27 January 2024
Posted by By Carla Hall
Discovery
This week’s session of Mayflower Junior and Young Writers was all about discovery. Who are we as individuals? Who do we want to become? How can we uncover and discover new ways of perceiving language?
This session marked the beginning of Carla’s journey as the assistant for the group. As a way for everyone to become acquainted, Ali brought two self-discovery worksheets to fill out (pictures attached).
The first sheet, This is me… encouraged us to share their name, age, favourite book, strengths, flaws, what drives them mad, dream super power, and their reason for being part of the group. Everybody, including Ali and Carla, shared their passion for writing, setting the session up on a great note.
The second sheet asked us to come up with two truths and a lie. The writers had played this game before, so it didn’t take long for each box to be filled and for the group to put on their investigator hats. We can now confirm that one person in our group has been on the world's largest water slide, and that Ali once toured with a juggling circus.
After our break, Ali shared different ways to use language. We looked at an alphanumeric device using D(4)O(15)G(7) as an example, then Ali taught us a special book cipher we could use to send secret messages to our friends.
00 - 00 - 00
This cipher correlates to page number, line number, and word number.
Ali’s book Cipher came with some rules.
The person you’re sending the code to must have the same edition of said book.
This code is secure so long as you keep the key a secret - key = book
If your friend has the same book as you, but not the same edition, you can change the cipher to chapter number, line number, word number, limiting any variables.
To discover more about ourselves, Ali asked us to write a story beginning with the scenario that annoyed us from the first sheet. The story had to be set seven years from now. The group shared their scenes, delivering glistening imagery of themselves in the future. Here are some of our favourite titles.
Hedgehog Haters
Marmite Moments
Blow-torched Encyclopedia
Next week we will have Sue with us leading for Ali, whilst she’s away on her book tour.
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'
