Engaging Fusion at King Edward School
I was thrilled to have the chance to work with King Edward School through an exciting (and new-to-me) program called Engaging Fusion. This Winnipeg One School Division initiative pairs artists with classrooms, and all sorts of creativity results! ( I heard amazing stories of musicians, actors, dancers coming through this wonderful school – so glad they wanted a writer, too!) As a side note, the Sistema program is at King Edward, too. Students shared their knowledge of violas and violin and cellos and double-bass with me (they practice for 3 hours a day after school – AMAZING!) . Lucky me – I was immersed in the arts every day (YES!).
We worked hard together, didn’t we? In four short weeks, each student in five classes at King Edward built the foundation of a short story. From character development, to bringing a storyworld to vivid life, to making storyboards, first drafts, and honing descriptive language skills, we did it all – whoosh! I understand that you are continuing to work on your stories (after all, writing is a process!). I hope you’re having fun with them and would sure love to hear about them when you’re ready to share.
The range of characters you developed really impressed me – from realistic characters something like you (but not quite) to mystery detectives who crave adventure, your stories have a personal stamp that you can be proud of. I was also intrigued by the writing risks many of you were willing to take; like completely altering your beginning after we talked about an ‘opening hook’ (even some seasoned writers find it hard to re-think their writing; but it’s really, really important – and as you saw, you often get a much better result!). Some students even decided on their own to write entirely dialogue-based stories (perhaps we have a few playwrights in the group!); this is a great opportunity to bring out character by giving each different character an authentic voice – keep at it! A couple of stunning graphic novels popped up as well – I admire your skill and careful work in “visual storytelling”!
Among everyone, I could see hard work and hard thinking going into your writing projects. I hope that you remember our time together and bring some of the writing concepts we talked about into your future written work – remember to make your writing shine!
Karin 🙂
P.S. What a friendly school – staff and students were always greeting me, holding open doors, showing me where things were, and even carrying my suitcase full of drafts (YOU know the one I mean). Thank you King Edward for your welcoming spirit!
