Class 4 E-Circle

YASSSS! Two more sleeps and we are a big step back to 'Normal'. Normal isn't always sounding great, normal can bring up the sense of a bit uninteresting and unadventurous. Dreary even. But as we have just again experienced, 'normal' is also rhythm, predictability, security. I look at normality as a strong framework, a container which makes you feel strong and safe. And the stronger and safer you feel in life, the more adventurous you can bounce into it. It's like having strong springs on your trampoline: because you know you will land well, you dare to bounce extra high, with a summer sault into the mix. So bring it on, this normal! Let's get ready! I'm not going to give you new ideas today, just finish what you started: your book, the Egyptian project, the tiny house. Give it the last finishing touch and have it ready for Thursday morning. If you like, you can read 'Get Ready for Real' again.  Can't wait to read all your writing! I was super

Hands up if you think we will be back in Class on Wednesday? My hand is certainly up there. And even it is not this Wednesday, it can't be too far in the future. So-  time to wrap up your writing. Ending your writing is often hard-and a really important part. Without an ending, the story is just filling space. That's why I only allow one sudden death or waking up and discovering it was all a dream per year. How do you feel when you've just been on this exhilarating journey with your character and then BAM, they die. Or wake up. Epic let down huh? Did you read the Series of Unfortunate Events? I read all thirteen books and I LOVED them. I'm still not over the ending, and it's ten years ago that I finished the series. Like I said, epic letdown. You broke my heart, Lemony Snicket. What was your story about? Where was your character in the beginning, how did they feel? What have they overcome, what have they learned, what has changed in their lives? It doesn't have

Kia ora Class 5, today's blog is going to be a bit of a jumble with bits and pieces and no particular theme. Firstly, look who brightened up my inbox with egg-sellent news Baxter's chickens knew it was spring and laid their first eggs! Secondly, here are the answers to yesterday's quizz: 1.  that 2.  that 3. which  4. which  5. which  6.which  7. which  8. that 9. which  10. that Thirdly, I have had questions on if it is alright to write a comic and I answered that in the comments, but you might not have seen that. So I thought today I give a bit of an insight into comic book writing with the help of a famous friend (well, I wish).  Full disclosure: I am absolutely no expert on writing comics. Partly because I prefer story writing and partly because the few times I have tried to do a comic, I found it far too much work. And editing is so much harder IMHO. But I do get that comics and graphic novels are loads of fun and I enjoy reading them. Some of them are such works of ar

 Morena Class 5, hope you are all doing well in your bubbles. Today we are going to talk about That Which. And before you get excited, it's not about the witch on a broom. It's going to be quite a technical chat. For those of you that mix these up, the 't' in witch reminds you of a broom. Please please please tell me you know the difference between witch and which and you NEVER mix them up again! One of us send me their draft (thank you and keep them coming- I love reading your draft and I will send you feedback via email) and asked me when to use WHICH and when to use THAT. A fabulous question, and many people confuse them (including yours truly), so let's delve into this for a bit. Example: Merlin showed the vet his paw that was hurt and needed stitches. Merlin showed the vet his paw which was hurt and needed stitches. Which one is correct: that or which- and more importantly, how do we know? The answer is found if we ask ourselves the question: to understand the

  More great smells coming out of my kitchen today, Class 5. I have been making a delicious granola/ muesli thingy. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. There's a refillery shop in the Tannery, Food For Thought, where I often get groceries. They have these labels you can put on jars, in English or in Te Reo. I started putting the labels in Maori on my jars- Murihi means Muesli. And it's funny how these things go, initially, my bubble said "Why on earth do you bother, just call it muesli, okay". And a couple of weeks later, we all talk about the murihi which is so delicious. A little bit everyday goes much further than a lot once and awhile. My friend Nick is learning Te Reo for the third year in a row. In Nick's house, everything has a label in Te Reo. The table (tepu). The coffee machine (purere cahwe). The door (kuaha). The toilet seat (pae hamuti). Why do these things matter, you might think, I know them in English, don't I. And learning t

 This weekend I became slightly obsessed with Toilet Fizzies. 'KDANG!' I hear you think, Angela is now officially losing the plot. Too long in isolation maybe? Who in their right mind writes about TOILET FIZZIES???? Sush- I'm fine, trust me. Toilets are part of life. No-one likes a dirty toilet, no-one likes to clean the toilet. I personally have a strong dislike of the smell which is put into toilet cleaners, even the eco stuff. Never smells like standing in a pine forest to me, just simply like ghastly toilet cleaner. YUCK. It started actually with bath bombs. One of the very best side effects of lock down is that I can have a bath whenever I want and how often as I want. Daytime baths are just SO luxurious. I was looking for recipes to make bath bombs with whatever I had in the cupboard. Win win win here really. I had fun making them, I have now delicious bath bombs which smell fantastic and make your skin nice and soft and the whole house smelled beautiful while I was m

When we went into lockdown, our oldest daughter Zoe was staying with us, which means she is stranded until we are in Level 2. That's very good news, we love having her here. In particular someone white and black and hairy is very happy, because it is Zoe who took him on as a rescue pup.  It also means that half of our bubble consist of university students. This gives great conversation over the dinner table, because they spend a lot of time on Zoom and with that, a lot of bloopers happen. Mostly when people are still lying in bed during their meeting and turn their camera accidentally on, or they forget to mute themselves while they are saying "My God, this is SO boring". If you have ever zoomed, then you know that the one who makes the noise comes into the centre of your screen, which is very funny, unless it is you who forgot to mute and made a rude comment. Apart from zooming, university students do a lot of essay writing. You know what all of them find the hardest? Th

  Creative processes are hard to fit in a strong schedule. Sure, you have to do that butt thing, but if your mind is anywhere close to mine, it is hard to predict exactly what part of your book you are working on. For example: I work on three blog posts at the same time. One is nearly finished and I work on proofreading, lay-out and finishing touches before I click 'Publish". The other is a rough draft with jumbled ideas, loads of illustrations of which I probably delete half, badly written sentences that not even a Dutch person will understand and which need serious re-doing and lots of highlights which means: come back to this. And then there's a halfway draft somewhere in between which is starting to fall into place. Neil Gaiman writes all his first drafts in fountain pen in a note book. Because he thinks it more fun that way. Most of my writing ideas don't happen when I'm writing. I find them on my walks, during pigeon post in my online yoga class, while I do d