Writing Unleashed with Laura M. Harkins

eriecountyfireblotter.com This is the third writing assignment for my 200 Proof Storytelling class with Craig Clevenger.  I was inspired by a cooking incident at Penn State, main campus, during my Junior year.  My goal for this assignment was to write with humor, but I don't think it came across.  I think it was much funnier in my head.  All feedback is welcome.    Enjoy.   Homemade Disaster By Laura M. Campbell The lampposts at the dead end of Beaver Avenue popped on as Ashley walked into the elevator.  The pungent odor, lingering from the weekend, slapped her in the face.  She grabbed the collar of her sweatshirt, using it as a makeshift gas mask.  Drunken assholes mistook the elevator for a Porto-John, pissing all over it, a typical weekend at Penn State.  She tapped her foot as it climbed to the third floor of Gateway III in anticipation of dinner.  Her mother sent a recipe with the last care package, and the homema...

Two boys playing on my street inspired me to write this week's assignment, which required me to dive deeper into dialogue, experimenting with as few dialogue tags as possible.  The few tags employed act as anchors to inform the reader which character is speaking.  Any other attributes to inform the reader are through description of action. Enjoy.  Your feedback is always appreciated.   Playground Power Struggle By Laura M. Campbell School bus 81 pulled into Willow Hill Estates just before four o’clock.   The weather unseasonably warm for a Friday in February filled all the children with hysterical energy after a long day of classes.   Laughter and chatter floated out the cracked windows while they grabbed their book bags and lunch boxes preparing to get off the bus.   Andy pressed his face against the window, scanning the crowd of parents for his mother’s red coat.   His gaze moved over to the playground.   Only a few youn...

discoveringmandarin.blogspot.com My first assignment for 200 Proof Storytelling required me to write a scene predominantly dialogue to practice status play.  The character with high status is considered to be in control; the other one has low status.  The point of the assignment was to create more dynamic dialogue, whether funny or dramatic, by tossing the high status between the two characters. The exercise provided an opportunity to better understand my characters in a short story I've been working on.  I'm struggling with the characters.  Their personality, motivation and how they handle situations is not fully developed. The scene with the abusive husband and his wife precedes my story and will not be included.  Although the husband is the aggressor, I wanted the wife to exhibit the strength she'll need to runaway in the short story. Disclaimer : The following scene contains: explicit violence and adult language. Punishment It was a chilly W...

The first week of Craig Clevenger's 200 Proof Storytelling writing course is over.  Reading material consumed, Sexy Beast case study completed and first writing assignment turned in.   The experience has been intense.  The excitement of meeting everyone and learning from Clevenger is a few days has left my head spinning.  Over the weekend, the class was divided into critique groups.  Each of us were in charge of critiquing our groups' dialogue assignment.  What a great idea!  Not only can I take in the lectures from the comfort of my home, but I don't have to travel anywhere for the workshop.   Wrong!  Reading a peer's work and making comments isn't too hard.  When I have more to say than the comments written on the writing I find myself in a jam. My feedback felt light and unhelpful.  In a more traditional setting I'm afforded the opportunity to verbally explain myself to the writer.  In the online classroom, you ...

adlandcreative.wordpress.com Story ideas run around my head all the time.  Usually, fear keeps them up there.  I'm dying to write something people want to read.  So, I joined a writers group hoping it would encourage me to write.  The first meeting was approaching and I wanted to submit. I got my ass into gear and wrote a short story NaNoWriMo style.  It was the only way I knew how.  Mistake number one.  I submitted the story.  The other two members returned it with a lot of constructive criticism.  I understood what they were kind enough not to say.  My story was crap.  It read like a 12-year-old wrote it.  I needed help.  After the meeting, the story went into hiding until the week before the second meeting.  Honestly, I just didn't want to face the fact that I can't write well.  I read over the story and feedback.  Ideas for improvements came to me immediately....

I'm exhausted. Shoveling over a foot of snow drained all my energy.  This blog post is going to be short.     I just signed up for my first writing class .  It's a four week online course in February lead by  Author Craig Clevenger.  It looks like its going to be the kick in the pants I need.  I'm really excited and can't wait to get started. I also entered Nathan Bransford Paragraph Contest.  My entry is below.  I honestly have no idea if it's any good.   I'm not even sure if I'm any good at writing.  One thing I know: I'm tired of doubting myself.   Magpie Writes discussed the murdering of your inner editor on her blog today.  Right now, I'm giving mine a big F U!  Honestly, I may not always believe in my work, but I believe in myself.  I'm making positive steps in my writing life.  I just need to have the patience to wait and see where they take me.        That's it.  No...