STORY OF THE MONTH

Tree Ducklings for Henrietta
A fairy tale by Helga Parl

Mrs McDonald lived in a little house in a leafy Brisbane suburb. Her front garden looked a picture of flower beds and colourful shrubs. Passers-by couldn’t help admiring it. They often stopped, when they saw the little old lady working hard and then complemented her on her efforts. It made Mrs Mac, as she was known in the neighbourhood, very happy. It made it worth her while to get up early in the morning and do all the shores before it got too hot for her, to be outside.
Though her backyard couldn’t be described as being messy, it definitely was not a show case. There used to be a lawn, but many shrubs and a few huge trees had sent their roots from one fence line to the other and had converted the former lawn into a rather scruffy meadow.
It was an ideal place for the half a dozen hens that foraged in there all day.
They were fed corn, greens and kitchen scraps and they given fresh water every day. At night they roosted in a shed, which formed the border to the back fence neighbour.
On most days five of the hens laid one egg in nests easily detected by Mrs Mac. They cackled very loudly until their egg was gathered into Mrs Mac’s basket. They then carried on with their scratching for worms, drinking or just dosing in the shade.
Henrietta, the sixth hen, didn’t want her eggs to be taken from her. She wanted to sit on them until her chicks would emerge.
‘You silly, girl,’ Mrs Mac scolded her. ‘I need some eggs for cooking but most of them are exchanged for your feed.’
Henrietta kept on hiding her eggs in a corner of the shed and never let Mrs Mac know, when she had laid another one.
One day, Mrs Mac had an idea. She purchased a few fake eggs. While Henrietta had reluctantly left the shed to eat and drink, her eggs were exchanged for plastic ones. Mrs Mac smiled when Henrietta returned to her nest. She reasoned that Henrietta was not a dum chuck and would soon realise that there was no life in those fake eggs and hopefully, she then would join her sisters in their carefree existence.
Some days later, Mrs Mac decided to take a walk along the nearby creek. To her surprise she spotted an abandoned native duck’s nest with three eggs in it. They looked as if the ducklings could hatch any moment. Mrs Mac scooped them up, placed them gently under her blouse to keep them warm and hurried home. Henrietta didn’t object when she was lifted from her useless eggs and Mrs Mac had no trouble replacing them with the duck eggs. They were still warm from being nursed by the old lady and Henrietta sensed that this time she would be successful in breeding her own little family.
Sure enough, the next morning, when Mrs Mac opened the shed she found three little ducklings next to Henrietta. The other hens looked suspiciously at the brood but Henrietta was as proud as Punch and led her ducklings to the water trough.
Mrs Mac had prepared special greens and tiny seeds for the youngsters to eat and was more than pleased to have an addition to her flock. The ducklings followed their foster mother everywhere and soon grew into good looking youngsters.
There was one problem though. Ducks need to swim in more than a little dish of water.
Mrs Mack asked her neighbour to help dig a little pond in between the protruding tree roots.
She lined the pond with a big plastic sheet, put in some soil and planted a few water plants. It looked quite artistic and the ducklings loved to spend a lot of time in it. They looked so funny when they put their heads under water and let their behinds poke out into the air.
But while they enjoyed the swim, Henrietta ran franticly around the edge of the pond. She had never learned to swim and was worried that her children would come to grief. Of course, they never did. When they had enough of the water they hopped out of it, shook their downy feathers and followed their mother to find their food.
When they had grown into adulthood, Daisy, Alf and Debby stretched their wings. They somehow sensed the nearby creek and longed to go there.
One lovely morning, Mrs Mac watched in amazement, as the three young ducks flew out of the yard and turned towards the creek, where their forebears had lived for many years before.
Henrietta was sad for a week. But thereafter she laid an egg every day and cackled happily to announce to the world that she was as good a hen as every other one of her sisters. Mrs Mac was happy too. She prepared the chook’s favoured food, spinach and corn, and they all lived happily ever after.

Short Story: Waiting by Anna

An exercise completed on 'Emotional Body Language'

Waiting

The queue hadn’t moved for five minutes. Looking at my watch impatiently I could only wait ten minutes more, before I had to go back to work. I saw there were another ten people behind me and still five people in front of me. I was really getting annoyed! Surely they could put another person on at the cashier, can’t they see there is a big line forming. People were not moving, it seemed to be endless! As I tried to see what was going on up the front, I noticed a little old lady was at the checkout putting her groceries onto the counter one by one. She looked frail. She must be at least eighty I thought.
One can of soup, five cans of cat food, one carton of milk and one loaf of bread. That was all she bought. As she finally put down the last item, she started searching through her bag. It seemed like another ten minutes before she found her purse. Opening it, she took out the coins and began to count them. She squinted to see the amount on the screen and recounted the coins again. I couldn’t hear what she was saying to the cashier but I knew what she was feeling. She was trembling, her voice was low and she sounded teary. I couldn’t quite see what was going on but the people in front of me were whispering. Catching a few words I knew I was right. The poor lady didn’t have enough money to pay for her groceries.
My heart went out to her.
She stood there hunched, turning around to see the huge queue behind her. Blushing, you could see she didn’t know what to do and by the harsh look the cashier was giving her, the little old lady wasn’t getting any help from her. “Well I am not going to let this poor woman stand there embarrassed like that” I thought, making my way to the front of the line. I could hear comments of annoyance as I pushed my way up the line.
“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” the man second in line growled at me, as I stood next to the lady.
“I’m here to help this lovely lady and if you were half decent you would have stepped up and paid for her bill,” I growled back, as he looked at me half shocked. For a five foot petite woman I had one ferocious roar.
“Yeah, she’s right” and “Good on you”, were the responses from the rest of the queue.
“How much does the lady owe?” I said, as I opened my purse. Paying the bill I looked at the woman who was struggling to speak as tears trickled down hers cheeks.
“Thank you,” she whispered, as I gave her a hug. Straightening up to her full height, she hugged me back with such strength that it surprised me for a moment. Looking at her there was no need for her to thank me her smile and the joy in her eyes was gratitude enough.

Author:  Anna

WRITING EXERCISE - Reveal Character Through Body Language

Write a short piece, up to 1500 words, using the above exercise.

EMOTIONAL BODY LANGUAGE
The following is a table of body language for various emotions. Think of ways you can use some of them in combinations with dialogue and narrative.

To Convey Use
Anger/ aggression - Making the body big (hands on hips with elbows wide, standing upright and erect with the chin up and the chest thrust out, legs may be placed apart), facial signals (disapproving frowns, pursed lips, sneers, snarls, jaws clenched, staring and holding the gaze for a long period, squinting with constricted pupils, nostrils flared, curled lips), gestures (shaking fists, whole arm sweeps, pointing finger, exaggerated movements, slamming closed hand on table, handling objects roughly, fists clinched)

Anticipation - Rubbing hands, licking lips.

Apprehension, anxiety, nervousness - Locked ankles, pacing, clearing of throat, exhaling audibly, fidgeting, jiggling money or keys, tugging ear, wringing hands, adjusting tie, clutching object tightly, pacing, scratching, rubbing arms.

Boredom, lack of interest - Distraction (looking anywhere but at the person who is talking. Doodling, talking with others, staring around the room, playing with objects on desk), repetition (tapping toes, swinging feet, drumming fingers, repeatedly looking at watch or wall clock, picking at clothes), tiredness (yawning, whole body sagging as individual slouches down in seat or leans against a wall, face appears blank, head resting in hand, eyes downcast, sitting with legs crossed and foot kicking slightly).

Close minded, non-receptive - Arms or legs (arms folded, legs crossed in 11 position, when legs are crossed but arms are not, it can show deliberate attempts to appear relaxed. This is particularly true when legs are hidden under a table.), head (looking away, head may be inclined away from the person and may be tucked down, frown).

Confidence, superiority - Sitting with hands clasped behind head, legs crossed; brisk, erect walk with head held high, good eye contact,

Deception, lying - A deceptive body is concerned about being found out, and this concern may show anxiety (sweating, sudden movements, minor twitches of muscles around mouth and eyes, fidgeting). To avoid being caught, there may be various signs of over-control, such as signs of attempted friendly body language (forced smile - mouth smiles but eyes do not, jerky movements, oscillation between open body language and deceptive body language), touches face, hand over mouth, pulls ear, eyes down, shifts in seat, looks down and to the left, avoids eye contact. Palms hidden
.
Defiant - Standing with hands on hips, frowning, hard stare.

Dejection - Walking with hands in pockets, shoulders hunched, eyes downcast.

Disagreement - Turns body away, leans further back in chair, shakes head side to side.
Doubt, disbelief Looking down, face turned away, rubbing eye, rolling eyes, touching or slightly rubbing nose.

Eagerness -Sitting (feet under chair, legs open), Standing (on toes).

Evaluation, thinking, making a decision - Hand to cheek, stroking chin, steepling hands, sucking glasses or pencil, looking up and to the right, index finger to lips, legs crossed in 4 position, slightly raised forehead with slight lines across it, pursed lips.

Exasperation - Eyes rolled up, frown

Happiness - Smiling, shoulders back, head held high, wink.

Impatience - Tapping or drumming fingers, shifting from one foot to the other.

Indecision - Pulling or tugging at ear or hair, cleaning glasses, biting lip, pacing, fingers to mouth.

Insecurity, lack of self confidence - Biting nails, patting or fondling hair, adjusting tie, palm up handshake, minimum eye contact.

Pain - Grimacing, flinching, drawing hand back.

Power, authority, dominance - Handshake (grabs palm firmly, palm down, pulls other character in and holds his elbow with left hand. Places hands behind back). Touching. Touching can be threatening and is used to demonstrate power (pats shoulders and back, guides people with a palm in the small of their back, greets them with a hand on the back, touches them on the elbow or other safe area). Gesture (beat with a finger, a palm, or even a fist when talking.) Walking (walks with exaggerated swinging of arms. Kinks elbows outward to make the body seem wider. Slight swagger. When walking with others, walks in front of them. When going through doors, if going to an audience, goes first. If going from an audience, goes last guiding others through door). Other (leaning back and placing both hands behind the neck, hands on hips, feet on desk, standing while other is sitting).

Readiness to leave - A ready body is poised for action. Pointing (any part of the body may be pointing at where the character is thinking about—another person or the door. The body part doing the pointing may be as subtle as a foot or as obvious as the whole body leaning. Eyes may also repeatedly flash in the intended direction.) Tension (body is tensed up and ready for action. If sitting, hands may hold onto armrests in readiness to get up, legs are tensed ready to lift the body. Things in the hands are gripped. Attention is away from everything except the intended direction.) Movement (movement is in preparation for further movement—legs uncross, hands grab bag, straightens clothing, buttons jacket. The whole body leans in the intended direction.)

Respect and interest - Maintains good eye contact, tilts head to one side or the other, nods, leans forward, high blink rate, open feet, arms behind back.

Readiness to agree - Closes papers, puts pen down, hands flat on table, nods head up and down.

Romantic interest - Eyes (Initially, from a distance, a person may look at the person of interest for slightly longer than normal, then look away, then look back again for a longer period.) Preening (What is basically being said is I am making myself look good for you—tossing of the head, brushing hair with hand, polishing spectacles, brushing or picking imaginary lint from clothes.) Self-caressing (stroking arms, leg, or face. This may either say “I would like to stroke you like this” or “I would like you to stroke me like this.”). Leaning (Leaning the body toward another person says “I would like to be closer to you.” It also tests to see whether the other person leans toward you or away from you. It can start with the head by a simple tilt. This may be coupled with listening intently to what the person is saying.) Pointing (A person who is interested in another person may subtly point at him with a foot, knee, arm, or head. It says “I would like to go in this direction.”). Other (sensual or dramatic dancing, crotch display in which legs are held apart to show off genitalia area, faked interest in others to invoke envy or hurry a closer engagement, nodding gently as if to say “Yes, I do like you.”). Touching (Touching may start with “accidental” brushing, followed by touching of “safe” parts of the body, such as arms or back. Caressing may start in the safer regions and then stray (especially when alone) to sexual regions.)

Sincerity, openness - relaxed Arms (not crossed, person may be animated and moving in synchronization with what is being said. Palms held slightly up). Legs (not crossed, often are parallel. May even be stretched apart. Feet may point forward or to the side or at something or someone of interest). Head (may be directed solely towards the other person or may be looking around. Eye contact is likely to be relaxed and prolonged.). Clothing (jacket open).

Stunned - Wide-eyed, stone still, hand to chest with fingers spread, gaping jaw.

Submissiveness - Body (Hunching inward to reduce the size of the body, arms held in. Crouching position may be taken, with knees slightly bent). Head (head and chin down, avoids looking at other person). Gestures (hands out and palms up shows that no weapons are held, a common pleading gesture. When the submissive person must move small gestures are often made. These may be slow to avoid alarming the other person, although tension may make them jerky).

Surprise - Rapidly raised eyebrows

Tenderness - Stroking, touching, lips parted.

Unhappiness - Hunched shoulders, staring at floor, head hangs forward and down. When seated, body tends to slump. Walk is more of a shuffle. Arms hang limply by side.

WRITING EXERCISES - CHARACTERS

People are interested in reading about other people, whether real or fictional. Without characters a murder mystery becomes just a police report, an historical romance just a history text. Hopefully, these exercises will help you create dynamic, interesting and believable characters your readers will really care about.

Exercise 1
Create a character from one aspect of your personality. Make this trait the main force of the character's feelings and thoughts. If you are shy, for example, make your character much more shy than you. In every other way - age, occupation, appearance, this character should be very different to you. Now describe that character's behaviour, in summary, in several social situations interacting (or avoiding interaction) with several relatives, strangers and workmates.

Exercise 2
Character tags can show personality, create tension, make your character more human. Try giving one of your characters a word tag - something only they say, that makes them instantly recognisable. Think of Steve Irwin's ubiquitous 'Crikey!' Or perhaps one of your characters calls everyone 'Babe', or uses slang or has an accent. Try using action tags for some of your characters. Does your protagonist jiggle their car keys in their pocket when they are nervous? Perhaps she constantly chews gum? Repeatedly clicks pens when bored in meetings? Using the character you created in Exercise 1, write a short piece in which they display a distinctive tag.

Exercise 3
Write a page using setting to reveal your character. Choose a setting relevant to that character, such as bedroom, office, garden etc and through its description paint a picture of your character.

WRITING EXERCISE - Character

Obtain a character's horoscope and use it to write a scene that reveals these characteristics in action.