Norah Colvin

Live Love Laugh Learn … Create the possibilities

Category: Creativity

  • Good intentions, slow start

    Good intentions, slow start

    Good intentions, slow start

    For all my good intentions, I haven’t got very far with reading and writing blogs. But I have been doing some reading and writing though and checking in on blogs from time to time. I guess it’s only three months since the last post, and this is the fourth for the year, so I’m not doing too badly.

    I haven’t done any more to the Marnie stories since my last post. But I’ve been playing around with a few other ideas and have written some stories for children aged 6-9 for competitions. Funnily enough (no pun intended) the competitions all want humorous stories.

    One competition is done and dusted, and my story didn’t rate a mention. I didn’t really expect it to but enjoyed having a reason to write as I’m still struggling to regain my lost motivation. The other comps don’t close for a while so I’m still working on improving my stories.

    As the first competition is finished, I thought I’d share my story with you.

    The story was to be no more than 200 words in length, and I was to choose a character and an object from six of each that were provided. I chose Bob McFartypants (character) and the smelly perfume (object). I have to say that, being now out of practice with flash fiction, I found the 200 word limit, well, quite limiting. I found the same with the 800-word limits of the other competitions too. One of my stories started with 1300 words. It was quite a task to pare back 500 words, but I have. How successfully remains to be seen. I’ll be sure to let you know if there’s anything exciting to report.

    Anyway, here’s my story. I hope you enjoy it (even though it is for children).

    Bob McFartypants and the Smelly Perfume

    His badge said: ‘Robert McFaren Paderson, Official Village Pooper-Scooper’. His job was to keep the streets free of animal poop. Everyone called him Bob McFartyPants.

    Bob didn’t fart more than anyone else. His ‘perfume’ just made it seem that way; especially when his plastic pants rubbed “PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!” his rubber boots squelched “SLUP! SLUP! SLUP!” and his breath made little popping sounds. “PHH! PHH! PHH!”

    Nobody else wanted Bob’s job.

    “EW! Bob’s dirty,” they’d say. “EW! Bob’s smelly. EW! Bob’s farty. Bob McFartyFartyPants. PHEW! PHEW! PHEW!”

    For one whole week, Bob was too sad to scoop poop, too sad to get out of bed. Poop littered the streets. The villagers could hardly breathe; flies filled the air. Soon, every inch was covered in stinky, slippery poop. When the Mayor left his office to investigate, he slipped BLOOP into a pile of gloopy poop.

     “Bob McFartyPants!” he yelled. “Where are you?”

    He marched to Bob’s house.

    “Robert,” he said. “We need you. Please come back to work. The village is a pigsty without you.”

    So, Robert went back to work. Nobody dared call him Bob McFartyPants again. They preferred his smelly perfume to the stench of his job not done.

    Best wishes,

    Norah

  • Marnie Stories and AI

    Marnie Stories and AI

    If you followed my blog over the years when I was posting regularly, you may remember the Marnie stories that I wrote in response to Flash Fiction prompts by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch. Depending upon the prompts, the 99-word stories provided a snippet of Marnie at various times of her life, from childhood to adulthood. They weren’t written in chronological order of her life, and I hadn’t already written anything of greater length from which I drew them. The stories were simply responses to the prompts as they occurred, and I used them to help develop her character. If you are interested, I collected the stories on their own page, Marnie.

    Recently, a writer friend told me about using AI (ChatGPT) for assistance with her writing, for ideas when stuck, for sequencing events, for suggesting alternate endings. She explained that you could ask ChatGPT anything and it would help. I was surprised. I wouldn’t have thought of using it in that way. I wouldn’t have thought of her using it that way. I wouldn’t have expected her to share so openly that she found it so beneficial. However, as she continued to explain, I was impressed at her resourcefulness and came to understand how useful it could be as an assistant.

    Since writing the Marnie stories, I’d often thought of using them as the basis for writing a longer story about Marnie but hadn’t got around to doing anything with them. I wondered if ChatGPT might help me get started and was amazed at the result.

    I began by asking if it would be able to put different snippets of text about one main character and other characters in time order.

    The response was:

    “Sure! Please share the snippets of text you have. I’ll organize them in chronological (time) order based on the events involving the main character and other characters.”

    So, I inserted all the texts (5620 words) in the order in which I’d written them, and the response was almost instant:

    “Thanks for sharing all the text — there’s a rich and deeply emotional narrative here. I’ve now organized the snippets into chronological order, based on Marnie’s life journey. Some events overlap or reflect back in time, so I’ve placed them where they seem to fit best narratively and psychologically.”

    This was followed by a list of all the snippets (flash fiction stories) under the headings:

    Early Childhood – Home Life and Abuse (5 stories)

    Early School Years – Introduction to School, Bullying, Trauma (20 stories)

    Turning Points – Friendship, Courage, Escape (7 stories)

    Escape, Reinvention, Adulthood (7 stories)

    Resolution – Closure, Reflection, Healing (5 stories)

    Side Scenes/Thematic Parallels (2 stories)

    Needless to say, I was pretty impressed with the speed of response and the organisation of the stories.

    I was then asked: “Would you like this ordered version exported into a document (PDF/Word)? Or do you want me to analyze themes, character arcs, or tone across the timeline?”

    I asked for it to be analyzed for consistency of character, themes and storyline.

    The response was:

    “Absolutely. Your collection of vignettes weaves a deeply emotional and coherent narrative. Here’s a detailed analysis of character consistency, thematic unity, and storyline progression, with specific observations about how these elements succeed — and a few small areas you might refine or clarify if you wish to polish it even further.”

    I was delighted with the ChatGPT conclusion about Marnie’s character:

    “Marnie is written with exceptional psychological realism and emotional depth. Her development follows a believable arc from traumatized child to resilient adult. Across dozens of fragments, her behaviors, reactions, and internal thoughts consistently reflect:

    • Complex trauma symptoms: dissociation, hyper-vigilance, self-blame, learned helplessness, retreating to small enclosed spaces.
    • Moments of growth: brief smiles, curiosity, creativity, cautious trust.
    • Innate sensitivity and intelligence, masked by educational delays, confusion, or misunderstanding of expectations.
    • Symbolism in the unicorn: a through-line in her identity — innocence, escape, comfort — even when mocked or confiscated.

    Her arc feels deeply earned, from sucking her thumb under the desk to boldly walking away from her past, and finally extending kindness to others.

    ✅ Success: Marnie remains emotionally and psychologically coherent at every age, even as her voice matures.”

    In fact, across all the characters, themes and story elements, I was excited about what ChatGPT was giving me. The overall response was positive, but there were also suggestions for improvement.

    “🔹 Overall Evaluation

    🌟 Strengths:

    • Deep psychological insight.
    • Lyrical but grounded language.
    • Emotional authenticity.
    • Clear voice for each character.
    • Motifs like unicorns, mud, colour, silence, and locked doors are effective and memorable.

    🛠 Possible Refinements (only if aiming for publication-level polish):

    • Slight reduction of duplicate imagery (multiple unicorn-tripping incidents).
    • Make sure developmental language matches Marnie’s age, especially in early internal monologues.
    • Brucie’s arc could either be extended or left open intentionally — just make it a conscious choice.”

    Now that I have this first evaluation with suggestions for refinement, I feel empowered to continue working on Marnie and her story. Whether human readers would feel as positive, I don’t know, but at least now I’m ready to give it a go.

    My main purpose in writing this post is to encourage you, if you haven’t done so yet, to give ChatGPT a try if you’re stuck on an idea or need a prompt to get started. If you’ve also experienced success in using it, I’d love to hear how.

  • Happy Christmas 2024

    Happy Christmas 2024

    I have been silent on my blog for an entire year. It both surprises me and doesn’t surprise me at the same time. I knew I had done very little writing this year, but I didn’t realise I had done none!

    I have struggled this year to find any head or heart space for writing. I just felt empty. Sadly, I couldn’t rally the energy to sustain any meaningful reading either. So, as well as neglecting my own blog, I have neglected yours too. It’s not that I didn’t think of you or didn’t have the wish (I did). I just didn’t have the will. I apologise and hope that you will forgive me. I hope to slowly make my way back to some writing and reading next year. In the meantime, I wish you

    A Very Happy Christmas

    and

    Health and Happiness throughout 2025.

    Best wishes,

    Norah x

    Here is a Christmas story for the children.

  • Confidence #99WordStories

    Confidence #99WordStories

    This week at the Carrot Ranch, Charli Mills challenged writers to In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about confidence. Is a character confident or struggling? Why? Is confidence cultural, compelling, or conflicting? What is the value of confidence? Go where the prompt leads!

    Having an ‘I can’ attitude, or confidence, is something I always encouraged in my children, whether I birthed them or taught them. Maybe because it was never encouraged in me and is definitely not a strong suit, I’ve always found it important to nourish. A story about confidence should have been easy to write. I’m sure I’ve written many stories about confidence before, but I just couldn’t get one to work. I finally realised that what I was trying to write was based on a true event. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t get the ending. I decided to go with an anecdote rather than fiction. I hope you enjoy it.

    That’s Confidence

    When Bec was little I ran play/educational sessions for children and their parents at home.  I worked hard preparing the room, dedicated for that purpose, for our sessions. Finally, everything was arranged, with various art and craft materials organised in boxes and tubs.

    Bec, 2½ years old, was excited. ‘Of course,’ I said when she asked if she could make something.

    I’d only moved away for a moment when her excitement drew me back: ‘Look what I made!’ Her face beamed.

    She’d upended nearly everything (exaggeration, only slight) and glued one cotton ball onto a piece of paper. Wow!

    Look what I made! © Norah Colvin

    Thank you blog post

    Thanks for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts.

    Note: The collection of stories made in response to the previous prompt A Blade of Grass, including mine, can be read at the Carrot Ranch.

  • Bears in the Woods #FallWritingFrenzy

    Bears in the Woods #FallWritingFrenzy

    I decided to enter the Fall Writing Frenzy hosted by Kaitlyn Sanchez.

    The rules stated:

    1. Select one of the images below and write about it.

    It can be a poem, a story, a mood piece, or whatever comes to mind. Happy, scary, beautiful, grotesque, whatever suits your fancy for any kidlit age, board book through young adult. You can write about the picture in a literal or metaphorical way, or focus on a memory or emotion it elicits. Just let the photo inspire you and have fun!

    I selected this photo #9 by Saliha Sevim on Pexels.com. (There were 14 to choose from.)

    When I first looked at it, I got quite a sinister vibe from it, and that’s the way I started writing. However I decided that I didn’t want to go as grim as some of the fairy tales like Hansel and Gretal or Snow White, so toned it down in the end. I’m not sure how it works as a story for children, but since time to enter has run out, so has my time to revise.

    Please pop over to Kaitlyn’s blog to read all the entries.

    Bears in the Woods

    “Where are we going? Mama?”

    “Why are we going into the woods, Mama?”

    Mama just smiled and sang, “If you go down to the woods today . . .”

    “Are there bears, Mama?”

    “Mama. Are there bears?”

    “It’s dark, Mama. Can we go home now?”

    “Don’t worry, Billy. You’re with Mama. Nothing will hurt you.”

    “But it’s scary. There’s bears. And monsters.”

    “There’s no monsters, and the bears—”

    He pulled his hand from hers and ran.

    “—are just teddy—. Billy!”

    Blinded by tears and monstrous fears,

    he ran willy-nilly,

    kicking up dry autumn leaves,

    head-first into spider webs,

    through prickly bushes.

    Mama ran after him. “Billy! Billy!’ His comfort doll hung limply over her arm.

    He didn’t hear. He kept running, running, running. He wanted out of the deep dark terrifying bear-infested woods. Finally, he collapsed in a pile of leaves, no longer able to outrun the fears.

    Rustle! Rustle! Something’s nearby. Shhh!

    People’s voices? Children’s voices.

    Billy peered around the tree. In a clearing, children were singing to teddy bears and toys. Adults were talking. In the middle, was Mama, crying.

    “Mama! Mama!” Billy called.

    She scooped him up. “Oh, silly Billy. They’re only teddy bears.”

    Thank you blog post

    Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts.

  • A Place Where Children Once Played #99WordStories

    A Place Where Children Once Played #99WordStories

    This week at the Carrot Ranch, Charli Mills challenged writers to In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about a place where children once played. It can be a field, a playground, or any place that attracted children to play. But now it is empty. Abandoned. Go where the prompt leads!

    This is my response. I hope you enjoy it.

    Locked and Abandoned

    Grow up.

    Stop those childish games.

    Remember your manners.

    Cease with the stories.

    Fairies aren’t real.

    Santa’s for fools with more money than sense.

    She was a dutiful daughter and diligent student. She submerged herself in lessons, wiped her mind of childhood nonsense and got on with the serious business of being grownup, though she was not yet nine years old.

    She went on to be dux at school and won the university medal but had no friends to celebrate with.

    Sometimes, in night’s solitude, she’d hear a jangle of keys and a tiny voice crying, ‘Let me out!’

    Thank you blog post

    Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts.

    Note: The collection of stories made in response to the previous prompt Gloria can be read at the Carrot Ranch.

  • Letter to Nature #99WordStories

    Letter to Nature #99WordStories

    This week at the Carrot Ranch, Charli Mills challenged writers to In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story as a love letter to nature. You could reach back to more pastoral times of writing or enter into the future. Who is writing the letter — an ant or an aunt? Is it a lifetime of love or eons? Go where the prompt leads!

    It’s a nice thought – a love letter to nature for Valentine’s Day.

    Generally, when we think of nature, we think of its beauty and its generosity with wonder and gratitude. That’s a good thing. There is much to hold in awe and much for which we should give thanks.

    However, nature isn’t always beautiful and generous. It can be destructive too, as we’ve seen this week with the devastating earthquake in Türkiye and Syria. So much heartbreak. And there are countless other places around the world where nature is not being so kind. If it’s not happening near you, it’s happening near someone else.

    Why, when nature itself can be so destructive, are so many people hell-bent on finding other ways of harming each other, including creating weapons of mass destruction? It is something I’ll never understand. Why can’t we all just live in peace, accepting and appreciating each other and what we have in this wonderful world.

    As a teacher and a parent, I always encourage children to be curious and creative. To seek answers to things they wonder about and solutions to problems. I believe it’s in our nature to ask questions.

    I’ve combined our nature with Nature in my response to Charli’s prompt, inspired by a child’s point of view. I hope you like it.

    A Letter to Nature

    Why is the sky blue and the grass green?

    Why do bees buzz and dogs bark?

    How do birds fly and fish swim?

    How does an apple grow?

    Where do butterflies sleep?

    Why does the earth quake and volcanos spew?

    Why do storms rage and rivers flood?

    Dad says I ask too many questions. Mum says it’s our nature to explore, discover and create, to solve problems, find new ways of doing things, and heal hurts.

    But people also use their imaginations to create even more destructive ways to harm each other. Why? Is your nature our nature too?

    Thank you blog post

    Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts.

    Note: The collection of stories made in response to the previous prompt Dishes, including mine, can be read at the Carrot Ranch.

  • Ideas for Celebrating World Nursery Rhyme Week 2022 – #readilearn

    Ideas for Celebrating World Nursery Rhyme Week 2022 – #readilearn

    Next week, from 14th – 18th November, is World Nursery Rhyme Week. Why not celebrate by revisiting some of the children’s (and your) favourite nursey rhymes. Children in our F – 2 classrooms can explore language features and use them as a springboard for writing, recitation, and role play. Children in older classrooms may like to investigate their (often dark) origins and history.

    The aim of World Nursery Rhyme Week is to promote the importance of nursery rhymes in early education. The five official nursery rhymes for this year’s celebration are:

    The Big Ship Sails

    1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Once I Caught a Fish Alive

    Five Little Speckled Frogs

    B.I.N.G.O.

    Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

    However, you are welcome to use any nursery rhymes you like, and here at readilearn we have some resources to assist your teaching.

    readilearn nursery rhyme resources

    Humpty Dumpty

    Teach literacy skills and develop creative thinking and imagination with Humpty Dumpty.

    The Humpty Dumpty suite of resources includes:

    The Accident — Humpty Dumpty’s Fall is an original story that innovates on the nursery rhyme by providing a scenario that might lead to Humpty’s falling from the wall. It is a digital estory which can be displayed and read on the interactive whiteboard. It can be read as a story on its own or as part of the writing unit Humpty Dumpty — a story in five sittings. (Note: if you wish to implement the writing unit, do so before reading the story.)

    Humpty Dumpty — a story in five sittings is a series of five lessons in writing based upon the nursery rhyme. Each lesson provides opportunities for children to think creatively and imaginatively and to write using a basic narrative structure. It presupposes children already have an idea of sentence structure and some experience writing stories of their own.

    Of course, before attempting to read or write an alternative, it is important that children are familiar with the nursery rhyme. We have that covered too, with a printable copy of the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty to download.

    Continue reading: Ideas for Celebrating World Nursery Rhyme Week 2022 – readilearn

  • Mud on the Tires #99WordStories

    Mud on the Tires #99WordStories

    This week at the Carrot Ranch, Charli Mills challenged writers to In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about mud on the tires. The tires can be from any conveyance or serve as an analogy. How did they get muddy and why? What impact does mud on the tires have on the story (plot) or characters (motivation)? Go where the prompt leads!

    In her post, Charli says ‘I guess this seems similar to balloons on a bumper. It differs, though. Mud is real. Balloons are temporary hopes and dreams susceptible to popping. Mud can stain. Mud can wash away. Mud says, “You’ve been places, Kiddo.”’

    For my response, I have continued with my red convertible story with the girls Amy and Lucy playing imaginatively in their back yard with their toys and whatever else is available. (I have included the previous two stories at the end, in case you’d like to read them together.)

    In the last episode, the girls had balloons on their bumper as they travelled to celebrate the wedding of their toys Teddy and Ollie. The balloons, as Charli says, were temporary. In this third episode, they have been replaced by empty cans. But the girls and their toys, including the tyres of their red convertible, have been covered with mud. The mud does say that they have been places. It also says they have had fun, used their imaginations and been creative — three things I consider to be very important in life. I hope this mud sticks, not only for them, but for everyone.

    A note about tires. In Australia tires means to grow sleepy and tyres refers to the black rubber things on the wheels of a car. Hence the change in spelling.

    I hope you enjoy my story.

    Mud on the Tyres

    After the wedding, Teddy and Ollie scrunched into the back of the little red convertible.

    As Amy and Lucy drove them away from the faraway forest, the guests cheered and threw confetti. The empty cans, now replacing balloons on the bumper, clattered across the wooden bridge and scattered gravel along the mountain trail.

    At the honeymoon resort, Teddy and Ollie splashed in the pool first, but they were overexcited, and the grounds were soon a mucky muddy mess.  

    When Mother called, ‘Dinnertime!’, the girls were mud-spattered, from the hair on their heads to their convertible’s tyres.

    ‘Coming!’ they replied.

    Thank you blog post

    Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts.

    Here are the two previous episodes of this story.

    The Little Red Convertible (Episode 1)

    “Where to today?” asked Amy.

    “Over the mountains, across the river, and through the far-away forest,” said Lucy.

    “Be home in time for dinner,” said Mother.

    “We will!”

    The little red convertible chugged to the peak of the highest mountain where the children danced in clouds. It rolled through misty valleys and onto the plain where the children played hide-and-seek in patchwork fields. It trundled across the wooden bridge over the river that led to the forest where they fluttered with fairies and pranced with unicorns.

    Rumbling bellies told them to head for home.

    “Just in time,” said Mother.

    Balloons on the Bumper (Episode 2)

    “Where to today?” asked Amy.

    “A party,” said Lucy, tying balloons to the bumper of their little red convertible.

    “Whose party?”

    “Teddy’s. He’s getting married.”

    “I didn’t know he had a girlfriend.”

    “He doesn’t. He has a unicorn-friend. Mother said I can marry anyone I want. So, Teddy can too.”

    “Right. Which way?”

    “Over the mountains, across the river, and through the far-away forest.”

    “Be home for dinner,” said Mother.

    “We will!”

    The balloons sailed above the little red car. At the party, the children fluttered with fairies and pranced with unicorns as Teddy and Ollie shared their vows.

    Note: The collection of stories made in response to the previous prompt Balloons on a Bumper, including mine, can be read at the Carrot Ranch.

  • Inspire Creativity with International Dot Day – #readilearn

    Inspire Creativity with International Dot Day – #readilearn

    September 15-ish is International Dot Day.

    The goal of International Dot Day is to inspire people of all ages to embrace the power of personal creativity, to make their mark on the world, making it a better place.

    Creativity is important to me. I love being creative. I love inspiring creativity in children, and I acknowledge that it is only through creativity that we can innovate, advance and improve our world. For this reason, I am posting a day early to ensure you all know about International Dot Day in time to celebrate. However, any day is a good day to celebrate and promote creativity.

    The Dot — the book

    The Dot, written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds and published by Walker Books in 2003, tells of an art teacher who encouraged a young artist, who didn’t believe she could, to make her mark on a piece of paper. Although the story features an art teacher, Reynolds dedicated the book to his 7th grade math teacher who, he said, ‘dared me to “make my mark”.’

    Like Reynolds, I believe there is a spark of creativity in everyone and that a dot is as good a place as any to start. What I really love about this book, is the way the teacher encourages the student Vashti, who then goes on to encourage others in a similar way. The ripples of a ‘you can do it’ philosophy spread. Who know where they will reach? Hopefully everywhere.

    How International Dot Day began

    (from the website)

    International Dot Day began when Iowa teacher Terry Shay introduced his classroom to Reynolds’ book, and noticed the original publishing date of The Dot was Sept. 15, 2003. Shay and his students decided to celebrate the book’s birthday – and, little did they know, launched what would become a worldwide celebration of creativity and courage to “make your mark.”

    “The Dot, is an invitation to students to be creative, and experience a breakthrough in confidence and courage, igniting a journey of self-discovery and sharing, said Shay, a public school teacher for over two decades “Every great teacher works for those transformational moments.”

    Exploring the themes of creativity, bravery and self-expression, The Dot is a story of a perceptive and caring teacher who reaches a reluctant student who thinks she can’t draw by encouraging her to be brave enough to “just make a mark and see where it takes you.”  The Dot has been translated into many languages (including Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Hebrew, Spanish and even Braille) and the animated film of The Dot (produced by Reynolds’ multimedia design and development firm FableVision Studios and co-producer Scholastic) earned the Carnegie Medal of Excellence.

    Continue reading: Inspire Creativity with International Dot Day – Readilearn