wea.org.uk/getonline

Creative writing

If you have been missing putting your pen to paper, here are a few activities to get you writing.

Activity one:POETRY: HAIKU

For more information on haiku poems poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/haiku-or-hokku

You can read more of Basho’s Haiku poems here:

masterpiece-of-japanese-culture.com/literatures-and-poems/haiku/ matsuo-basho/famous-haiku-poems-matsuo-basho

An old silent pond!

A frog jumps into the pond -

splash! Silence again.

(Matsuo Basho, 1644-1694)

Haiku includes a seasonal word – for instance, blossom, which tells the reader the time of year. It is written in the moment and often uses images to describe a feeling. Haikus can be about any subject; love and nature are common themes.

Write your own haiku.1 Look out of a window and

write down what you can see. Use your senses (what you can hear, see, touch, taste, smell) to describe what is happening outside.

2 Once you have your description, try to write down three short lines. Now try and make each line of your description the correct amount of syllables. You can check the syllables by clapping as you read aloud, each clap is one syllable.

3 Share your haiku with friends, family. If you have Facebook, let the WEA see your poem by including #WEAATHOME when you post

What is haiku? A haiku is a short poetic form from Japan, made up of three lines and 17 syllables:

line 1: 5 syllables

line 2: 7 syllables

line 3: 5 syllables

A syllable is a single unbroken sound of spoke (or written) word. For example, the word cat is one syllable, donkey is two (don/key) and elephant is a three-syllable word (el/e/phant)

Activity two:GETTING STARTED WITH STORIES

WHO?Character one: Gemma, an environmentalist, lives in the forest in a tent, tries to save the trees. She is very serious.

Character two: Steve, Gemma’s dad, he works in a bank, doesn’t like protests. He always tells the wrong jokes.

WHAT?Steve visits Gemma, he doesn’t approve of her living in a tent.

WHY?Steve missed Gemma, he hadn’t seen her since Christmas. He doesn’t approve of her living in a tent. It seems unsafe and he only knows how to live inside a house with running water and heating

WHEN? Today - early June 2020 middle of the afternoon

WHERE? A woods on the outskirts of Birmingham, UK

As you can see from the example below, a story can quickly unfold now you have answers to five simple questions.

Once you have answered the five questions, take some time to think about the answers and let a story develop in your mind. See if you can write a short story.

When journalist start writing to tell a story, they ask themselves a few quick

questions: who? what? why? when? and where? These questions are a great way to begin a story, especially if you do not have much time. To start your story, answer these five questions, try not to overthink. Below is an example:

Activity three:WRITING IN THE STYLE OF

Learn some of the tricks and effects of poetry, by considering well-

known poets.

Part 1: How to write in the style of… John Betjeman.Example: here’s my attempt:

Amelia van Horne, Miss Amelia van Horne

Long-limbed and lovely out there on the lawn

Among the remains of our afternoon tea

I wonder if you might be thinking of me?

Or did I imagine I might be “the one”,

As we shared lemonade and a sweet-buttered scone?

I hope this comes over as an affectionate homage, a jokey pastiche. But what is it that that makes this attempt “Betjeman-esque”? Consider these factors:

Subject-matter - what are the sort of things that Betjeman liked to write about? What social set? What kind of things happens?

Voice - does he sound like an angry man? Does he sound like a serious man?

Structure - what is the effect of the rhyming couplets (the two rhyming lines in couples together)? Can you spot any alliteration? And what effect does that have?

Rhythm - what’s the impact of that tumpetty-tum rhythm? (Research what’s the technical term for this metre.)

Consider: what different effect would the poem have, if… I changed the scone to a “clotted-cream scone”: what might it suggest about the affluence of the characters in the poem? But would that “clot” change how we feel about the ‘I/me’ figure in the poem? And what does the poem lose, if I take out the word “sweet”, as in “sweet-buttered scone”? Consider: if you think ‘scone’ should rhyme with ‘drone’, and not with ‘one’… how would you change the poem?

Sample the real thing: exemplar works by Betjeman include A Subaltern’s Love-Song; Indoor Games Near Newbury; Youth and Age on Beaulieu River, Hants.

Now have a go at writing the next few lines of my poem… or write your own poem… in the style of John Betjeman

Contributions from WEA tutors Sally Baker, Maxine Linnell, Mike Wilson

Leading adult education charity, The WEA, empowers adults through learning at all stages of life. We bring great teaching to local communities, reaching around 50,000 students a year across England and Scotland.

We believe all adults should have access to the opportunities of education, right on their doorstep. With 2,000+ dedicated professional tutors, 3,000+ active volunteers and supportive members, we spread our impact nationwide - with every new voice making us louder!

Learn the WEA way. Your way.

Find out more wea.org.uk/getonlineor 0300 303 3464

Enrolment and financial support

How do I enrol?You can enrol online via our website wea.org.uk/getonlineAlternatively you can contact our Support team on 0300 303 3464.You will need your credit/debit card available as course fees (where applicable) are taken at the time of enrolling. It is really quick and easy to enrol online. You will need to set up an online account for this which you can do very quickly at the time you enrol, via our website which is safe and secure.

What does a course cost? For students who are required to pay a fee for their courses, fees are shown against each course or on the page where the course appears. All students will be asked to provide their date of birth at the time they enrol. This information is required by our funders.

Are some courses free? For ESFA funded courses, you are entitled to free tuition if you receive certain benefits, see here (or if you are dependent on someone who receives those benefits). You may be asked for evidence of your benefit status such as a letter from Job Centre Plus.

for more information go to wea.org/getonline

The WEA is a charity registered in England and Wales (no. 1112775) and in Scotland (no. SC039239).