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Maragret Johnson's Homework for 18th June

19/6/2015

MARGARET JOHNSON'S HOMEWORK ~ 17th June 2015 ~ 750

I am still very unsure about the novels that have made an impression on me through the use of dialogue. I am spoilt for choice and so far I have come up with two candidates.

1) "Crime and punishment" by Fyodor Dostoyevski.
The novel is composed of much inner and outer dialogue as Raskalnikov wrestles with
the poverty of the times in St Petersburg and the repercussions of a double murder. There is much dialogue throughout the novel but the exchange that always made a great impression on me is between Raskalnikov and Sonia in part 4. This is a very long passage where he visits her and the poverty of her surroundings and her reactions are described through inner dialogue. The actual conversation is a long riveting exchange and he comes very close to admitting the murder of Lizaveta her friend who was unlucky enough to be present when he murdered the Pawnbroker.

2)"Animal Farm" by George Orwell.
The interactions between the animals and the levels of dialogue between the aggressive pigs and the other farmyard animals make for some very interesting dialogue exchanges.This with the political theme running throughout make for some really interesting quotes.

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EPISTOLARY story, 14th June 2015

16/6/2015

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We were asked to write an important letter either/ About our character, /To our character or / From our character, during our session last week. I came up with this~

Dear Mrs Braithwaite-Dickus,
This is to inform you that we have a very large sum of money in trust waiting for your husband to collect. Despite numerous letters to his previous residences we have been unable to contact him to discharge our responsibilities in this matter.
We have obtained your name and address through a family member of yours, Grace Reynolds of Colchester.
I would appreciate an early reply to enable us to complete this matter.
Yours faithfully,

We were then asked to examine a series of communications that went to make up an EPISTOLARY story, and to construct a story using our character. I came up with this~

(1) Account to Clarence Hall, stockbroker, from SIMPSON, JONES and SMITH.
To preparing legal documents and a letter on 27th May 2014, to Mrs Braithwaite-Smith of the Highlands, Scotland. £700.00

(2) e-mail from C. Hall to P Stroud.~ Peter, I am sure Dickus has hidden financial assets. We must catch up with him using any means possible. I have put the wheels in motion by hiring a film of lawyers to write to a Grace Reynolds in Colchester asking for Mary's address.

(3) Letter from Grace Reynolds to Mary Braithwaite-Dickus.~
Dear Mary,
Wonderful news, I have had an enquiry from a firm of solicitors trying to trace Maxwell. He has a very large sum of money waiting for him in London. I gave them your Aunt Ermilia's address in the Highlands as you have asked me never to reveal where you are living now. How are the children?

(4) e-mail from Mary Braithwaite-Dickus to Ermilia Austin in the Scottish Highlands ~ Please do not reveal our address to anyone, even if there is a large sum of money involved. Find out more details! We look forward to seeing you soon. Love Mary

(5) Text message from Ermilia Austin to Mary Braithwaite-Dickus.~ Mary, they have been here. Beware, they do not look genuine, George set the dogs on them and they left, but they may come back! I have called the police.

(6) Notebook entry by P.C. J. Edwards, 765.~
I was called to the residence of Mrs E. Austin to investigate two suspicious characters who turned up on her doorstep asking personal questions in a threatening, intimidating manner. The suspects were long gone. I advised the Austin's on security measures and said we would keep an eye open for these men.

(7) Letter from Mary Braithwaite-Dickus to Ermilia Austin~ Dear Ermlia, Please take care, I am glad you called the police. Would you please forward the enclosed letter back to those solicitors, Simpson, Jones and Smith. I hope to get to see you both again soon.

(8) Letter to Simpson, Jones and Smith, solicitors.
Dear Sirs.
I regret to inform you of the sudden death of Maxwell Braithwaite-Dickus. Please forward all future correspondence to the executors of his estate. Hammond, Johnson and Williamson solicitors

(9) e-mail from Clarence Hall to Peter Stroud ~ Peter, I have just had news that Dickus is dead. I think this is rather sudden and I am not sure of the facts. I will make some more enquiries.

I have left this here as an open-ended try at completing the task.

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WEEK TWO ~June 11th, 2015

11/6/2015

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Margaret J., was already waiting for the class to assemble and we were the first to arrive, our numbers had shrunk to 5 today as Joy is ill with a cold.

For the first exercise we were asked to compose three sentences about ourselves including one lie, the rest of the class were asked to identify which sentence was the lie. My three sentences were ~
(1) I am an ex-administrator for a University.
(2) I have lived on a yacht in France.
(3) I have seen the pyramids in Egypt.
There were mixed responses and Margaret wasn't allowed to respond.
A very interesting exercise.

We were then handed a list of 5 topics and required to write for five minutes on one of them.
I chose to ~ Write about a unique quality that makes you special. How does it impact on your life/other people's lives?.
"I have a very interesting way of being able to react to most situations or troubles in a positive way. Many times I have been able to help friends and family by coming up with a solution in a way that sheds an entirely different light on things. My children are able to take a note of things that trouble them and I am always available to give advice if and when it is necessary.
My wife has the same quality and where one of us fails to come up with a solution the other can quickly come to the rescue. This impacts very highly on both our lives and I probably should have answered question 4, in relation to this rapport, but I felt it was inappropriate under the circumstances. The details would probably have brought a blush to her cheeks."
(Question 4 was ~ Write about a person you admire. What qualities do you have in common with this person?).

We then discussed characters from books and fiction that have made an impact on us in the past.
Margaret chose Inspector Banks by Peter Robinson. A detective with many interesting traits.
I chose Colombo, a detective played by the late Peter Falk with many interesting characteristics. The stories were probably written by a series of different writers.
Rita chose Scarlet O'Hara from "Gone with the wind" and Bathsheba from "Far from the Madding Crowd", written by Thomas Hardy.
Ettienne chose Estragon from "Waiting fo Goddo"
Melanie chose "Emma" by Jane Austen as a study of isolation.

After our break for tea we were asked to Write an important letter either, About/ or To /or From / your character.
I wrote a letter to Mary Braithwaite-Dickus about her husband Maxwell, from a firm of solicitors.

Dear Mrs Braithwaite-Dickus,
This is to inform you that we are a firm of solicitors and we have a very large sum of money in trust, waiting for your husband to collect. Despite numerous letters to his previous residences we have been unable to contact him to discharge our responsibilities in this matter. We have obtained your name and this address through a family member of yours, Grace Reynolds of Colchester. I would appreciate an early reply to enable us to complete this matter satisfactorily.
Yours Faithfully

Now did this letter come from a genuine firm of solicitors or from some unsavoury characters.

We then discussed Epistolary novels this is a novel written as a series of documents, ~ Letters, Diary entries, Newspaper clippings, Electronic mail, Emails or texts.
We then spent the last 15 minutes looking at some examples prepared by Margaret J., who asked us to compose a short piece of work using this method based on the letter we have just written. This should be completed as part of this week's homework.
The main part of the homework will be to study a book or books that we have read that have very good dialogue and bring the examples in next week.

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HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT PART THREE

8/6/2015

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I continued with my assignment for Margaret "J", and I record the finishing lines here.

MAXWELL DICKUS.

Does the character have any problems they are dealing with at the moment?
Maxwell's brother Ferdinand is in danger of the backlash from some unsavoury characters, who are chasing Maxwell for payment of his debts. Ferdinand is frightened and in hiding.

How might this problem get worse?
Ferdinand fears his family may be kidnapped and held to ransom. Maxwell is totally unconcerned as he feels fairly safe on the remote estate.

Strongest Character Traits
Determined, Persistent, Dishonest, Disloyal (apart from Mary)

Weakest Character Traits
Procrastination, Trusts (No-one).

Values,
Solitude, Wealth, Strength.

Sense of Humour
Cruel, Bitter

Basic Nature
Egocentric, Narcissistic,

Ambitions
To get as much out of life with the least effort

Philosophy of Life
To get the best and dump the rest.

Hobbies
Guns, Shooting, Hunting, Computer studies.

Preferred type of Music, Art, Reading material
Music is Jazz, / Art is Rural art and Impressionism / Reading Material usually Crime novels or Computer magazines.

Style of Dress
Rustic, Country tweed suits, Sports jacket and Slacks.

Favourite Colours
Blue and Green

Pastimes
Many hours on the Internet and some outdoor pursuits.

Description of Home (Physical and the Feel)
Home is currently a cottage on the estate,
Mary keeps things orderly and safely secure

The most important thing to know about this character.
Never take him at face value, he is treacherous

One line characterisation.
He will smile as he steals your purse and grin when you question why?

I think this homework for building a character is a very good exercise for the budding writer. I will find it very easy to stitch words together and create a unique individual. My biggest nagging fear is that I have written with too much detail. I love the exercise of using my intelligence to manufacture a leading player in a much longer story. I think I will have to condense this work enormously before I submit it to Margaret Johnson on Thursday.
We will have two extra people in the class on the day and it will be very interesting to see how easily they manage to bond with the rest of the class.

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Homework Assignment Part two

7/6/2015

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When we reached home I made another foray into the homework assignment for Margaret "J"

I will record my next thoughts here ~

MAXWELL DICKUS

Work Experience.
He left University after completing a degree in Chinese Studies and became a self-styled entrepreneur. His first venture was to gain a contract to clean the college windows. Within 15 years he had become a dot-com. Millionaire, sadly he blew the proceeds on shady stock market deals and gambling. From there, he drifted in and out of jobs culminating in a gamekeeper's position on a large estate. This solitary job was the only way he could successfully work.

Marital Status.
Married to Mary, a solitary person who has trouble mixing with people. She understands her Husband completely and she has a very long suffering personality. They have no children.

Men / Women Friends.
They have very few close intimate friends as their social life is limited to work acquaintances and members of the local club where they are both sporadic visitors.

Best Friends
Maxwells best friend is of course Mary, but there have been many past associates who drift in and out of his life.

Enemies
Maxwell has made many enemies in his past checkered career. The most dangerous being Joe Brown, a shady bookmaker to whom he owes several thousand pounds, and Clarence Hall an influential investment broker, who is also chasing him for unpaid debts.

Parents.
Both of Maxwells parents have re-married after a very stressful, painful divorce that made two sets of lawyers very wealthy. Maxwell is unsure of their whereabouts although he suspects that Mary is secretly aware.

That is about half of the questions answered ~ I must admit this is a very good exercise.

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HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT ~ Saturday 6th june

6/6/2015

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Then I settled down to tackle the homework assignment that Margaret Johnson had asked us to complete for our next session. This is in the form of a character checklist of questions about an imaginary character.

I will record as much as I can here ~

Name ~ Maxwell Braithwaite-Smith alias Max Dickus
Age ~ 38
Height ~ 5' 5"
Weight ~ 135 lbs / 9st 9lbs
Birthplace ~ Camelot, Cornwall UK
Colour of hair~ Was Brown now totally bald or folically challenged.
Colour of eyes~ Brown.
Scars, if any (Physical, Mental, Emotional)
Physical~ A six-inch scar on his right arm, a relic of an illegal duel fought over a chance remark on the relative height of heroes in history.
Mental~ Rejected by his parents shortly after his birth. Coming of school age he was brought up by governesses and then followed life in boarding schools. Holidays were spent with relatives in Switzerland, where he was visited by his parents on a sporadic basis.
Emotional~ A total narcissist who represses his emotions so deeply he displays a false self to the world.

This is just the first few questions on the development of a character for the homework assignment. I intend to do this for two characters to start with then I will use the pattern for more.

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MARGARET JOHNSON'S WRITING GROUP~~~4th June 2015

4/6/2015

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MARGARET JOHNSON'S WRITING GROUP~~~4th June 2015

Today we visited Norwich city to attend a creative writing group organised by a published author Margaret Johnson. We used our car to drive to Norwich and parked at the Park-and-Ride centre situated at Norwich airport. We then took a bus to the city centre and took a short walk along Prince of Wales road to the office where the writing session was to take place. After signing in we met our tutor who proved to have a very pleasant personality and spent a few minutes showing us the facilities and we were able to make ourselves a hot drink. After some small talk and a few minutes our fellow students began to arrive. We were introduced to four other budding authors, as far as I can remember Joy sat next to me and there was one other male on the course Etienne, also a lady named Melanie and another lady who introduced herself as Rita.
We were paired off with the person sitting next to us and we were asked to get to know them by finding out two objects that they could not live without. Joy came up with a garden trug used to push her tools around the garden and her business diary. My choices were my computer which I class as essential and my garden spade that I use daily on the allotment. We were also asked to find out exactly what we wanted to get out of the course. Everyone then revealed the results of the conversations to the rest of the group. The differences were fascinating and everyone was more relaxed with each other at the end of this exercise.
Margaret, the tutor then produced a large box of buttons and spread them out on a cloth in the middle of the table. We were asked to select a button with the person who we had conversed with in mind and present the button to them, we were asked to write a few words on the button when it was given to us.
Then Horror of Horrors ~ I accidentally tipped a glass of water all over the table and there was a short interlude where a clear-up operation went ahead. My cool was dented, but certainly not shattered.
I received a bundle of seventeen buttons and my first thought was how good they would look on my sports shirt. I continued to write my thoughts and when it came to my turn to read my thoughts aloud, I was very pleased with the response I received. We were then treated to a surprising variation of interesting thoughts on various shaped and coloured buttons.
Margaret then read a list of famous writers negative thoughts on the writing process, we were asked to write down our own personal negative thoughts on the writing exercise. I had difficulty with this as my only problem is finding time to devote to writing.
We were the introduced to something called the "Reticular Activating System", this is where you turn a negative thought into a positive thought and repetitively twist the negative reaction into a positive reaction. I was advised to set a boundary and stick to the times daily. This was a fascinating piece of psychological mind altering and could prove very useful in many other areas. For a further example when you get a negative thought such as, I can't do this ~ replace the can't with a can. Another great piece of advice was to someone who worried about their spelling. Employ someone who can spell to check the work! Obvious but it generated a ripple of assent.
We then had a short break for refreshment and on our return to the classroom, Margaret laid out a selection of an amazing variety of hats on the table. We were then asked to select a hat and write about the person who would wear it. I chose a deerstalker variation of hat and wrote my thoughts on a man who worked on a large estate, possibly a gamekeeper. Having read our conclusions out to the rest of the group and marvelled at the wonderful responses people came up with, we were then asked to write about our individual from their perspective starting with the word "I". My personal offering was pretty bland even to the point of my Margaret terming it slightly boring as there was not enough character built into the character. In other words there were not enough blood and guts, just a story. I defended my character by responding. "It's early days yet". We were then presented with a homework assignment in the form of a selection of questions to be used to build a character.

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Forward>>

Maragret Johnson's Homework for 18th June

EPISTOLARY story, 14th June 2015

WEEK TWO ~June 11th, 2015

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT PART THREE

Homework Assignment Part two

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT ~ Saturday 6th june

MARGARET JOHNSON'S WRITING GROUP~~~4th June 2015

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