Happy Christmas

At this festive time of year, what better than to share a wonderful piece of 'snowy' writing from one of our Year 6 students? This comes from Evie (Skelton Primary School, York).

The Mystical Night

I tiptoe across the crunching snow.
The chilly wind sweeps across my freezing face.
Glimmering stars shine above, giving me a warm welcome.
In the dancing night an owl floats stealthily over me.
Dazzling white snow spirals down like a ballroom dancer turning.
The glittering midnight sky gives an eerie silence.
I think I can hear twinkling bells across the sky.
All around me trees slump, sunk in the white snow.
Crystal snowflakes delicately whirl to the layered ground.

We love the assonance and sibilance in 'slump, sunk', and the 'dancing night' - thanks, Evie.

Oh, and while we're blogging... can't help picking up on the Sony 'lets kill the North Korean leader' film fiasco. How about that, I hear you cry - how 'bout all that nasty hacking and threatening?

Well how about the crass insensitivity of the film in the first place? Would it have crossed the American mind that it might, it just might, be better to leave North Korea alone?

Nah. That's Americans for ya.

Happy Christmas, y'all!

Second Workshop a Success!

We're delighted to announce that our second writers' workshop, on the Natural Environment, was a resounding success and we had some great feedback!

This time we were getting our heads around the natural environment. We unpacked some of Susan Hill's skills in evoking the bleak marsh landscape of the Woman in Black, then had a go ourselves at working with environment, colour and mood. Some fantastic responses.

Then we dug a little deeper, exploring how we can use landscape and weather to evoke a sense of character and emotion. Finally, we managed to pack in a quick exploration of 'man as creature' - focusing on good ole Of Mice and Men (Lennie, naturally) and a taste of Helen Dunmore.

And all that in our two and a half hour workshop! Gotta say, totally action packed.

Look out for the next one! Coming in January our 'Writers' Roadshow' - Memoir writing. Can't wait!