'Ello, 'ello 'ello!

So you have returned? Perhaps you are curious to know how my search for inspiration has been going. Or, more likely, you want to steal my chocolate Hobnobs. Either way, come on in and make yourself comfortable.

The search for inspiration, if you're interested, has actually been quite fruitful. On Saturday I took a trip to the lovely Castle Howard, hoping to be hit with a blinder of a story idea. I wasn't what you'd call hit, exactly, but was more...showered, with a multitude of writing possibilities. I also had a rather scrumptious slice of ginger cake in the tea room, which is always nice.
The castle isn't really a castle, but more of a stately home. But it gave me an idea about working on a piece about the Tudors, (remember Katherine Howard?) or at least writing a poem about the peacocks terrorising my fellow visitors. Don't be taken in by their pretty exteriors. They can be pretty vivious. Really. I was hoping to get some ideas for the piece on Spring I have to write for next week, but although there were plenty of daffodils around, no.1: copying t'old Wordsworth would be a bit, well, unoriginal, don't you think? And 2. the weather was cold, freezing, snowy, sleety, wet, slicing, stinging, miserable and...yuk. So all thoughts of the joys of flowers and woolly baa lambs pretty much upped sticks and left my imagination before I had even got out of the car on arrival. It was a grand day out, though. Highly recommend a visit. Perhaps you'll be more inspired than I was. I particularly liked the lit open fires dotted all round the house; they lent it a realistic and homely feel. I can imagine listening to old yarns with a glass of something scrummy around those.

Yesterday I had one of those wonderful episodes where you really get into a story and don't want to stop. I finally became inspired after, believe it or not, watching Ratatouille on DVD a few days ago with a young friend of mine, and now I'm very involved in a not-so-short-story about some fun-loving mice. They're mice with attitude.

So, here's some advice for you, faithful reader. If your attempts to go out into the country leave your imagination unstimulated, watch a Disney DVD. You never know...

Happy writing, and see you next time!

Welcome back! Have a cuppa and pull up a pew.

Well, there hasn't been an Inklets meeting for a while, because the majority of our physical members are students, so we've all journeyed away to various parts of the country for a month over Easter. This doesn't mean we can escape the trials of writing though, oh no. We have two major challenges to tackle.
Firstly, we have to write a photograph. That's right. We have to find or take a photograph, and then write a poem in the shape of a photo describing the scene depicted by said photo. My problem is that I am an extremely indecisive person, and so far it's taken me three weeks to decide what to photograph, or even whether to find a photo or take one myself. The problem will hopefully be resolved tomorrow, when I take a day trip to Castle Howard. Those sorts of places always inspire me.
The second challenge is to write a piece on Spring. Have you seen the weather lately? I think perhaps now that wasn't such a good idea. Perhaps another chocolate egg will give my imagination a kick...
Anyway, apart from tonnes of studying I've had plenty of time lately to think about writing, and come up with some story ideas. I really fancy writing a piece set in the '80s, the decade I was born into. Perhaps I've been watching too much Ashes to Ashes and Back to the Future lately, I dunno. Anyone got any good story ideas for me?
Our first meeting back after Easter will land on St. George's Day. I love dragons. Never met one, of course, but I recently read 'The Reluctant Dragon' by Kenneth Grahame and thought how nice it would be to have a dragon friend who writes poetry... Plus he'd make a novelty replacement for my kettle. It's also Shakespeare's birthday on 23rd April. And his deathday, poor chap. Fancy dying on your birthday! What a present! I'm sure we'll find time in the meeting to raise a glass to him, and to the dragon too. He didn't deserve to die.

Happy scribbling, story fans.
Fancy becoming an online Inklets member? Just visit inklets.angelfire.com

See you next time!

Hello all lovers of the pen! How are you? Come on in and make yourself comfortable, and I'll fill you in on all the news.
You'll be pleased to hear that the Inklets have been going great guns since our last entry. First of all, we have a new-look website. It looks extremely suave and exciting, and altogether much more professional, thanks to a very talented member of the group.
Secondly, we've really launched our publicity campaign. We have business cards, posters, stickers, and more. But what's really making us reach for the custard creams in celebration this month is that we now have our own shop, attached to the website! Oh yes. We can now sport logo-adorned bags, badges, mugs and journals - to spread the good Inklets word far and wide!
I, Inkannie have been particularly industrious this week, as I've been conquering the book world with posters. On finding myself(by mistake) in Leeds City Library the other day, I stumbled upon a kind lady who not only allowed me to return my Paddington Bear book, but also pointed me in the direction of a notice board, where I could display the Inklets logo and web address with pride! The empire is growing, readers. The empire is growing. Join us as an online member at inklets.angelfire.com.
We now have plans to make our own calendar for 2009. We will be basing it on 'scenes from literature', including photographs of ourselves in acting out scenes from such classics as Romeo and Juliet, A Christmas Carol, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and Dracula. It's going to be really fun to make - let's just hope our acting skills are up to the job!
So, faithful readers, what's your favourite book? We're always looking for recommendations. Winnie the Pooh just made it as the Children's World Book Day favourite, with Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials coming in second. I have no problems with this choice - both fantastic reads.
I came across an old favourite in the poetry world yesterday - Roald Dahl's poem Television. Google it - you'll soon see why it's fantastic!

I also set the challenges for the Easter break this week, and I'm not entirely sure that I'm all that popular with my comrades right now, as not only did I set them two challenges, but one of them asked them to write a photograph. I did provide instructions and examples for such a task, but hey, creativity isn't always easy. It'll be very interesting to see the results.
Speaking of which, I had better go and get on with my own challenges now. Happy creating everyone, and please close the door on your way out...
inklets.angelfire.com

Hello all!

Well I've just arrived in this new world of blogging.

I am Inkannie, a member of the creative writing group, The Inklets. We're based in Leeds, UK, but have a fantastic website which means that anyone can join online! http://inklets.angelfire.com We have a forum on there too which anyone can join and chat on.

This blog will serve as the chronicles of my life as an Inklet.

So, what's been happening in the world of the Inklets lately? Help yourself to a custard cream, and I'll tell you.

On Monday the Inklets held our first public meeting, which meant that potential new members in the area could come along for a pint and a chat and find out all about us. We made friends with a lovely German lover of words, and hopefully she'll be joining our group permanently.

Then on Wednesday we had a meeting, where we presented campaigns - the results of the latest Inklets challenge (which you can also join in with online). I had written my campaign on 'Why Everyone Should Drink Yorkshire Tea'! A worthy cause, I feel. Not sure I managed to convert everyone though... The other presentations were so fantastic that we captured them on film. They were much better planned than mine, I have to say.

And then, to finish a busy week, we had a fun night out on Friday. We sat in a bar in Leeds, drinking pints and eating dolly beads. Whoever said that being an Inklet isn't wild?

The latest challenge is to write a piece centering around animals. And this is proving to be difficult simply because there are so many things I could write about. Perhaps the plight of a bookworm, or an elephant, or a unicorn? The possibilities are endless.

Off to mull over that one now.

Will be scribbling again soon!

TTFN.