Weekly Agendas

As of February 2013 the format for the Bush Curlews weekly meetings became more productive thanks to the introduction of agendas generated by the club’s Assistant-Secretary, Wayne. Each agenda contains two writing tasks for attending members to use as inspiration for either poems or short stories. After the meetings, members are able to edit and/or expand on what they have written at their leisure.

Prior to February, meeting productivity levels were sporadic. Since the implementation of this simple yet crucial change to our meeting format attending numbers have increased and focus has returned to developing our literary skills.  Nowadays, attendees create at least one new story or poem a week.

Unfortunately, the photographic inspiration included the Bush Curlew’s weekly agendas are unable to be uploaded onto this site, so a brief description has been supplied instead.

If multiple photographs are provided, members can include either one image or all of them in their creative writing – there is no limitation. In fact, some members regularly add to the challenge by including as many of the required elements within their story or poem.  

    

Date                                      Writing Challenges

4 February 2013                Task 1 = Photograph: An alleyway with puddles from recent rainfall and several trucks parked in a driveway.

                                                Task 2 = Story commencing with the following sentence: “The water looked deep and inviting.”

11 February 2013              Task 1 = 2 x Photographs: both photos were taken atop Towers Hill, Charters Towers. 1) overlooking the Amphitheatre; 2) the cement walking track.

                                                Task 2 = Work on submission for the joint-writers group Anthology project hosted by WITS (Writers in Townsville Society)

18 February 2013              Task 1 = 2 x Photographs:  1) a dilapidated, abandoned caravan; 2) a road leading into a forest.

                                                Task 2 = Write a story or poem including the line: “The ringing phone filled her with dread.”

25 February 2013              Task 1 = 2 x Photographs: 1) a woman seated at a window with a mug in her hand; 2) a pair of reading glasses

                                                Task 2 = Story or poem including the line: “Marg threw her bag on the floor and burst into tears.”

4 March 2013                     Task 1 = 2 x Photographs: 1) a broken window in an old run-down brick building; 2) an umbrella with blue, yellow and white panels

                                                Task 2 = Story or poem with the following line: “The old woman turned and smiled.”

11 March 2013                   Task 1 = 2 x Photographs: 1) a street with 5 red British telephone boxes in a row; 2) a cheetah cub and a baby skunk playing together

                                                Task 2 = Story or poem with the following line: “Everyone in the office turned and stared.”

18 March 2013                   Task 1 = 2 x Photographs: 1) waves crashing against a tall brick wall with a narrow and steep staircase leading into the sea; 2) a park full of colourful flowers and city skyscrapers in the background.

                                                Task 2 = Story or poem with the following line: “I walked to work today.”

25 March 2013                   Task 1 = 2 x Photographs: 1) a misshapen tree trunk next to the beach; 2) a ginger kitten reaching into a glass fish bowl containing a single goldfish.

                                                Task 2 = Story or poem with the following character: 16 years old, 6ft tall, with green eyes and copper hair. He/she is dreamy and witty but can be awkward and is scared of failure.

8 April 2013                         Task 1 = 2 x Photographs: 1) A wooden rural house with a couple of trees and 2 hot air balloons floating in the distance; 2) a skateboarding bulldog

                                                Task 2 = A story or poem with the following title: “A Touch of Fear”

15 April 2013                       Task 1 = 2 x Photographs: 1) a stone and thatch cottage in the countryside; 2) two people sitting on the lawn of a backyard with a pregnant woman standing in the gateway

                                                Task 2 = Story or poem with the following character: 20 years old, 5ft tall with grey eyes and streaked hair. He/she is pleasant and savvy but can be nagging and is scared of being alone.

22 April to 6 May 2013    No writing tasks during these weeks – instead, Bush Curlews prepared for the “Night with the Curlews” presentation at the Charters Towers Civic Club as part of the Ten Days in the Towers celebrations

 13 May 2013                      Task 1 = 2 x Photographs: 1) a blue house with thatched roof on stilts and surrounded by water. No stairs lead to the front door; 2) a very overcrowded train in India with people hanging off the sides, sitting on the roof and even sitting on front f the engine blocking the driver’s view

                                                Task 2 = A story or poem with the line. “The scent of lavender was overwhelming.”

20 May 2013                       Task 1 = 3 x Photographs: 1) a black kitten alongside a light brown dog; 2) a surprised looking middle-aged couple; 3) a gold and yellow sombrero

                                                Task 2 = Story or poem including the lines: “I was reading a book when I looked up. There in the window I saw…”

26 May 2013                       Sunday – Writing Activity challenge after the Awards Ceremony for the Bush Curlews 2013 Literary Awards Competition

                                                Task 1 = 3 x Photographs: 1) a merry-go-round; 2) a path in a forest; 3) a table and chair

                                                Task 2 = A story or poem with one or a combination of the following guidelines: 1) Line: “All of a sudden I was trapped”; 2) Your character is planning on something evil; 3) A street party is the location, self doubt is the theme. A watch is an object that plays a part in the story; 4) Damaged goods

8 July 2013                           Task 1 = 2 x Photographs: 1) Glass bowl with words in tiny print at the base “Design House”; 2) 5 digital cameras, same model, different colour (black, red, blue, purple and pink)

                                                Task 2 = Story or poem with the following subject: A man turns out to be a woman

15 July 2013                        Task 1 =  9 x drawn images: 1) padlock; 2) paint roller; 3) pitcher; 4) pliers; 5) plunger; 6) radiator; 7) refrigerator; 8) stool; 9) rocking chair

                                                Task 2 = Story or poem with the following line: “They said she was able to utter a few words before she died…”

22 July 2013                        Task 1 = 2 x Photographs: 1) A beach scene with sand, the sea and waves hitting the shoreline plus the word ‘Holiday’ etched into the sand; 2) the shell of a old locomotive in the middle of the desert. On the front of the train are the words painted ‘Keep out’ and ‘For sale’

                                                Task 2 = Story or poem with the following theme: your character is looking for the perfect present

29 July 2013                        Task 1 = 2 x Photographs: 1) 11 camels running in the desert; 2) 5 men in a  very run-down sedan. The roof is missing as well as all of the doors and a large side panel from the front passenger side. There appears to be some sort of fencing equipment attached to the back of the vehicle.

Task 2 = Write a story or poem with the following character description: “Big, muscular with a shaved head and a mean look.”

5 August 2013                    Task 1 = 2 x photographs: 1) 3 x chocolate cream biscuits; 2) a colourful necklace made out of semi-precious stones

Task 2 = Write a story or poem with the following subject: “It was a strange night, there seemed to be a chill in the air. I was walking home just at dusk when suddenly someone jumped out, grabbed me, and held my hands tightly behind my back.”

12 August 2013                  Task 1 = 2 x Photographs: 1) Furniture stacked upon a make-shift raft in a flooded waterway in India. Two men tow the raft from the front whilst a third man sits on top of a mattress on the furniture and uses a long stick to steer. The raft is made up of several blue barrels tied together with rope.

Task 2 = Write a story or poem with the following subject: “All that’s bright must fade.”

2 September 2013           Task 1 = 2 x Photographs: 1) a creek in a rainforest; 2) a pair of brand new orange and grey hiking boots

Task 2 = Write a story or poem with the following theme: “Something in the mist”

9 September 2013           NOTE: There are no photographs on the agenda for 9 September 2013.

Task = Write a story or poem with one or a combination of the following themes: a) journey of kindness; b) a gym is the location, crime doesn’t pay is the theme, a mobile phone is an object that plays a part in the story; c) the house dwarfed everything in the street; d) excuses.

16 September 2013         Task 1 = 1 x Photograph: a pair of yellow gardening gloves and a garden fork laying on a pile of mulch

                                       Task 2 = Write a story or poem with the following subject: “My favourite thing”

23 September 2013         Task 1 = 1 x Photograph: a pair of very old reading glasses inside an equally old blue-lined case

Task 2 = A story or poem with the following theme: “A lie told often enough becomes the truth.”