Opotiki College, Day Six

This is our final session with Des. We all worked hard in the first hour to have something completed. In the second hour we gathered around and we all shared our writing with the group. Those who were too shy had their work read out by Des or myself, but most were happy to share their own.

There was such a variety of styles, topics and ideas. It was impressive to hear how each student had interpreted the project differently. There were poems, stories, historical fiction, diaries, action, drama, thrillers and even some fantasy. It was great to finish off our session with this sharing session as we could all take the time to appreciate our individual talents and creativity.

Des finished with a final presentation about how to send work off to a publisher. He showed us many tricks of the trade and had examples of his own work that had been sent back by his editor so we could see for ourselves all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into publishing a book. Des finished by presenting the Scribbler group with a signed copy of one of his books, and the students responded with a heart-felt thank you for all the work he had done for us and the inspiration he had given us to keep writing.

With most of the students complete or near completion, Des is going to correspond by email with students to give final feedback. The final project will hopefully be complete in the next term as we are looking into publishing and sponsorship options as producing a short-order magazine run is fairly expensive. We will keep you posted as to when and where it will be available.

Attached are some photos of our group working with Des and also of our trip to the beach. As I can't figure out how to edit previous posts, there will be one final post done by students with samples of their writing.

Steve Williamson.

25-3-11

OUR BEACH TRIP

PICTURES OF US WORKING