Storing your work
Ok, so how did you get on with your writing last week? If you’ve managed to produce something, type it up, print it off and put it in a poetry/story drawer. Build up a store of your work, let it lie for a few weeks and then look at it again and see if you want to make any changes. Sometimes when we write we’re so pleased or disappointed with what we’ve written that it’s impossible to see the merits or flaws in it, so it’s better to leave it for a while before revisiting or revising.

Getting going
Hopefully writing your Morning Pages is now as natural to you as brushing your teeth and you’ve probably already done both today, so we’ll push straight on with an exercise to get us going.
Respond to the statements below using a word, phrase or a sentence, whichever you prefer. The main thing is to write quickly without too much thought. Off you go:

-10 things you’d like to do before tomorrow
-10 places you’d like to go
-10 things you’d like to say to your mother.
-10 things you’d like to do before it’s too late
-10 things that give you hope.

Now underline two items from each category and use them to write a short poem or a paragraph that could develop into a short story. Remember, you are in control of your work. You may decide you don’t want to use all the sentences you’ve underlined because one in particular might inspire you. That’s fine. The purpose of this exercise is to help you to write something on the page.

Characterisation
This week at the Veliko Turnovo Writers’ Group we used pictures to stimulate our writing. We all had different pictures of people sitting on park benches. We wrote for 20 minutes about the person in our picture and when it came to feedback time it was good fun to hear everyone’s interpretation.
Choose a picture of a person. The picture can be from anywhere: your own photo albums, a magazine, a postcard, an art gallery, a newspaper as long as there is at least one person in it. Look at the person, ask him or her the questions below and record his/her answers. The questions are written as if the picture is of a woman.

What does she like about herself?
Who is her best friend?
Who does she look up to?
What does she regret?
What is her voice like?
Where would she rather be?
What is her dream job?
What does she do now?
What is the texture of her skin?
Of what does she smell?
What is her worst memory?
What is her favourite memory?
What does she want?
Who does she hate/love?
What was her best moment?
What is she thinking?

Use the information from the answers to the questions to write a piece describing the person in your picture. By doing this you will build up a pen portrait of a character that you could use in a future short story or novel. If you can write more than one character pen portrait this week, then even better as one kind of plot can be dependent on at least two characters being in conflict. We’ll look at plotting next week.

Reading out loud
When you feel satisfied with the first draft of any piece of writing, steel yourself to read it out loud to someone. At first this can be difficult. You may feel awkward or embarrassed but it’s worth it. When you’ve written something you are usually very close to it and it can be useful to have someone else’s input. When I read out anything I’ve written I like to print out two copies of my work and give one to the person who is listening. That way they can see as well as hear the words and can give informed, helpful feedback. Take your courage in both hands and give it a try this week. Later, when you are an acclaimed author you may be called upon to give a reading of your work to the public. Think of reading out loud to friends and relatives as an apprenticeship for your future career.
I hope you have a productive writing week.

The VT Writers’ Group
This group meets weekly in the Veliko Arts Centre, 36 Ivan Vazov Str, Veliko Turnovo. For more information call Eileen Sutherland on 089/ 989 64 42 [www.hotnitsa.com]