Golden Sunset (Acrylic) By Delilah Prager, 10 (Santa Monica, CA), published in the February 2022 issue of Stone Soup A note from Sarah Hello all! After working at Stone Soup since 2017, I am leaving for a full-time position as an archivist. In this last newsletter, I’d like to express my appreciation for all of the wonderful young writers, artists, and readers I’ve been fortunate enough to work with over the years. I have consistently been amazed by how thoughtful, considerate, and talented you all are, and it makes me so hopeful for the future. For my last weekend project, I want to invite you to be inspired by Ava Espinoza’s lovely poem “The Word,” published in this month’s issue and also available if you scroll down to the end of the email. In her poem, Ava dances around an unspecified word that seems to follow her around, never giving her any peace. Do you have something in your life that strikes fear into you like the “word” in this poem? Maybe it’s not a word, maybe it’s a phrase or an event. For this exercise, I want you to try to a similar technique to Ava’s—hinting at but never directly addressing a word or subject. It can be serious, but also feel free to make it lighthearted. How can you describe something without ever truly introducing it? What do you want to convey to your readers about this unnamed concept and how do your characters feel about it? If you’ve felt inspired by this prompt and like the work you’ve created, please consider submitting it. Again, thank you all for being so wonderful during my time at Stone Soup. I can’t wait to see the things that Stone Soup contributors will go on to do, and I hope to read your work for years to come. All my best, From Stone Soup February 2022 The Word By Ava Espinoza, 12 (Palo Alto, CA) I look through boxes for things I want to keep, taking out those I need, leaving in those I don’t Need or want. Then suddenly I see, At the bottom of the box, A word. It’s a scary word, a horrible word, A terrifying word. I don’t want that word. I don’t see why I’d ever want that word. I close the box, but on the floor in front Of me, there I see The word. It creeps closer. I start to run. Imagine! This disgusting word chasing me Away from the box, out of the room, Into the hallway. I look behind, and there, Still chasing me is The word. …/MORE 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. Stone Soup’s advisors: Abby Austin, Mike Axelrod, Annabelle Baird, Jem Burch, Evelyn Chen, Juliet Fraser, Zoe Hall, Montanna Harling, Alicia & Joe Havilland, Lara Katz, Rebecca Kilroy, Christine Leishman, Julie Minnis, Jessica Opolko, Tara Prakash, Denise Prata, Logan Roberts, Emily Tarco, Rebecca Ramos Velasquez, Susan Wilky.
Sarah Ainsworth
Saturday Newsletter: July 3, 2021
Night (acrylic)by Rosemary Brandon, 10 (Nashville, TN) and published in the July/August 2021 Issue of Stone Soup A note from Sarah The July/August issue is out! This issue looks a little different than most, since there are only two long stories: “Get Myself a Rocking Chair” by Nora Heiskell, 12, and an excerpt from Tristan Hui’s forthcoming book The Other Realm, which won our Book Contest last year. I want to draw your attention to the opening line of Tristan’s book. Tristan begins The Other Realm with a seemingly simple sentence, but one that leaves the reader wanting to know more: “The mind of Azalea Morroe’s father was coming apart.” What a way to start a story! There’s so much in this short sentence—who is Azalea Morroe? Why is her father’s mind coming apart? And how exactly? There’s only one way to find out, and that’s to keep reading (and once you finish the excerpt, you can pre-order the book to learn the whole story). With this sentence, Tristan starts off her book in a compelling way. It reminded me of the famous opening lines from literature. Maybe you’ve heard of a few, like “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen” from George Orwell’s 1984. Or, from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” There are so many great examples! Maybe you have some of your own favorites. For a weekend project, I suggest that you craft a list of many of these opening lines. Consider what details to include and what tone to use. What would make you want to keep reading something? This list could start as a jumping off point for a story, or it could be an exercise in and of itself. Please submit anything you’re particularly proud of to be considered for publication in Stone Soup. 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! Young Blogger BlueJay published three stunning time-lapse videos of food being eaten—Baked, Zest, and Heliotrope. Sierra, 11, reviewed Karina Yan Glaser’s 2017 novel, The Vandebeekers of 141st Street. Summer Classes and Events! 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. From Stone Soup July/August 2021 from The Other Realm By Tristan Hui, 15 (Menlo Park, CA) Illustrated by Rosemary Brandon, 10 (Nashville, TN) Chapter One The mind of Azalea Morroe’s father was coming apart. Gradually, and only at the seams, but coming apart all the same—and that was where the adventure began. Henry Morroe was not terribly old, nor terribly unhealthy. A researcher in an astronomical laboratory, he was both fervently passionate about his work and blissfully oblivious to his unpopularity at the place. Henry had always been of an eccentric manner, and because of this, no one really noticed that anything was wrong. For what was now out of order in his mind was assumed to have always been that way. Eccentricity was not a welcome or valued trait in Montero; the little family spent most of their time shut up in the little flat they shared, except for when Azalea went to school over the hill and her father to work—when he went to work. Lately, it had not been so. Lately, Henry Morroe was in his study from sunrise till sunset, combing over maps and taking notes from books, sticking tabs of paper to the walls, and perpetually adding to the jumbo fold-out poster board that was to save him from being laid off. In truth, it was more of a firing than a layoff, because the research company had never been a fan of Henry Morroe—although he did good work, they were much more preoccupied with their image than the accuracy of their research. They had finally found someone better—rather, someone much wealthier and more popular—to analyze and compare the data collected by the many enormous telescopes in the lab. Sure, the results might be sorely lacking in accuracy, but the image the lab projected onto the astronomical research industry would be brightened tenfold. It was a worthy switch. However, Henry Morroe had heard of this plan some weeks back—listening with an antique ear trumpet pressed to the keyhole of his supervisor’s office—and the news had derailed any other train of thought completely. They had granted him a temporary leave while they set the other guy up in Henry’s office, and Azalea’s father had taken that time to formulate a plan guaranteed to get his job back. This plan revolved around the information concealed in a dusty old volume, one that Azalea was reading while she stood in front of the bathroom mirror brushing her teeth. All About the Two Realms, by Dr. Arnold Colton, was a book with a history deeper than most. Eccentricity did not prompt celebration in Montero, and Dr. Arnold Colton had written a very eccentric book. . . . /MORE 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. Stone Soup’s Advisors: Abby Austin, Mike Axelrod, Annabelle Baird, Jem Burch, Evelyn Chen, Juliet Fraser, Zoe Hall, Montanna Harling, Alicia & Joe Havilland, Lara Katz, Rebecca Kilroy, Christine Leishman, Julie Minnis, Jessica Opolko, Tara Prakash, Denise Prata, Logan Roberts, Emily Tarco, Rebecca Ramos Velasquez, Susan Wilky.
Weekly Writing Workshop #19, Friday August 7, 2020: Writing Inspired By An Archival Photograph
An update from our nineteenth Weekly Writing Workshop! A summary of the workshop, plus some of the output published below Our conversation on August 7 was joined by young writers from across the US, as well as in Canada, the UK, and France. This week, our topic was using archival photographs to inspire our writing. After looking at a few archival photographs, we then began to discuss the ways in which we could use an archival photograph. Do we create a fictional story around the photograph? If we know the true story around the photo, do we recount that tale? Do we use the photograph as a connection between real life and a story? For an example of how we can utilize photos, we read an excerpt from Ransom Riggs’ book Hollow City, which is the second novel in his series Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Riggs incorporates archival photographs into his books, using them as footage of the peculiar things that occur. We also read an excerpt from a short story published in Stone Soup in the May/June issue in 2002: “Kisses from Cecile” by Marie Agnello. Agnello uses letters that were sent to her great-grandmother by a French penpal to tell a story. After this, we set to writing our own stories inspired by archival photos. Via Screen Share on Zoom, we were provided with several photos to use, though many participants used archival photos of their own family, instead. Keep reading to experience some of the powerful writing we were given a glimpse of in this session. The Writing Challenge: Use an archival photograph to inspire a story. The Participants: Lucy, Maddie, Shreya, Peri, Ever, Suman, Liam, Tilly, Madeline, Kanav, Simran, Abi, Charlotte, Aditi, Vishnu, Nami, Janani, and more… The Two Men Araliya, 11 Araliya, 11Sandy Hook, CT Two young men were walking on the road They both were carrying large bags In one was clothing for both of them But in the other bag was something unexpected The bag had a foul odor and odd shape No one knew what was in it. People supposed it was an old guitar But little did they know that it was a dead body Haunted Help Peri Gordon, 10 I stand outside the house the way I do every day when I take a walk. I think it’s just cruel that people like me have to live in tents, homeless, while a house stands uninhabited. They say it’s haunted, that no one in their right mind would go in there. Peri Gordon, 10Sherman Oaks, CA Suddenly, I’m compelled to go in. I know better, but I ignore that. I guess I’m not in my right mind, I think. I walk to the door. It’s locked. I climb in through the window. And oh my goodness, I’m inside a house! A house! I’ve only been in a house once, for the town festival the mayor holds every decade. And no one even talked to me. I limp around, taking in the big windows, the comfortable parlor, the kitchen. Then I come to the stairs. I have never seen stairs before. Not indoors, anyway. The festival was restricted to one room; I would’ve found the stairs then if I could. But the mayor wouldn’t want poor people on his staircase, would he? It’s a marvel he invites us at all. I sigh and slowly make my way up the stairs, holding on tight to the banister. At the top, I relax my fingers and let go, then drift around upstairs. Everyone was wrong; there are no ghosts here. None at all, though if anyone found me they’d be convinced I was one. I must be pretty creepy, roaming around here, touching the sturdy wood of the walls, playing with the lights, even taking a bath. But now I know: The rumors are false. This is a perfectly normal home. It must have been abandoned long ago and never bought, never sold . . . and I doubt anyone with money plans to inhabit this “haunted” house anytime soon . . . it’s far too big for just two people, but, gazing at the town, I wonder if maybe, just maybe, it would be just big enough to be a home for the homeless . . . I run back to my tent and tell Mother we’re moving in. Madeline Kline, 12Potomac, MD (Somewhat) Empty Alley Madeline Kline, 12 The alley was deserted when the man came with a camera to snap a picture. The flash startled everything there scaring the rodents back into their holes, and causing the birds to flutter up into the air. All the unseen life truly deserted the alley until the scent of food drew them back. Dark as shadow and unseen by the man and the flash, the creatures inhabit the alley once again. Lucy Rados, 13Buffalo, NY Untitled Lucy Rados, 13 He clutched his child close. The imposing background provided a drastic change in landscape from what the father and son were used to. Elliot had been raised here at Manchester by the Sea in his family’s mansion, but as soon as he could, he had left for the country, where his heart and mind could roam free. Soon, however, his father had called him back to the mansion, for his mother had been taken ill. Elliot had gone ahead, leaving his young son with his wife in the country. Tragedy struck not too soon after Elliot’s arrival: his mother passed away. Then, a few weeks after the funeral, his father died as well from pneumonia. Now, he, as the oldest child, was the heir to his mansion. His family was sent for, and they moved from their simplistic life to one of glamour. He hadn’t wanted to subject his family to this closed life where one seemed to be trapped with no escape, but it was his duty to his parents’ memories, and so he prepared for everything to change. “Welcome,” he
