(DISCLAIMER: This thread is for activities available for members only - If you haven't already, sign up Here before posting here. Please also refrain from idle chat as well merely for the sake of organisation and keeping track of activities - any questions can be owled to me).

Members! Welcome to the Activity Board!

Here you'll find lectures and tasks which you can participate in to create and share your works as well as offer feedback!

I will make weekly/fortnightly activities which will be posted and alerted to you all regularly - While you'll be notified via @Mentions when each task is available, always be sure to check this thread every now and then just in case (or refer to the Sign-Up page for announcements ).

If an activity has this font displayed - it is open.
If an activity has this font displayed - it is closed.
All activities will have a deadline date displayed when they're published.

Activities will be preceded by a Lecture - It'll involve an in-depth explanation of what the topic is and guidance on how to go about it - My work will be used as examples in each Lecture to help.

This here is a list of topics which I'd like to cover and will be updated overtime to keep interest - if anyone has anything specific they want me to cover, please owl me
TOPICS:

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- Introductory Piece (06/06/2024)
- Abstractions to Imagery (13/06/2024)
- Prompt to Description (20/06/2024)
- Drabbles, 55 Fiction and Fast Fiction (27/06/2024)
- "Don't Judge a Book by its Cover"/Blurbs (04/07/2024)
- Shaping a Poem (11/07/2024)
- Lyricist Writing (18/07/2024)
- Interpretations - Music/Photos (25/07/2024)
- Adaptations I - Graphic Novels (01/08/2024)
- Adaptations II - Films/TV (15/08/2024)
- Point of View (29/08/2024)
- Subtext (05/08/2024)
(More to be announced down the line!)

All activities aren't mandatory but are encouraged to be participated by all who have signed up - This club is designed under the hopes of inspiring writers such as yourselves to broaden and expand your style and techniques, and they're all fun little exercises where fair and just feedback can be given. I'll not hunt you down or look for an explanation if you haven't posted under an assignment. Even if you submit what you've done so far, that's just fine!

When you have submitted an assignment and are waiting for the next one, you can send feedback to other members so long as the activity is open - please keep in mind that once an activity is closed, feedback for that activity can no longer be posted (This helps keep things organised). If you wish, you may choose to owl other members privately for feedback.

I think that covers it! Any questions, just owl me. Otherwise... Happy writing!

06/06/2024
ASSIGNMENT IS NOW OPEN!
INTRODUCTORY PIECE

LECTURE:

Not much to say here!
As it's the first week - and by definition the first assignment - I just want a short piece from yous about yourself! It can be a description, a poem... whichever you like!
This is a good way to learn each other's writing styles and preferences!

CRITERIA:
- Max. Word Count = 300 words.

DEADLINE = 13/06/2024 - 11pm UTC/GMT

The world of Giselle

The autumn breeze was flowing
So gently towards the forlorn
The September air -
Giselle was born.

An extrovert by nature
With mischievous intentions
Breaking school rules
Trying to get out of detention.

A girl with bright blue eyes
Piercing even in the wind
And long, wavy hair
Flowing beside gently.

The Magic of Ruby Night

In Camden Town where flowers bloom,
And bees hum tunes in the garden's room,
Lives Ruby Night, a girl so small,
With a heart so big, she stands so tall.

Blonde hair shimmers in the morning light,
With a rainbow lock, so bold and bright.
Blue eyes gleam with curiosity,
A birthmark feather, her unique rarity.

Comfy in jeans and a hoodie she wears,
All Stars on her feet, she climbs life's stairs.
Smart and shy, but when friends are near,
Outspoken and kind, she shows no fear.

Puzzles and herbs, she loves them all,
Dreams of healing, heeding the call.
From mother’s garden to father’s lore,
She blends two worlds, seeks to explore.

At Hogwarts, new lessons she will seek,
Herbology, potions, and runes so unique.
No House preference, just kindness she needs,
Among friends and knowledge, her heart leads.

Adventures await at Hogwarts' door,
A future so bright, she longs to explore.
With a feathered mark and a heart so light,
The world will know the magic of Ruby Night.

ASSIGNMENT IS NOW CLOSED!

Hi all! The activity – “Introductory Piece” – Is now closed. Well done to those who have submitted their work, they were fabulous! For those who hadn’t managed to submit theirs, don’t fret!
Stay tuned, for the next activity will be released shortly!

13/06/2024
ASSIGNMENT IS NOW OPEN!
ABSTRACTIONS TO IMAGES

This activity is to encourage the use of concrete imagery, things that you can
taste, hear, touch, smell and see, rather than the expression of subjective emotions.

LECTURE:
What’s an Image?
- An image is usually a concrete idea, sentence or phrase – it’s usually depicted through the use of one or many of your five senses; touch, taste, hearing, sight, smell.
By appealing to the senses images can tap into our imaginations. They invoke an emotional response by describing something physical.

What’s an Abstraction?
- An abstraction is a vague concept or idea – they’re not as strong when trying to engage with our senses or imagination.
Where we aim to show, abstractions tell.
“Go in fear of abstractions. Don’t retell in mediocre verse what has already been done in good prose. Don’t think any intelligent person is going to be deceived when you try to shirk all the difficulties of the unspeakably difficult art of good prose by chopping your composition into line lengths.”
Ezra Pound ‘A Few Don'ts by an Imagiste’ (1913)
What Ezra Pound is saying is that you mustn’t oversimplify your writing. While it’s easy to oversaturate your work in various styles (which we’ll talk about in later discussions) simply stating an emotion or idea isn’t enough to add weight to your writing.
For example: You might want to convey something like: “my father was dutiful and hardworking. He loved me”.
However, this tells us nothing about you, or your father, or any kind of example of duty or love.
Similes and metaphors can be helpful in converting abstractions into full images.
Your task is to convert each abstraction into a single sentence image. Would a reader know which of the abstractions on the list the image is evoking without being told? This will be a test of whether your images work or not.

List of Abstractions:

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ability
achievement
adoration
anxiety
apprehension
artistry
awe
beauty
belief
belonging
bravery
brutality
calm
chaos
charity
childhood
clarity
coldness
comfort
compassion
confidence
confusion
contentment
co-operation
courage
crime
cruelty
curiosity
death
deceit
dedication
defeat
depression
despair
determination
disappointment
disbelief
doubt
ego
elegance
enthusiasm
envy
exhaustion
evil
failure
faith
faithfulness
faithlessness
fear
forgiveness
fragility
freedom
friendship
frustration
goodness
grace
gratitude
grief
happiness
hate
hatred
hope
humility
hurt
imagination
independence
infatuation
insanity
inspiration
intelligence
jealousy
joy
justice
kindness
knowledge
laughter
law
liberty
life
loneliness
loss
love
loyalty
luck
maturity
memory
mercy
morality
need
opinion
pain
patience
peace
perseverance
pleasure
poverty
power
pride
reality
redemption
relief
restoration
riches
romance
rumour
sacrifice
sadness
sanity
satisfaction
skill
slavery
sleep
sorrow
strength
stupidity
submission
success
sympathy
talent
tiredness
tolerance
weakness
wealth
wisdom
worry

CRITERIA:
- Pick at least three abstractions from the list and write 2-3 sentences, converting them into effective images.
-You only need one line for each sentence - keep them short and sweet!

My Examples:
Romance
I’m lost in your oceanic eyes as you talk about your day, pulled along by the chords of your voice.
My face, hot and dusted in colour as your words sweeten the conversation.
His body was blanketed by her perfumed frame and pressed close to taste her cherry lips.

Compassion/Comfort
Everyone was wrapped in her embrace while her arms continued to stretch out further, eager to spread her care.
Her demeanour radiated with pure affection as the girl cried into her shoulder, the fabric of her clothes absorbing the muffled cries.
Their salty tears fell from their eyes, but flowed into streams of relief as their faces began to smile in each other’s warmth.

Imagination
It was the one place that belonged to me and no one else could see; constantly inventing a discord of images where none is rejected.
My whimsical mind machine never stops running no matter how old I get.
It was like an endless landscape of unbounded creation, each step of the journey more fantastical than the last.

DEADLINE = 20/06/2024 - 11pm UTC/GMT

Anxiety
The room felt like it was closing in, the walls inching closer with every thud of my racing heart.
My thoughts spiraled like a tornado, each worry a piece of debris caught in the chaotic whirl.
A bead of sweat traced a path down my temple as my hands trembled, clutching the paper that suddenly felt too heavy.

Memory
The scent of freshly baked bread transported me back to my grandmother's kitchen, the warmth of her smile lingering like a ghost.
His laughter echoed through the empty halls of my mind, a distant yet vivid melody that time couldn't erase.
The faded fotograph curled at the edges, but the scene it captured - a sunlit day by the beach - remained crisp in my heart.

Sleep
Her eyelids grew heavy as the soft whisper of the night breeze lulled her into a gentle, enveloping darkness.
The bed embraced me like a cocoon, the blankets weaving a tapestry of warmth and tranquility.
Stars danced behaind closed eyes, pulling me into the deep, velvety void of restful slumber.

loss
The loss of you made me feel scarce, my heart belongs to you like nobody would ever.
The thought of it still stings me like a piercing knife, sometimes myself bundled in a tunnel of despair.
The loss of you, like forever sadness, the grieving moment was when the stars drop.

friendship
The power of friendship, nestled among the stars in the sky, when one star finds another, into the different possibilities of connections.
I wandered into my night sleep as a tunnel of friendship, filled with all others, closed insid Emmy very eyes.
The room was dark, the light of friendship was piercing through the velvety darkness, and far out of the curtains.

beauty
The beauty of the girl, as obvious as it was, showed a slender being that was impossible to believe.
Her sleek blonde hair was too lovely, as though it was just the beauty of her heart, going over to her tanned face.
I was clutching my gasp of amazement as the fair, tanned skin danced through the velvety carpet.