Young Writers' Inc.

For all of you young writers with clever and crazy ideas, I was asked last year by some students to start up a writers' workshop. And so we did; we met in the late mornings, on Saturday at school, and wrote, following the weekly protocol. We got to week 5, and then the school year ended.

Some of the writings were published on the now belated vip forum, and some were suppose to get published on this blog:

http://nova-writers-group.blogspot.com/

We are about to restart, or shall I say continue the workshop: but we are to meet outside of school, have tea, coffee, write in the natural elements and then share our thoughts by getting them published on the blog. If you want to participate, I encourage you to come and write with us; if you simply want to write in the leisure of your own home, then still share your thoughts with us by posting them on the blog.

have a good weekend!

Good People vs. Their Names

O'Connor's story abides by the use of symbolic referrences - let's start with the names of the characters:

Why have a character called Mrs. Hopefull? Or Mrs. Freeman? Or Manley Pointer?

then, why call Joy Hulga?

any thoughts?

Southern Gothic

So far we've read a healthy dose of Southern Literature - stories by Southern (American) writers about their own environment. Think:

'A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings'

'A Rose for Emily'

Now, we are entrenched in another example of Southern gothic - Flannery O'Connor's 'Good Country People'.

Identify:

a. Is there anything about this story that resembles (looks like, sounds like) the other ones?If so, then what would be that quality?

b. Is this a gothic story? If so, then what makes it one?

c. The story's tone and diction - how do you 'read' it? How would you qualify it?

Time travel in a narrative context

Things to consider:

a. Holden Caulfield is, amongst other things, a decent sample of the post WW II teenager. That is, there are many things about him which are dated (seem to belong to the time he was created, concieved as a literary figure).

b. On the other hand, there are a number of things about him and his world which remain universal.

c. Bearing that in mind, imagine that Holden has crossed over, found a glitch in time, and miraculously come to visit us. Write down a journal entry for his day in 2005 NYC. What would shock him (would anything shock him?)? How about those ducks, and that hat? What of the phonies in a J.Lo and B.Spears reality? Use the first person.

d. Begin with the following sentence: And I thought the world was spinning; boy was I off.