In the spirit of trying-new-things-while-in-isolation, I decided to put together a video for you all! It’s eight minutes long, tells a fun CS Lewis story, and leaves you with one of my favorite writing exercises.
Enjoy! And please play along. I’ll feel very foolish if my first solo Youtube Video was all for naught.
Remember, you’re deciding the following things:
- The gender of your faun.
- Why the umbrella?
- What’s with those parcels?
- And where is your faun going?
Show me your faun. Make it the most LOYAL faun you can imagine. And give it to me within a MYSTERY.
Leave your scenes here in the comments and be sure to come back to cheer your friends on, and maybe guess which elements the others are showing off. What are their fauns carrying, etc?
I’m very excited, friends, and cannot wait to read what you all come up with!
Shannon Dittemore is an author and speaker. Her books include the Angel Eyes trilogy, a supernatural foray into the realm of angels and demons, as well as the fantastical adventure novel Winter, White and Wicked. Its sequel, Rebel, Brave and Brutal is due out January 10, 2023.
Shannon’s stories feature strong female leads grappling with fear and faith as they venture into the wilds of the unknown. She’s often wondered if she’s writing her own quest for bravery again and again.
It’s a choice she values highly. Bravery. And she’s never more inspired than when young people ball up their fist and punch fear in the face.
To that end, Shannon takes great joy in working with young writers, both in person and online at Go Teen Writers, an instructional blog recognized by Writer’s Digest four years running as a “101 Best Websites for Writers” selection.
For more about Shannon and her books, please visit her website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Good morning Miss Shannon, I was also doing a writing exercise last night. It was a bit different but I think I’ll post it here – I hope it gives you a laugh. If you don’t like it, please just delete it.
March the Nineteenth
By Jack Bannon (with apologies to Clement Clark Moore)
It was March the nineteenth and throughout the whole town
No scrap of toilet paper at all could be found.
Meat counters were empty and grocery shelves bare
And shoppers hoped something good soon would be there.
My wife in her kerchief and I in my jeans
Had just settled down for a long quarantine.
But the stock market crashed with such a loud clatter
I turned on the news to see what was the matter.
Announcers blamed our President for the germ
Though the case for a Chinese birthplace was firm.
Freezers were bought out across the whole nation
As citizens feared food supply devastation.
Schools were dismissed for such a long term
That parents all over were starting to squirm.
Kids were bored and unruly and most ran amuck
And the parents began to feel they were stuck.
At least if they died from this boomer doom blast
Perhaps they’d have some peace and quiet at last.
But the citizens stocked and they stockpiled and hoarded
Thinking for months food might not be afforded.
Bars were all closed from the pandemic fear
And people could not even relax with a beer.
The government’s talk and the media’s shouts
Assaulted us until our ears were worn out.
So my wife and I turned off the news to bed down
Annoyed with the panic that was all around.
The hogwash was piled so high and so deep
The best thing we could do was to just get some sleep.
Very clever, Jack! What a lot of work this must have been!
Now, do mine! 😉
I love this!
Mine wouldn’t work right if I posted it here. There a few different faunts that don’t transfer and the story wouldn’t’ make much sense without it. I’ll link the doc down below. Can you figure out what happened and who the characters were?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18uFamfcCwFcfOiY48vFuslvqBrzO13591ovTArTbm4A/edit?usp=sharing
Oh my gosh I LOVE that! The ending totally blew my mind! Incredible twist, and so creative. Fourth wall breaks are always fun. Nice job.
I 100% agree with Em Elizabeth. AMAZING!
Macey! This was so much fun! I love what your faun was carrying! Such a fun twist.
Absolutely phenomenal! The intricacy of the storyline and the familiarity of the characters intertwined in the most perfect way. The writing style and use of simple, short phrases takes the reader on an action-packed journey that, whilst only lasting a handful of paragraphs, seemed to unfold into a greater storyline. Because of the nature of the writing prompt that allowed the story to be embedded in a classic C.S. Lewis book, every aspect of this story was crystal clear in my head as I read it, finding myself in the faun’s shoes as his heart raced and his mind remained focused on his dire need to correct the story’s error. As Em Elizabeth mentioned it before me, the fourth wall break was indeed a unique yet fitting twist that seemed to make the story all the more potent to the reader. Job well done!
Thank you all so much!!! So glad you enjoyed it.
I could hear my hooves crunching in the snow as I crept through the glen. All was still and quiet. No wind blew, no birds sang. Snow flakes fell from the ash-gray sky, floated down, and piled on the earth without a sound. And so, the muffled crunch of each step I took felt like a thunder clap in my ears.
“No one can hear it,” I told myself. “That’s what this device is for. That’s why you stole it from Them. They can’t hear your breath or your hoof steps. They can’t see you. They can’t even see your prints in the snow. As long as you hold this over your head all the way to Elara’s, you’ll be safe.
“But what if They notice one of their devices is missing? They’ll know I took it, and they might know how to work around its magic. They will find me and stop me before I can deliver the evidence to Elara. They know I saw Them. What They did. What They plan to do next.”
I quickened my pace. The package tucked beneath my right arm started to slip, so I paused to readjust my grip. I heard its contents rolling around inside and clinking against one another.
“I should have put something in the box to cushion them,” I thought. “They can’t break before I reach Elara. She needs to see the evidence they hold. If one of them breaks inside the box, will the box be able to contain the vision, or will it play out and dissipate as it would anywhere else?”
Every vision was precious. They all formed a piece of the puzzle. I’d tried to squeeze everything I’d learned into one, but there was just too much. A day’s worth of treachery and evil. I’d had no choice but to make multiple. And I had to show Elara all of them for her to understand what we were up against.
I reached the old wooden bridge that stretched across Sparrow Peak River. That bridge marked the halfway point between my cottage and Elara’s layer. Most of the other attendants were smarter than I’d been. They’d made their homes within two miles of our Guardian’s dwelling, just in case they ever had to reach her fast. In case of an emergency. An emergency like this. Although I suppose it was a good thing I lived so far away. If I hadn’t been out by Shaker’s Meadow the previous day, I never would have witnessed Their dark deeds. Once I knew that They were behind the deaths of the dryads and the twisted motives behind Their actions, I could tell Elara, and she could put a stop to it. Elara could stop any evil. She could stop this one.
I crossed the bridge and continued into the next grove of trees. They opened up into a clearing. At once I recognized the massive cabin sitting in the center of the field with wood post fences enclosing lands that would be bountiful gardens come spring. Seton’s house. Seton. Seton the traitor. One of Them.
It broke my heart when I saw him with Them in that meadow. I’d thought better of him. He was always so sweet, so friendly. Last Autumn Fest when he saw I was without a partner for the dance, he tucked a flower in my hair and invited me to join him.
But now I knew. He was wicked. Selfish. Power hungry. And his house sat between me and the path to Elara’s.
The field was massive. It would cost too much time to go around it through the trees, and time was of the essence. They’d said that Their next attack would be at dusk. I’d left my house at one o’clock. I’d been walking for at least an hour. I had to make sure I reached Elara as soon as possible so she could come up with a plan to stop them. So I had to take the fastest route. Straight across Seton’s field.
Smoke billowed out of the chimney. “He’s home,” I thought, and judging by the shadows that moved through the firelight in the windows, he wasn’t alone. They were with him.
My heart thudded in my chest like a rabbit trying to outrun a fox, and each breath came out shaky.
“If they catch me I’m dead. They know I saw them. I was lucky to escape yesterday. No doubt they searched my house. If Vern hadn’t let me stay with him and his family last night, I’d be dead already. They know what I must be doing right now. What if this is a trap? What if they knew I’d take this route to Elara? What if they’ve been waiting for me?”
I shook my head, and with it tried to shake away my terror. “No. They can’t see or hear you. And even if they do, you will outrun them. You’ve done it before. You can do it again.”
I took a deep breath and gripped the device and my package tighter. “For Elara and for all of The Great Wood,” I whispered. Then I darted into the field.
Ooh, this is very intriguing! I love how much you were able to share in so few words. Never ceases to impress me.
Your faun is female. The umbrella makes you invisible and undefinable. The packages contain the vision equivalent of Harry Potter prophesies. (That’s the best way I can think of to describe what I understand.) The task was to deliver the information to the leader, to whom she is loyal.
Is that about right?
You got it! Nice job guessing what was in the box. I actually had the Harry Potter prophecy orbs in mind when I got the idea, so you hit the nail right on the head.
Super fun, Em! I love what you did with the umbrella!
I love it! The Elara concept was brilliant and I love that this guy was so nice to her, yet was the bad one. I’m curious to know what happens next!
Oh this is a fun exercise! Here’s my attempt. ?
A twig snaps.
My first instinct is to freeze, but I force myself onward, holding my head high. If the enemy is in the forest, they won’t harm me. They’ll know my purpose.
As if to affirm this, a young-sounding voice whispers, “Look at the umbrella. We can’t harm him, that’d be breaking the Pact.”
The wind whips around me, and I clutch my packages close to my body. If they discover what’s inside, they’ll take me. Without the supplies, the Mistress will die. The Revolt will come to an end.
“We’ve already broken the Pact.” This voice is gruff and unfeeling. “Killing the Master broke it. Your foolish friend’s attempt to kill the Mistress broke it. Now we have to make sure she dies before she can spread the truth about us.”
My breath catches. I’m inches away from the answers sought after for seventeen years. I could change everything. Identify the evils, rid this world of them, and create peace. I could heal the Mistress.
The only problem is, I’m afraid.
Good job, Camille! You have good instincts when it comes to pacing and that ending was sharp and potent. Fun all around.
Great job! Makes me wonder who the Master & Mistress are…….
Intriguing. Nice job. You gave just enough information so that I could picture the scene and have a good sense of your story’s tone, mood, and plot, but withheld just enough information to pique my curiosity. I’d love to watch the rest of this journey play out.
Thank you all, so, so much! I’m always nervous sharing my writing, and this is very encouraging.