Look at that date - 8th August - that means we've come to the end of our Imagination Sparks Blogfest. Well I say Pffffft! to dates. I've read some fantastic writing exercise ideas from the blogs participating (you can visit them too, at the links below. I've been trying them all out this week and gotten some interesting results. Soooo, I've decided to extend the date and blog my results of each exercise I tried separately. If you're taking place, please blog your results too, so we can see how you went.
I'm starting with Milly's post from Paper Dolls. Milly is 13 and blogs reviewing tween and teen fiction with her little sister Tilly (they're also my daughters, so books are pretty major in our house). Both girls like writing and Milly's favourite writing exercise involves recording her dreams.
All writers know you should write down your dreams, and we all mean to... but... sometimes we need reminding. I tried this exercise for three nights with a pad and pen right by my bed, but kept forgetting to actually write things down - I'm pretty dopey first thing in the morning. I'm sure I had amazing dreams those nights.
On the fourth try I finally remembered to write down my dream. I was teaching a very disruptive class of teenagers English in a demountable classroom.
What?
In real life I teach (amongst other topics) English to teenagers in a demountable classroom. Even the kids were the same. I pointed out of Facebook that this dream was a bit of a let down. Who wants to record a dream just like real life? Then I thought more about it. One of the kids was trying to sneak out of the class. Why? There was a visiting carnival to the school and these kids were not allowed to participate. There were rides and shows and a scary looking clown. I kind of think the clown might have been someone evil undercover.
Ta da! School taken over by evil circus and the only people left to help are the naughtiest kids in the school and the very tired teacher. Or maybe the clown is a pedophile, the kid that escapes class is sneaking around the back of the buildings in time to catch him trying to abduct a child. These kids might be disruptive, but they're brave if nothing else, and they always stick up for each other. There's no way this kid would just walk away.
Did you dream any good plots this week?
And I'm loving this blogfest so much, I've decided to run it again (maybe same time next year?) but next time let it run for a month (although I don't dictate how many times you post about you inspiring exercise).
Most of the stories I create originate from a dream. I'm always jotting down my dreams. Most are cool ideas that don't go anywhere, but some have potential.
ReplyDeleteLove your dream and how it turned into a mystery with the school being taken over by a fake circus and the naughty kids are the heros. Write on!...and Dream on, too!
ReplyDeleteNone of my dreams have made it into a book yet, but there is future potential. :)
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a GREAT story! Also, check out dreammoods.com for possible hidden meanings and clues. :)
ReplyDeleteThe whole evil circus thing sounds cool. :P
ReplyDeleteyour post proves I need to write down my dreams more often ;)
ReplyDeleteI too love an evil circus story.
Yes I think dreams are filled with unconsciously rich material. Freud would probably agree.
ReplyDeleteSorry I missed the blog fest. Just reading this post I can sense your tremendous creative energy. And how wonderful that more still remains to be discovered.