Spilling Ink: Hallowe'en

This week, in Spilling Ink, we have been working on spooky writing for Hallowe'en.

My cauldron, bubbling

At the start of the week, I provided learners with a variety of writing prompts for stories, poetry and non-fiction, to stimulate their writing. They were, of course, also encouraged to use their own ideas.

Busy writing

We wore masks, hats and fangs; we shut the blinds and listened to a spooky soundtrack. I prepared a fire for my cauldron full of gruesome creatures. 

A witch, an owl and Count Dracula

Vampires

We wrote and edited and reworked until we were ready to share.

Ghouls and wizards

Writing poetry

Today, we gathered on the mat, around the cauldron, to share our finished writing. We discussed how to build tension, appropriate settings and characters, the difference between a cliffhanger and an open ending, effective vocabulary, repetition and the effect of different sentences. 

Three witches around the cauldron

Each contributor got a 'treat' from my velveteen bag of goodies. As a thunderstorm crashed and boomed outside, we shared and learned from each other - it was spooktacular.

Sharing around the cauldron