There were about 11 or 12 people in the group. There was only one male. Most were older - 40-60s age group. There was one girl that was around my age - we sort connected because of that and also because we didn't know anyone else. The others all seemed to know each other. Not that it mattered everyone was treated the same.
There were five writing exercises that we did.
The first one was we had to write whatever came to mind for five minutes. We had to use the sentence 'bring me the sunset in a cup' somewhere in the writing though.
This was alot of fun and I came up with all sorts of random things. After the 5 minutes was up we were given the choice to share our writings. Everyone did except for one person. As each person read their piece of writing; the group would respond positively. The group had a positive and relaxing atmosphere about it. Even though I didn't know anyone, I felt accept and not judged. It was quite unusual, but nice for a change.
The second one we were given a scenario and we had to write using that scenario. The scenario was; leaning against a tree listening to a storyteller tell a story. We had to write what the story was. We had 15 minutes to write whatever story we came up with. After the 15 minutes those that wanted shared their stories. Once again everyone was very accepting and enthusiastic about each persons story.
The third writing exercise was writing a poem - my forte! However we were given a list of words to incorporate into the poem. We had to use 5 out of the 7 words.
The words are:
black
emerald
wild
blue
moonrain
angels
sulky
We all shared our poems - each person had such different ideas and poems. I think mine was the darkest. I couldn't get past the word black - it kept bringing the rest of the words down.
here is my poem:
Wild black thoughts
On an emerald day
My sulky mood
Waits for nothing
I sit
think
thoughts
Many thoughts
tumble over
red, purple and pink
there are too many
overwhelmed
my sulky mood
on an emerald day
Wild black thoughts
return
dominate
control
must break free
The fourth writing exercise we were given a scenario where we were invisible and we had to write what we would do, say and listen to. It was quite a fun writing exercise. There were some funny stories that came out of it.
The fifth writing exercise was similar to the first. We had to write whatever came to mind. However there was no sentence we had to include.
We were also given homework - either keep working on one of the exercises/stories I have started or invent a character and write three journal entries that tell a story.
It was a very fun learning experience. I am so glad I signed up for it. I believe it will be one of the best things I have done.
