Mega Shadow Day Creativity Challenge

This afternoon was “Mega Shadow Day” at my school. This is a rather ominous sounding name for a day intended to convince accepted 8th graders to come to the school next year. My principal refers to it as a busman’s holiday as the 8th graders leave their schools to come take classes at ours for the afternoon. But it must work. Year after year, there are 9th graders who tell me that they remember my activity from their Mega Shadow Day the year before.

I am an English teacher with all that that comprises: reading comp, grammar, writing, literary analysis, research methods, but for Mega Shadow Day, I put all that aside and run a little creative writing workshop. I give the girls lollipops, introduce myself, have them introduce themselves, and then provide them with a story starter, telling them that from one sentence, we can create vastly different stories. Then we write for ten minutes. Finally, we share what we’ve come up with so far. It passes the time and is fun, even if some of the girls are a little shy about reading their stories at first.

I ran two sessions today with different 8th graders each time, but the same 9th grade helpers, so I gave two different story starters. See what you can do with one or both of these. Where does it lead you? The only “rule” is that you must start your story with this sentence. Everything that follows is up to you.

1. I knew I shouldn’t have taken that short cut through the cemetery.
2. I can’t believe I let Lindsay talk me into taking this short cut.

If you feel inspired, post your story in the comments below or give me a pingback if you post it on your own blog. Happy writing!

Opening Line Challenge

Opening lines. We writers are well aware of the importance of opening lines, and of the few great ones that bandied about, epitomes of the genre:
Dickens, of course: ” It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
Austen: “It is s a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

I could go on, but I digress from my main purpose. Today is December 1st, and I forgot to put this month’s train pass in my wallet. On the way in to work, I received a courtesy pass, but coming home, I had to pay. So to, I noticed, did many others on the train. So, I said to the conductor as he punched my ticket,

“I think December took many people by surprise today.”

He agreed and went on his busy way, and I was left with what sounds to me like a great opening line.

So I challenge you, my friends, to finish the thought. Using fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or even drama, write a post or a comment starting with “December took many people by surprise today.” (We’ll leave off the “I think” so you can choose your own point of view.) Write in the comments here or on your own blog with a pingback.

I hope many of you will participate. I look forward to reading your works!!!