Musings :: Moments :: Memories
Thanks to starting the Couch to 5K course with Writers' HQ and finding my writing buddy, Elizabeth, I’m back to writing. In addition to meeting weekly with Elizabeth on Google Meets, I am taking a live Plotstormers Lite course to help plot out my new children’s story. Last week, I write the 'elevator pitch' (in… Continue reading Plotting
Following on from my post yesterday about creating characters, I thought I would share the characters that I had listed for the weriting exercise. These are all favourites but I especially made my choices based on the charaacter I am creating for my new story. In other words, there are many more characters that I… Continue reading Ten Favourite Characters
As part of the writing course I am currently doing, we had to look at building well-rounded characters. The first task asked us to list 5-10 characters we loved with a few words explaining why. Then, we had to write for 15 minutes, looking at specific prompts, including an external provocation as well as an… Continue reading Writing characters
Invitation by Mary Oliver Oh do you have timeto lingerfor just a little whileout of your busy and very important dayfor the goldfinchesthat have gatheredin a field of thistles for a musical battle,to see who can singthe highest note,or the lowest, or the most expressive of mirth,or the most tender?Their strong, blunt beaksdrink the air… Continue reading Poem of the Month
Evelina chose her GCSE options today and submitted them online. She still has until 30 January to do this but I think she was keen to remove the weight of the decision. We had her parents's evening on Thursday and I think helped her make the final decision. When both her language teachers (French and… Continue reading Decisions
We live in such a brilliant part of the country for seeing historical houses and beautiful countryside. However, when things are on your doorstep, it sometimes takes an extra kick to get you out to see them. There are five local sights I want to visit this year: The Lord Leycester, Warwick - we drive… Continue reading Five Local Places to Visit
I mark an piece of poetry analysis today. I take my time - I don't have a large stack. I have just one student's work. I type up my feedback starting with what they did well, then explaining some of the ways that they could do even better. Finally, I write a paragraph of analysis… Continue reading Tiny Bit of Teaching
Reading: Wintering by Katherine May; The Winter Spirits: Ghostly Tales for Frosty Nights by Various; The Peace of Wild Things: And Other Poems by Wendell Berry Listening: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K . Rowling; Mediations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; my 'Strummy' playlist on Amazon Music Watching: Silo and Bad Monkey… Continue reading Currently
Some time last year, I realised that one of the things that could make me feel particularly good (whether that was happy, calm or some other contented state) was paying attention to nature around me. I acknowledge that this is hardly groundbreaking information. We are often told that being is nature is good for our… Continue reading Nature Journal
Anyone who knows me knows that I am very fond of autumn. It has been my favourite season for some time and I have very much enjoyed thinking of appropiate seasonal activities including books to read, things to bake, crafts to do and places to visit. How we are in the dead of winter -… Continue reading Seasons
Notes From My Day 