Among the many joys of being a Mungrisdale Writer, homework ranks high! There’s comfort and satisfaction to be found in curling up in a cosy armchair near the fireside, hot drink to hand, together with inviting notebook and pencil, and dream of the dawning day when we’ll have opportunity to read our works in class. (Well. You get the idea!)

So, here are a couple of exercises to get stuck into before we meet on the 23rd February.

1 – Begin a short story in (close) third person 340 words (1 side of a page)

Paragraph 1 – start by setting the scene with description. It could be somewhere exotic, and the paragraph will include mood setting

Paragraph 2 – someone comes into the scene. Describe this in three or four lines

Paragraph 3 – that person speaks

Paragraph 4 – has the watching character who was waiting for the person to arrive – introduce them to us and have a line of dialogue at the end.

If all that makes you want to give up, the alternative is

2 – Find a list of collective nouns, and choose one that is fascinating to you and inspires you, or make up your own! A poem or a short piece of prose, no more than three hundred words.

Happy writing!