviya, Michela, Maddie, Silas, Justin, Vishnu, Lewis, Kendyll, Chloe, Gina, Abhi, Laila, Ethan, Shai and more! Below you can read just a few examples of the great work that came out of this workshop. Lena Aloise, 11Harvard, MA Dearest Laila Lena Aloise, 11 Dearest Laila, Humans are creatures of great complexity. We are, by nature, social beings, but many love solitude, the quiet, empty feeling of being alone. We are builders, innovators, risk takers, engineers. We have an ever increasing span of knowledge, technology that advances by the hour. But some nights, when the local alarm lets out shrill screams, when gunshots pierce the still night air, I wonder how far our species really has come. Will there ever come a day, Laila, when mankind will learn to accept each-other, when all can sleep in peace and live united? These questions whirl angrily around my mind, causing a dull throbbing in my right temple. Physical pain is something I can cope with, but this mental anguish, this feeling of uncertainty is not. When we were young, we used to play in the meadows behind our house, Laila. We would splash in the stream that cut through the lush greenery, braid crowns of wildflowers and pretend we were the queens of everything. What we meant by ‘everything’, I am still unsure. I would not want to rule everything right now, not want to look upon the ruins that are in my possession, not want to see all the innocent subjects who have suffered on soil that I call my own. You were too young to remember what fun we used to have. I wonder if you remember what happiness, what bliss is. It is scarce these days. In my opinion, contentment is not having to worry about foreign invaders, about where your next meal will come from. Laila, you deserve a better world, but all the riches I do not have could not buy that for you. This letter will never reach you. Post is just too expensive nowadays. But Laila, my serene night, my peaceful star, know that I do love you, more than your young mind can conceptualize. And I will still love you, even if I never do see you again, even if the sky falls down on us both. Until we meet again, dear sister, whenever that may be. Your loving sibling, Annalise Analise Braddock, 9 Katonah, NY The Wind Analise Braddock, 9 The wind took me Dipping sorrows around me scaring my deepest fears Never before could anyone realize it The plastered death sure to come out of the wind When the wind was stronger huge, all around eating up my eyes before I could blink Swirling around taking her from me Holding up the strings moving me The wind was ready Turning present to past leads to certain consequences The fear that was told not to fear by one turning to all But my mind resisted The wind still took me Anya Geist, 13Worcester, MA A Day in the Life of a Small Town: told from four perspectives Anya Geist, 13 Today the day dawned bright and fair. The sun was rose-gold, rising from the embers of the night. I stood at the top of the Golden Hill. I stared out into the west. All around me, the grass seemed to be lit aflame with color. I wandered a bit, then sat down, letting the warmth of day wash over my body. Today would be a good day, I decided, for exploring the Great Wood just beyond the edge of town. I’m awake. I don’t want to be awake. But I can’t ignore the noise anymore. Children laughing and playing on the streets outside. Can’t they just stay at home until a decent hour? The sun has only just risen. I deserve some rest, especially since I run the general store. I shout at them through my open window. They scatter like birds that are being pelted with stones. [[The morning is very pretty and it is going to be a sunny day. Mama makes eggs for breakfast and then I go out and I want to play with my friends but a lot of them are still inside and so I knock on their doors and say wake up and then they come outside and then we play
point of view
Flash Contest #3: Write From an Animal’s Point of View: Our Winners and Their Work!
Weekly Flash Contest #3: Write from the Point of View of an Animal Write about a day in the life of your pet or a friend’s pet, as if you were that pet. Remember to think about what it might be like to be an animal. How do they see the world? What do they think about humans and their fellow animals? What are their hopes, their dreams, their fears? This is a great exercise in point of view. The week commencing April 13th was a very special week for our Daily Creativity series. We had a takeover, by one of our readers, Molly Torinus, age 11, from Middleton, WI! Molly is a volunteer in our COVID-19 Focus Group, and she wrote a whole series of terrific writing prompts for us. When we planned her takeover, we all agreed that this prompt, challenging everyone to write from the point of view of an animal (Daily Creativity prompt #16), would be a great one to set as the contest. You all seemed to think so too, as we had a record number of entries! We were thrilled that Molly also joined the Stone Soup team to be one of this week’s judges. Once the contest closed at the end of last week we all read the entries independently, and gave them our own scores. Then, we put the 3 judges’ scores together to come up with a shortlist, and had a Zoom meeting to discuss it and agree the final results. It’s the first time we have had a reader judge in one of our contests, so it was very exciting for us to work with Molly on the contest: we can tell you that she was a very thoughtful and fair judge, and we really enjoyed working with her on this contest. We will try to get readers involved again in future, so look out for another takeover soon! We all very much enjoyed reading these entries, and we were impressed by the different ways people approached the challenge of thinking like their pets. We especially loved the entries that really sounded like the thoughts and behaviours of animals we have met. It was easy to agree on our top contestants; and we also wanted to honor some of the other entries, as there were so many good ones. So, this week, we are announcing our 5 Winners, whose work is published below, plus 4 Honorable Mentions. Congratulations to all of them, and thank you Molly for a great writing challenge, and a fantastic job as a judge! Winners (work published on this page) Yutia Li, 10, Houston, TX Anna Rosini, 12, Arlington, VA Audrey Tzeng, 11, Rocklin, CA Ella Yamamura, 12, Cary, NC Sophie Yu, 12, Houston, TX Honorable Mentions “Chickens and Playtime” by Nora Heiskell, 12, Philadelphia, PA “Piano Bunny” by Maya Mourshed, 8, Silver Spring, MD “The Great Indoors” by Enni Harlan, 13, Los Angeles, CA “A Good Summer Day: A Day in the Life of Moti” by Anushka Trivedi, 9, Silver Spring, MD We also received a drawing last week which seemed to fit really nicely with this contest, so we are using it as an illustration for this page. Allie Dollar, 11, of Monticello, FL, thought that the dogs–as well as their owners–should be wearing masks while out for their walks during the pandemic, so she drew some for them. Thank you, Allie! Remember, we are running the Flash Contest every week during the COVID-19-related school closures and shelter-in-place arrangements. It is always based on the first Daily Creativity prompt of the week. The prompt is posted on Monday, entries are due by Friday, and the winners are chosen and announced the following week. “Pixie,” by Yutia Li, 10 Ding-dong! Oh no. The doorbell is never a good sign. I hear a click and a creak, and an unfamiliar, pungent odor reaches my nostrils. I wrinkle my nose. This scent is new to me. It smells slightly like Olivia but with more of a sharp, aromatic tang. This person must’ve used some of that perfume thing that humans use. I hear energetic voices at the door. It’s Olivia and one of her friends, by the sound of it. Pretty pretty please don’t say that that person’s coming inside. No! The door slams shut, and footsteps round the corner. I make a dash for it, but it’s too late. The perfumey person is right on my heels. She scoops me up and cuddles me. Ew! That stupid odor. I think I’m allergic to it. “Pixie!” she coos. She has short brown hair and like, a trillion freckles. Kinda similar to Olivia, but her height is much shorter. Oh, and the stinky perfume, of course. “I’ve heard so much about you! You’re the best kitty ever, aren’t you? Yes you are. Such a cutie pie!” She scratches behind my ears, and I wince. No smelly hands are allowed on my beautiful fur! I try to scramble out of her arms, but her grip is too tight. After like, ten minutes of cuddling and rubbing, she finally releases me. I automatically scramble up the stairs and to my favorite hiding spot, a cubby right under Olivia’s bed. Her fragrance of fresh aloe and lavender never fails to soothe me. I’m just getting ready to doze off when the doorbell rings. Again?! More people? Ugh! This must be one of those playdates or whatever you call them. But I’m safe here. Olivia would never let any harm come to me. Yet as I lie there, the doorbell rings a third time. And a fourth. And a fifth. What the heck? Is this the largest playdate ever or something? I sure hope they don’t stay long. I don’t need any more perfumey people cuddling me today. OMG! My kibble! It’s almost my dinnertime! I can’t go and get my food with all these people down there, though! My mind is lost in a whirlwind of thoughts. But the scent of
