Story Institute RamblingVerser - Episode 29 - Remember & Write

Connecting Your Storyline with Your Storyline…

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Featured Quotes:

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”

~ Fred Rogers

“Quite often somebody will say, What year do your books take place? and the only answer I can give is, In childhood.”

~ Beverly Cleary

Featured Poem:

Annabelle Lee

~Edgar Allan Poe

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love –
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulcher
In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me
Yes! that was the reason
(as all men know, In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.
But our love was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we
Of many far wiser than we
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.
For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride,
In the sepulcher there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

Short Story Writing Prompt:

Turn the poem into a short story. Choose a moment in the life of the narrator and Annabelle Lee and write about it. Decide if your story stops there or grows into a series of short stories about these two characters. Bring in characters from your childhood into the story. Use the kingdom by the sea as the setting and craft the plot and storyline around your setting.

Poetry Topic & Prompt:

Carnivals

When was the last time you were at a carnival? You know, one of those signs of summer…the crowded, dark, and sometimes littered parking lots with the Tilt-A-Whirls, the Ferris wheels, the bumper cars, and those all tempting carnival games…Cotton candy, all sticky and sugary…Snow comes, so icy and and drippy…Corndogs so, well, so corn doggy…Each of these images rise to the top when thinking of a carnival. Use each line to share one sense of excitement, of wonder, of worry with your readers, your new friends, your connections to other carnivals that you have not visited…

If you are struggling, take some pictures of the one down the street. Hurry, because it is only there for the week. Are there differences between the carnival and the circus? Are there different attractions? Different people? Different reflections on your childhood? Create the images as you see them. Decide on feeling you wish to evolve and post it here, or share elsewhere, but write and enjoy…

Need a Short Story for the Week…check out this site for some connections to familiar and new storylines…http://www.apples4theteacher.com/short-stories.html

Remember to Imagine, Enhance, and Grow your stories @ www.storyinstitute.com

Running Time: 11 minutes 48 seconds

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Tags: Author conversations, Beverly Cleary, childhood, Edgar Allan Poe, Fred Rogers, Inspiration, poetry, rhyme, short story, writing, writing methods, writing podcast, writing tips