The Write Approach July-August 2013 Issue 35 Page 1 of 10 Sidebar: At a Glance ➢Book Reviews ➢Photos ➢The Write Strategies ➢Competition ➢The Funny Page ➢Notice Board ➢Cook’s Corner ➢Writing Tips THE WRITE APPROACH Pencil, paper and fun! J u l y - A u g u s t 2 0 1 3 Letter to the Librarian A letter to the librarians of Darfield about a book request. Page 2 The Write Strategies Thoughts on writing and a book review by the new Write Strategies author. Page 3 Philip’s Photos A collection of photos with varying subjects. Page 4 La Competition I decided to create a competition for this newsletter. Check it out on… Page 5 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR BY MATTHEW SAMPSON, PRESIDENT OF THE WRITING CLUB Salutations! Here’s the new edition of The Write Approach, my first time compiling a newsletter! It turned out to be really interesting when I sent out the request for contributions—I was suddenly inundated with them. I may consider doing twelve newsletters a year, one a month— but that would mean that you would have to contribute more often. So, think about that! And keep writing! I have plans in varying stages of progress for this group. One of the things I said I’d like to see is critique for writing. There are forums on our website, writerightok.webs.com. I’m going to clarify this—I’m saying that each of you are allowed to make a discussion topic for your own writing in order for you to receive critique, feedback and praise. Remember to put the topic in the FEEDBACK forum, not INTRODUCTIONS or WRITING. Another thing that is relatively new is a treasure hunt, of sorts. It’s still in the concept mode, but I think it has potential. Hopefully, you’ll hear more about it in the next newsletter. I’m not going to go into detail about what this newsletter contains. You can see all that in the Sidebar: At a Glance to the right. Thank you to everyone who contributed. If you have any questions, email me at [email protected]. Don’t forget to check out our website, writerightok.webs.com! Until next time! Matthew President of the Writing Club
Transcript
The Write Approach! July-August 2013
Issue 35! Page 1 of 10
Sidebar: At a Glance
➢Book Reviews
➢Photos
➢The Write Strategies
➢Competition
➢The Funny Page
➢Notice Board
➢Cook’s Corner
➢Writing Tips
THE WRITE APPROACHPencil, paper and fun!
J u l y - A u g u s t2 0 1 3
Letter to the Librarian
A letter to the librarians of
Darfield about a book request.
Page 2
The Write Strategies
Thoughts on writing and a
book review by the new Write
Strategies author.
Page 3
Philip’s Photos
A collection of photos with
varying subjects.
Page 4
La Competition
I decided to create a
competition for this newsletter.
Check it out on…
Page 5
LETTER FROM THE EDITORBY MATTHEW SAMPSON, PRESIDENT OF THE WRITING CLUB
Salutations!
Here’s the new edition of The Write Approach, my first time compiling a newsletter! It
turned out to be really interesting when I sent out the request for contributions—I was suddenly inundated with them. I may consider doing twelve newsletters a year, one a month—but that would mean that you would have to contribute more often. So, think about that! And
keep writing!I have plans in varying stages of progress for this group. One of the things I said I’d like to
see is critique for writing. There are forums on our website, writerightok.webs.com. I’m going to
clarify this—I’m saying that each of you are allowed to make a discussion topic for your own writing in order for you to receive critique, feedback and praise. Remember to put the topic in the FEEDBACK forum, not INTRODUCTIONS or WRITING.
Another thing that is relatively new is a treasure hunt, of sorts. It’s still in the concept
mode, but I think it has potential. Hopefully, you’ll hear more about it in the next newsletter.I’m not going to go into detail about what this newsletter contains. You can see all that in
the Sidebar: At a Glance to the right. Thank you to everyone who contributed.
If you have any questions, email me at [email protected]’t forget to check out our website, writerightok.webs.com!
For more than 60 years readers have enjoyed the Little House books by Laura lngalls Wilder. The interesting stories Laura writes are based on her childhood living in a pioneer family in America in the late 1800s. I hope the Darfield library will buy this set of books so other readers can enjoy them. I noticed on the Online Library Catalogue, Darfield Library only has the first of these books "Little House in the big Woods" on the shelves.
The Little House books get you interested in history. Laura's family shifted to a new home on the banks of Plum Creek. The new home was a ' dug out ' which was a home in a hill with a small window and door. The ceiling was hay with willow boughs woven together.Grass grew over the house. The Little house books are filled with fascinating descriptions of how pioneers lived in the 1880s in America.
The Little House books have a good storyline. The books are made up of both happy and sad stories themes.For example, The Long Winter describes various ways the lngalls family coped during an unusually cold winter. The climax of the story is when two young men risk their lives, between blizzards, to buy wheat from a settler in another area. Other readers will enjoy the exciting and interesting storyline.
The Little House books are easy-to-read. They don't have lot of hard words.The font is plain and the stories never get boring! Laura describes the characters with a balanced mixture of description and dialogue.
The next time you see a young person with nothing to do, remember how a set of Little House books could help him or her. Please do consider buying these fascinating historical novels for the Darfield Library. To order go to www.amazon.com.
Regards
Susanna
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A quiz sent in by Jonathan Marshall
Hello I am an insect.I have the unique ability to use the toxins of the milkweed plant to chase off predators.I can fly up to 80 miles per day.I drink nectar and I'm beautiful.I fly during the day. I fold my wings above my body to rest.I have black on me.WHO AM I.
Toi Toi plant—note the ‘split’ in the clouds!
The Write StrategiesBy Bonnie Smithies
Presidential Notice: Since I was previously writing the Write Strategies before becoming President, I have passed on the job to Bonnie. In effect, our roles have been reversed. From now on, Bonnie will write The Write Strategies, with Danella taking a turn once in a while.
Quote Corner “The best time for planning a book is while you’re doing the dishes.” –Agatha Christie
What a great quote! If you are one of the sorts of people who continually run out of ideas for your writing (like me), one of the best ways to get ideas is to do a job like the dishes. While this may not seem thrilling, it will make the job seem to go quicker and you will be helping your family. What could be better?I find my brain thinks best when I am doing a mundane task. My hands are automatically doing the job and my brain is thinking up ingenious ideas for my next writing project. Try it sometime. Do a chore when you are stuck for ideas. It may seem like a cliché, but it really works!
Book Review- The Lost Prince of Samavia
This book is one of my all time favourite reads!
Have you ever read The Little Princess or Little Lord Fauntleroy? From the bestselling author Frances Hodgson Burnett who wrote the two books mentioned above comes another gripping story.... The Lost Prince of Samavia.
For five hundred years the royal line of Samavia has been in hiding, bound by the oath of the Forgers of the Sword.
A father and son take up their dying country's cause and the dream of seeing its secret king enthroned. Their dream becomes a game. The game becomes a mission.Then the plan calls father and son to go on different journeys. Samavia waits and hopes that in the end it will bring them both back again to the same place.
Marco Loristan, a twelve year old refugee, and his friend, a hunchback orphan nicknamed The Rat, embark on a dangerous journey across Europe to bring freedom to Marco's beleagured homeland of Samavia.
Frances Hodgson Burnett is a masterful storyteller. This fictional tale of spies, traitors and patriots is so well written the reader is riveted, compelling reading right up to the end! A gripping story, this book will both captivate and delight you as you read it.
If you like exciting, riveting, captivating, edge-of-the-seat page turners, if you like something with a bit of ZING to it, this book is the book for you.
We own the abridged edition of the full story, The Lost Prince. I have not read the full version as we do not own it, but I hope to someday. This book is EXCELLENT!
The cover recommends the book for 9-12 year olds. I would think that would be about right, probably around ten year olds plus. I still enjoy reading it at 15. Why should us ‘oldies’ miss out on the best books ever written just because our age is beyond the recommend range?????
The Lost Prince of Samavia upholds good virtues like self-control, discipline, hard work and patriotism. It would be a great book to give to anyone as a present, a read-aloud for the whole family or anything. I highly recommend it.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––A Little Place for Funny Things
An irish farmer sees a welsh farmer withtwo sheep under his arms..and he asks.."are you gonna shear them?.."Nope"..says the welshman...."they"re both for me".. Sourced from justjoking98.blogspot.com
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The Write Approach! July-August 2013
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philip’s photosa collection of photos from Philip Sampson
La Competition
Forgive the use of French in the title. The prize is POINTS. With your choice. Would you like…This club is called The Writing Club.This newsletter is called The Write Approach. 1. TWO points?The website is called Write Right. 2. THREE points?Our motto is Pencil, paper and fun! Send your preferred choice, 1 or 2, in with your competition entry.
But who are we? Currently, we are Members. Members of the Writing Club. Let’s think of something more original.
This is your task:
1. Write down a good name for individual members. Examples: Inklings. That example has already been used by J. R. R. Tolkien and his writing group, so we won’t use it.
2. Send it to the President with the title ‘Competition Entry’ in the subject title.
The Deadline: Saturday, August 31, 2013
This is the deadline because that is the planned date for judging the competition.
The results will be revealed in the next issue. If there are not enough entries or there are none worthy of the Writing Club, I will postpone the results to the November/December issue and request more competition entries.
Now, THE GUIDELINES.
Most Important Thing: Entries are unlimited. You can enter as many times as you like.
Entries received after the deadline will not be considered unless the judge has not found a satisfactory name. The decision of the judge is final. Feel free to submit multiple entries up to infinity (∞). The Writing Club may publish any material submitted in the competition in either our newsletter or the website. If you are not comfortable with any of these rules or guidelines, please do not enter.
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Pet of the Month
Pet’s name: Millie
Gender: M / F Birthday: 1st January 2000
Colour/markings: Golden Bay with a white coronet on her off fore
A description of your pet: Bossy in the paddock with the other horses but a dream to handle. Millie has won many prizes for her looks and personality. Dislikes big jumps and miniature ponies stealing her feed but loves people and hard feed. Gorgeous colour and worth a million dollars to me. Millie has waaaaay to many admirers for me to count them all!!! A photo of Millie.
Michael.Michael who?Michael Duggar. Knock knock.Who’s there?Marcus.Marcus who?Marcus Duggar. Knock knock.Who’s there?Matthew.Let me guess…Matthew Duggar!Wrong. This is Matthew Sampson, President of the Writing Club. Wantto join?
Two elephant jokes—sent in by Susanna Sampson
Q. Why do elephants have trunks?A. They can’t afford suitcases!
Q: Why do elephants have teeth?A. To chew their toenails!Q. Why do elephants have toenails?A. So they can have something to chew!—Sourced from the book 101 Elephant Jokes, compiled by Robert Blake
A joke by Daniel Sampson
Q. What is the most popular middle name?
A. ‘The’.
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Member of ! Mon"
Your name: Bonnie Smithies
Age /and or birthday: 15, 29 May 1998
Gender: Female
What you like doing/ Interests or hobbies: Knitting, sewing, baking, drawing, writing, playing the piano and violin, singing, writing poems, playing and umpiring netball and many other things.
Favourite food and /or book and /or sport and /or board game: Sport: netball, Game: Mao or Trans Europa
Anything else? I don’t think so
Birthdays!
#David Conner #Ester Harmse #Jonathan Marshall
#Amanda Smithies
#Ben Smithies #Jonathan Smithies
#Sarah Smithies #Ella Somers
Notice Board
Photos by Daniel Sampson
Ten Point Prizes#Ester Harmse
Caramel Popcorn2 batches popcorn ½ pound butter4 generous dessertspoons honey 1 cup sugar Boil everything except popcorn together for at least 5 minutes. Keep stirring. Watch it go caramel colour then add popcorn. Stir well. Put into roasting dish and let set, then cut.—Sent in by Bonnie Smithies
In need of good reading material? Here is a good series to check out!
The Berinfell Prophecies by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher HopperBook One: Curse of the Spider KingBook Two: Venom and SongBook Three: The Tide of Unmaking
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Cook’s CornerA place of recipes, tips and tricks!
“I'm absolutely starved!” Jordan Rivers pushed open the heavy oak door and strode the kitchen. A delicious chocolatey smell made his mouth water. One of the castle cooks was mixing up a chocolate mud cake with vigorous turns of a wooden spoon. The kitchen buzzed with conversation and activity as all of the staff, from the scullery maid to the head cook, worked to prepare the evening meal. Jordan grinned and waved as he caught sight of his friend Alderan turning wild boar meat on a spit. “You should be a watchman!” Jordan called out. He ambled over to one of the cooks. “What's for dinner?” He asked this question every evening. “Spring chickens,” the cook motioned towards three boys standing against a wall. Jordan's jaw dropped open in horror. “I've decided to become a vegan.” Heat poured into his face as he realised that the 'spring chickens' and the cook had burst into gales of laughter. “Tricked you!” the red faced cook choked out, screaming with laughter. Jordan bounded out of the kitchen, slamming the door behind him. It was his turn to think up a prank and carry it out...
Spring Chickensby Sophia Smith
The Hobbit, Book Reportby Timothy Sampson
Title: The Hobbit
Author: J.R.R Tolkien
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Published: 1937
Bilbo Baggins has a nice hobbit hole and he sits in his char and listens to the teapot boil. His life is predictable and comfortable. But his life is changed when he was asked to go on an adventure by Gandalf the wizard. When the dwarves come for dinner, they talk to Bilbo about the adventure.
Bilbo goes on the journey and he goes from adventure to adventure. He fights nasty goblins that are good at fighting. He meets giant, dumb trolls and giant spiders who are fast and good web makers as all spiders are. The creature Gollum who is intelligent and good at riddles tries to eat Bilbo. Many of the characters Bilbo meets come together at the end of the story to fight a battle. As the story unfolds Bilbo changes. He gets bolder and learns new skills like fighting with his sword. He must solve problems like how to get the dwarves out of the Elf prison. By the end of the book, Bilbo learns that going on a journey, doing new and brave exploits, especially if you have the help of friends, is a good thing.
One feature of the book I really like is the cool songs and the riddles. One of the songs is “Blunt the knives and bend the forks” the dwarves sing it to tease Bilbo. One of the riddles is “What has roots as nobody sees, Is taller than trees, Up, up it goes, and yet never grows?” Gollum asked this, but Bilbo was too good. He said “Mountains.”
There are a lot of features in the Hobbit. The characters are very well described. It has a lot of adventure, which I like. You may learn from this book that adventures are a good thing because you get fresh air, new skills and learn how to survive away from home.
Above: A picture by Ester Harmse.
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Long Patrol Hare
A drawing sent in by Bonnie Smithies.
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How to Accidentally Create a SuperhumanA superhuman character, that is. (If you wanted to learn how to become Spiderman, you'll have to find another blog.)
Unlocking the door, Tim opened it, threw his leather jacket onto a rusty hook, grabbed a packet of chips from the cupboard, and slumped down in front of the TV.
What is the problem with this sentence? The problem is that Tim is doing all five actions (unlocking the door, opening the door, hanging up his jacket, getting food, and sitting down) at the same time. Simultaneously.
Unless he's Superman (and he isn't), this obviously won't work. He can't do all those actions at the same time; he does them one by one.
Starting your sentences with '-ing' verbs can cause these problems. (And yes, I know that their technical name is present participle, but we won't go into that now.) This is not to say that you shouldn't use '-ing' verbs, it just means that you need to be very careful when doing so, that you don't cause a simultaneousness problem. (And yes, that is a word.)
Related to this is action-reaction order. The action comes first, the reaction comes after that. Don't have your character reacting to an action before (or at the same time as) the action is occurring. Using '-ing' verbs can cause this, so even if the two actions can physically occur at the same time, be careful that one of them isn't actually a reaction to the other.
Just because these are funny, I'll post some more simultaneousness-problem examples:
Spinning round, Kate ran towards the school.Slamming a hand over his mouth, Joe screamed a warning.Switching on her computer, Tina opened Outlook.
And an action-reaction one:
Spinning round, Mary felt a presence behind her.
Note that because Mary should feel the presence behind her before spinning round, switching the two parts wouldn't change anything. '-ing' sentences happen simultaneously.
Feeling a presence behind her, Mary spun around.
Above: A picture by Ester Harmse.
Using sentences that start with '-ing' (or number 4's for any other IEW-ers) can vary the sentence structure, but it is important to be careful in using them, as problems can easily occur, as can be seen above.
Used with permission from jagswiftstorm.blogspot.com
