Well, after they got through with the mandatory one hour of pouting and proclaiming how they can't write and that this is going to be impossible, they sat down and started writing.
They wrote and they wrote and they wrote. "How long can it be?" I heard.
"As long as it takes to use as many of the 20 words as you possibly can."
"Can we use a word more than once?"
"Yes, but it only counts once!"
The next day they both turned in their stories and I must say, while the technical side left a lot to be desired, the creative side was great. What a hoot. I loved to see how they blatantly wove their words into the plot. This was one of my favorites...
"On the way to Cordoba (the story is set in Spain), while stopping in Caceres, I took the calabash to get water. I saw a leper lying on the street and a heretic as I passed through the marketplace. "Hey, kid, watch where you're going." I jerked around and ran away. As I was running away, the guy started to jeer at me."
I haven't asked yet how she knew the guy was a heretic!
I've decided that since the assignment was focusing on being creative that I wouldn't make them re-write all of the technical mistakes. Instead, I think I'll pick a couple of paragraphs and teach some finer points of writing from them. Things like...correct spelling, how to use quotation marks properly, what a period is and how to use it...you know, important things like that!
Have a great weekend! I hope to be back early next week with the post..."When God Wants Something Done...Don't Stand in His Way!"
