18 October 2021
Posted by Matt L.T. Smtih
Earthquakes & Dominoes - MAST Collective Blog #4
When you start lining up dominoes it’s an easy assumption how they’re going to fall. But in this life how often are we the ones that get to do the flicking? Or even the lining up for that matter. Was it even a flick that put events in motion? Did the cat come along and decide to topple the line? Was it the wind? Or an earthquake?
Today we are manufacturing synchronicity in our town. Thinking about cause and effect, we’re tasked with first writing about effect. An event is being observed within the town with an unknown cause, what are you or your character seeing? Once our events have been sketched we enter them into the Padlet. And now it’s time to swap pieces, write the catalyst that sparked someone else’s event. They’ve lined it up, and now it’s up to you to flick, or blow, or build some kind of doomsday earthquake machine. Relinquishing control over your own words can be hard, but what changes when someone else brings their voice to your event?
We next take a look at Olga Tokarczuk’s piece ‘Purging the Map,’ where she sets about erasing the places where she experienced hurt. Expunging the scene of a bad memory is a tantalizing thought. Contemplating this Antosh next tasks us with creating a demolishing act, perhaps a place erased from our growing town or a memory. Is forgetting a kind of demolition? Is demolition always an ending? What comes after a demolition?
Revisiting our work on limbos we start thinking about the notion of an island, guided by Tokarczuk’s writings on islands. An island is a space disconnected from all other places. We think about what makes someone remain in place? What keeps them from leaving? Is there just endless ocean and nowhere else to go? What stops events from moving?
Archive
Junior & Young Writers Week 3: Return From The Magical World
Junior & Young Writers Week 2: African Mythology
Problems, Problems, Problems...
Cautionary Tales & Christmassy Opening Lines
You've Gotta Have Pace, Pace, Pace
Junior & Young Writers Week 1: Alien Encounters
Junior & Young Writers: Week 5 - Play on Words Pt. 2
Junior & Young Writers: Week 11 - end of term showcase [build a bard workshop]
Junior & Young Writers: Week 10 - Greek Theatre - chorus stories
Junior & Young Writers: Week 9 - Greek Origin Stories - Spring
Rubber Ducks & Writing Festivals
Junior & Young Writers: Week 7 - Greek Hero Stories [the 12 labours of Hercules]
Junior & Young Writers: Week 12 [Wild Words] - Stuff & Things
Junior & Young Writers: Week 11 [Wild Words] - World Building 2
Junior & Young Writers: Week 10 [Wild Words] - World Building
Junior & Young Writers: Week 9 [Wild Words] - Mystery & Choose Your Own Adventure
Junior & Young Writers: Week 8 [Wild Words] - Spooky Sequels & Potion Poems
Junior & Young Writers – Week 10 (Writers’ Inspiration) – Final Showcase
Junior & Young Writers – Week 9 (Writers’ Inspiration) – Editing & Performance Tips
Junior & Young Writers – Week 8 (Writers’ Inspiration) – Cuteness
Time goes on by Tavinder Kaur New
Junior & Young Writers – Week 7 (Writers’ Inspiration) – Natural Solutions
Junior & Young Writers – Week 6 (Writers’ Inspiration) – The Language of Fruit and Veg
Junior & Young Writers – Week 5 (Writers’ Inspiration) – Adventures In Space
Tinklebobs and Bedraggled Angles
Junior & Young Writers – Week 4 (Writers’ Inspiration) – Our Environment
Fortune Tellers & Future Letters
Junior & Young Writers – Week 3 (Writers’ Inspiration) – Home
Young Writers - Week 10 (The Art of Writing) – Final Week Showcase
Junior Writers - Week 10 (The Art of Writing) – Final Week Showcase
Young Writers – Week 9 (The Art of Writing) – Choose Your Own Adventure
Junior Writers – Week 9 (The Art of Writing) – Choose Your Own Adventure
Young Writers – Week 8 (The Art of Writing) – Sequel Stories
Junior Writers – Week 8 (The Art of Writing) – Sequel Stories
Young Writers – Week 7 (The Art of Writing) – Picture Prompts
Junior Writers – Week 7 (The Art of Writing) – Picture Prompts
Young Writers - Week 6 (The Art of Writing) - Script-writing & Dialogue
Junior Writers - Week 6 (The Art of Writing) - Script-writing & Dialogue
Junior Writers – Week 5 (The Art of Writing) – Poetry
Young Writers - Week 5 (The Art of Writing) - Poetry Potions
Edward The Martyr - A Competition!
Mood Boards and Postcards from Space
Young Writers - Week 3 (The Art of Writing) - PLOT
Junior Writers - Week 3 (The Art of Writing) - PLOT
Moomin Stories and Hollywood Pitches
Young Writers - Week 2 (The Art of Writing) - Genre & Setting
Junior Writers - Week 2 (The Art of Writing) - Genre & Setting
Prompts, Dialogues, and Cliché
Story Structure Part One: Exposition and Beyond...
Young Writers - Week 1 (The Art of Writing) - Character
Young Writers - week 4 - Nature Writing [animals & wildlife]
Junior Writers - week 4 - Nature Writing [animals & wildlife]
Young Writers - week 3 - Nature Writing [trees/plants/flowers]
Junior Writers - week 3 - Nature Writing [trees/plants/flowers]
Young Writers - week 2 - 'fractured fairy tales'
Junior Writers - week 2 - 'fractured fairy tales'
