Maddie Long Legs Stole Bosvigo School's Work!

I explained that a lumipoo momp tried to steal some of the school work from St Edwards and Manor Lodge, but I've just found out that Maddie Long Legs, the lumipoo momp queen, stole weeks of work by a group of children who go to Bosvigo School in Truro. Fortunately, Simon and Tigotha managed to recover the work from her nest and send it to me.

Below are some sketches from the monster species task in week 1.

And here are some highlights from the scene setting task:

'There is a big cave under the sea, near a volcano, on a rocky island. It is always very warm and dry because all of the lava flowing out of the nearby volcano.' - Oscar

Oscar, you'll be please to know that there will be a volcano in our book. It's called Volcano Yazoble and it's near the coast, where there are caves. You can see it on our map in the south east.

'His favourite game is 'it', which he plays with his neighbours the crabs.' - Oscar.

This is a very amusing image, although I'm not sure that I'd like to be chased by a crab in real life.

'The lumipoo momp's favourite game is 'it'.' - William

Oh goodness me! I think I'd rather be chased by one of Oscar's crabs than a deadly duck!

'My monster live on Mars so that he won't get caught by human beings." - William

Living on Mars is an extremely good way of avoiding humans!

'My monster lives under the wet stage at Bosvigo School.' - Elliot.

Crikey! Does the care taker know?

'The Cheese World looks like a leftover, wet burrito kept in the fridge for 100 years.' - Ben

Ugh! This is a brilliant simile because it made me cry 'Yuck' out loud. You really captured how disgusting the cheese world is.

'Every house feels like a grizzly bear's eyeball from the river.' - Ben

Another brilliant and foul simile. Well done for paying attention to the sense of touch.

'The world sounds like 1009 horse shoes falling on ten tons of metal.'

This is a good simile. I like how specific it is - 1009 made me giggle. Ben could make it even better by adding words like 'clang', 'scrape' or 'clatter' (onomatopoeia).

'The cheese world is the smelliest planet in the universe...apart from Fish World!' - Ben

Now I'm intrigued about Fish World! It's very clever to both round off a piece of writing and leave the reader wanting more.

'I am very excited to start writing the monster book with Rosen' - Elliot

I am very excited to have Bosvigo School on board. I look forward to reading your ideas.

A Lumipoo Momp Ate Our Homework

Unfortunately, a lumipoo momp snatched some of your work from last week in its beak, and flew off to Glacier Island with them. Fortunately, Turbo the Toddler has managed to recover some of them. Although it's a little late to put the missing ideas in our book, here are some comments on the waylaid work.

Evie from St Edwards came up with an alliteration place name, 'Murdering Monster Mountain'.

Anna from Manor Lodge School drew this beautiful map.

Shayna from Manor Lodge School called her land 'Boggy Island'. So hopefully she'll approve of the Mompy Swamp.

Week 5 Task - Ask Rosen

Is there anything you'd like to know about being an author? Would you like to ask questions about our monster book? Do you need any intelligence on trolls?

This week I will be answering your questions about writing, monsters and life as an author.

Please send your questions to rosen.trevithick@gmail.com

You can ask anything you like, but I reserve the right to answer with 'momp momp' if I feel like it.

Week 5 Tips - Creating Conflict

What do you think of when you hear the word conflict?

For many people, 'conflict' means some sort of fight. However, in writing, conflict actually means any obstacle that gets in the way of your characters achieving their goals.

For example:
If I wanted to make myself some cereal, and there was no milk, the goal would be breakfast and the lack of milk would be conflict.
If I wanted to go for a swim, but the sea was too rough, the goal would be swimming and the conflict would be the waves.
If I was happy with my life and a lumpioo momp moved into my garden, the goal would be continuing to lead a happy life, and the conflict would be the deadly duck outside my window.
If I was about to clone myself when I found out that cloning was against the law, the goal would be creating a Rosen clone and the conflict would be the law.

Conflict doesn't necessarily have to be between two characters. Look at the examples above:
Running out of milk = me versus my memory (i.e. me versus self)
Too big waves = me versus nature
Lumipoo momp in the garden = me versus monster
Laws against cloning = me versus society

Dramatic Conflict

Some conflicts are more dramatic than others. It all depends on the potential consequences. A lumipoo momp in my garden would make a much more powerful story than finding that I'd run out of milk because a lumipoo momp could result in death, whereas the consequence of running out of milk is just having to change my breakfast plans.

If you create conflict with consequences that might concern your reader, the reader will keep reading to find out what happens next.

To create powerful conflict, think 'What could happen if this conflict isn't resolved?' If it's something alarming, then you're on the right track.

Humorous Conflict

Another purpose of conflict can be to the create humour. Sometimes trying to solve a problem sets the characters on a path of funny events. For example, accidentally super-gluing my nose to a sausage wouldn't be particularly dramatic, but it would set up all sorts of amusing chapters, like having to go to the supermarket with a sausage stuck to my nose and having to go to see my doctor to get is detached.

Week 5 & 6 Task - Plot Your Story Thread

The best plots have many simple stories all linking together. We call these story threads. I would like you to create one story thread for our monster book please.

You don’t have to plot the whole story or involve every character. Just pick a small number of characters from the character booklet, then plot one problem that they have, and how it gets resolved.

I've created some booklets to help you plot your story thread.
Advanced Storyboard Booklet (Six Chapters)
Quick Storyboard Booklet (Three Chapters)

How to Fill in Your Storyboard Booklet
1. Read the introduction that I've already written using our work so far.
2. Write a summary for every remaining chapter.
3. Go back and fill in the details and sketches.

You must summarise each chapter before filling in the details because not every problem has a solution. If you write about a problem and then find that there's no way to solve it, you'll have to scrap your problem and start again. Therefore, it's best not to write a problem's details until you're sure you know how it going to be fixed.

Please stick to the characters and settings that we've already chosen. The resources below will remind you who's who and what our setting is like.

Resources to help
Full list of all our characters.
Quick list with just seven characters.
Setting notes and map.
How to create conflict.
How to make sure I can read your work.

Coming Soon
How to create dramatic conflict.

Our Setting - Fangleland on the Planet Zorbit

Thank you for all your setting ideas. I have merged as many as I could, to create Fangleland. Below are some notes and a map. What do you think?

It’s the distant future. Fangleland is a small country on the Planet Zorbit, a chunk of Portugal that got booted into outer space in 2013 after a careless space giant tried to play golf with the Earth, and chipped Europe. It’s a tiny planet on the edge of space. It is so small that aliens often fly straight past it and only spot it if they actually get into the ‘orbit of Zorbit’.

Everybody speaks English in Fangleland because many centuries ago, a British tourist appointed himself king and passed a law banning Portuguese. Although it’s the future, people’s lives are very similar to our lives, because Zorbit is too small for the people to have developed future technologies. Lumipoo momps, however, have evolved into vicious beasts and Fangleland is overrun with them.

Fangleland is composed of two landmasses, Spookyknoll Island and Yazoble Island. It has a third island, Glacier Island, which is a giant iceberg.

The climate on Planet Zorbit is dramatic, reaching from the chilly Rocky Mountains in the north, down to the raging Volcano Yazoble in the south (which contains bubbling, purple lumipoo poo, instead of magma.)

Bongdon

Most Fanglish people (20,000) live in the capital city of Bongdon, which is divided into two halves, separated by Shoogle Lagoon. The lagoon is home to many lumipoo momps, including the General Gibbers. The treacherous River Shoogle connects the Mompy Swamp to Shoogle Lagoon and is the momps’ main highway. Bongdon has sky scrapers with heads that talk to the clouds sitting in the sky. Turbo the Toddler lives in North Bongdon. It’s also the home of the science lab the first tubster of terror is created.

Yazoble Island

There are only 1000 inhabitants on Yazoble Island. Some live in wigwams in Yazwam. Others live in Tippy Toppy Town, where all the house are upside down. This is because the people believe that upside down houses will float on lava, like boats, if Volcano Yazoble erupts. They may or may not be wrong.

Glacier Island

A tribe of 57 people live on Glacier Island in igloos. There is also a frozen fortress, where the glacier tribe defend against lumipoo momps.

Whiff Towers

Whiff Towers is an abandoned and run down castle. At least, everyone thinks it’s abandoned.

To get there you have to find your way through a dark forest, where it always rains. The forest comes to an end, and suddenly you find yourself in the Mompy Swamp. The swamp is full of quick mud and deadly lumipoo momps.

Two talking gate posts at the castle entrance get to decide whether or not you can enter. If they welcome you, a drawbridge across the swamp slowly lowers with a clanking chain.

Whiffleton on Swamp

Whiffleton can be found to the west of Bongdon. It’s a small, wooden village on the edge of Mompy Swamp. It’s where Simon Sandymop lives. Local children like to play football in Quackers Park, an area of natural beauty characterised by fields of ruby-centred flowers with sparkly white petals. It is where Simon first meets Tigotha. Tigotha lives in a cave on the west coast of Spookyknoll Island.

The Condiment District

On the south of Spookyknoll Island, are a series of lakes containing sauces, such as ketchup, mustard and BBQ sauce. The locals go there to refill their bottles. Many locals make a day of it, walking along the coastal path and then back to Bongdon Beach for a barbecue.

Zebra roam wild in the condiment district, which is why you usually see zebra with mustard on their hooves.

Gnasher Dogs, Howling Wolves and Stinkland Farm

A few more settings have arrived since my last post. Here are some highlights:

'There are gnasher dogs and they smash trees and chew on the bark from the bottom of the trees and there are about 100,000 of the dogs.' - Dan and Alex, St Hardulph's

That would explain why Tubsters of Terror are afraid of puppies.

'The trees drop in shame over the brown dirty water as it trickles over the mushy mud.' - Katie and Ginny, St Hardulph's

Excellent personification.

'There are two mini mountains on either side, where wolves howl at night on.' - Katie and Ginny, St Hardulph's

'Howl' is a great example of onomatopoeia.

'Surrounding the dirty mushy hardly a pond is a terrible thing called QUICK MUD! (It is basically quick sand but in mud)' - Katie and Ginny, St Hardulph's

'His habitat (thorn bush) is surrounded by quick mud that could kill you in seconds by sucking you in.' - Harvey and Nino, St Hardulph's.

That sounds like a swamp to me. Swamps have been very popular in this exercise, so I think I'll put one on our map.

'You can smell mouldy, off, hairy, cracked coconuts from the squeaking mad monkey.' - Darcey and Sophie, St Hardulph's.

That sentence made me giggle.

'Our story is set in a place called Stinkland Farm.' - Harvey and Nino, St Hardulph's.

I like the place name.

'My Lumipoo Momp island is called Quackers Momp World.' - Anonymous, Morton Trentside

I like this, so I've borrowed 'Quackers' and used it to name a park.

'On Momp Beach there is Tippy Toppy Cafe that cooks old banana skins.' - Anonymous, Morton Trentside

Ooh! I was just wondering what to call our upside down village. Tippy Toppy is perfect.

'There is Love Forest 500,000 miles away from Tippy Toppy Cafe. You can have a Ducky Wedding there.' - Anonymous, Morton Trentside

Goodness me! I'm imagining a lumipoo momp in a wedding dress - not a pretty sight (but very funny).

'Next to that stands a purple poo Volcano.' - Anonymous, Morton Trentside

A volcano that erupts poo is very inventive.

I'm off to plot a map using all the best ideas.