My apologies for missing last week’s WIPpet Wednesday. I’d been very busy with work and I was also really tired. But now I’m back! And I’ve actually written some more on my WIP – finally after months. So I’m happy about that.
If you follow my blog, you may have seen that I’ve been thinking about how to increase my presence online, particularly with this blog. You can read about that here. This is with the ultimate aim of publicising my writing. I guess that’s fairly obvious, but I find it amazing how the whole purpose of social networking i.e. to promote our writing can become obscured until we have less and less time to spend on the writing which is what it was all about in the first place.
That’s how I see it anyway. I certainly find it to be true of me. I’m finding it hard to keep up with everything, what with work and blogging, tweeting and most importantly writing. I feel that I maybe need to scale back what I do on social media a little to focus more on my writing.
Anyway for this week’s WIPpet Wednesday post, I’m sharing with you 4 short paragraphs from my current WIP. My maths goes like this: 6 for the month – 2 from 2014. Not great but I couldn’t see another way to do it. In this scene, my MC Rebecca, who is an English teacher at a secondary school (11-16 yr olds), is teaching her class of fifth formers (15-16 yr olds). Some of the boys are mucking around. She’s determined to maintain control over the class…
‘Daniel Leavis, what do you think you’re doing?’ Rebecca said sternly. She was teaching the fifth formers’ English class. It was two thirty on a Friday afternoon, the end of a busy and stressful two weeks for her – and they were only the first two weeks into her job.
Daniel looked up at her, smirking. She saw a bit of folded paper in his hand that he was attempting to conceal. Feeling her patience wearing thin, Rebecca stalked up to him.
‘Whatever that is in your hand, you can give it to me.’
‘Ooh give it to you, yes please,’ Daniel’s sidekick Richard snickered under his breath.
That’s it from me this week. If you’d like to take part in WIPpet Wednesday but are unsure how, all you have to do is post on your blog something that you’ve written recently. Make sure it relates in some way to the date. Then add your name here.
Thank you K. L. Schwengel for hosting. 🙂
Elaine Jeremiah 
Boys. Psssh.
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Exactly!
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I really feel for Rebecca here – the thought of teaching teenage boys (and girls) feels me with fear! I’m so glad you’ve managed to write more of your WIP too. 🙂
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Thanks Kate. Yes I agree with you on this one – I wouldn’t want to be in Rebecca’s shoes. I think it takes a certain type of person to cope with teaching boys and girls of that age. 🙂
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Okay, so over here in the states we call those ‘fifth graders’ because they’re in fifth grade. Out of curiosity, where’s the ‘formers’ come from? I’ve never heard that term.
Poor Rebecca. She is in for it with this group and it’s only the second week? She better watch out for Richard. Just the tiny glimpse we get of him speaks of more trouble than Daniel.
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she said Fifth formers are 15-16 years old…that would be sophomores not fifth graders =P
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Lol! I have to say I don’t understand the American grade system!! I did look it up a while ago – I think though I’ll have to keep looking at it if I want to remember how it goes. Guess it’s the same for you trying to understand the British method of schooling. 😛
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We just start with 1 and go through 12. Add 5/6 years to the grade and you typically have the age of the student. It gets really messed up when you get university stuff though. =P
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OK that makes sense I’ll try and remember that. 🙂
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I am utterly fascinated by the UK education system and the terms used for everything. I’m so used to the US system that our way seems logical to me. Interesting that our method is just as confusing to other people!
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The term ‘formers’ comes from the word ‘form’ which means ‘year’ or ‘class’. I guess really it’s used less here nowadays – but we still refer to ‘sixth form college’ (for 16 to 18 yr olds where we do our A levels, the results of A [advanced] level exams determine which university we go to) which I went to – the two years above fifth form, hence ‘sixth’.
Rebecca is struggling a bit but she’s managing to control the class. She’s not afraid to raise her voice at them and let them have it. As for Richard I had it in my head that he was Daniel’s sidekick – so it’s interesting what you say about him. But yes, as a pair they’re definitely a pain in the bum!
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Oooooohhhhhh….well then, I’m way off!
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Gotta love crude teenagers. I find I take it better from teenagers than from younger kids. Probably because I expect teenagers to at least know something about those things. =P Both boys together are going to be quite a ruckus I’m sure.
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Yes they’re definitely going to be a pain as the story progresses. They’re actually going to be quite important to the story too – or at least one of them is. It’s interesting what you say about teenagers v younger kids in terms of crudeness. I don’t actually come into that much contact with kids nowadays so I’m a bit removed from it.
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I work with 6-18. When the 6-13 yr old talk about my sex life I’m sitting there in shock. When the 14-18 yr olds talk about it I expect it a bit more.
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Yeah I can understand that. And quite honestly young kids shouldn’t be sitting there talking about someone’s sex life!!! They should just enjoy being innocent kids while they can. All that comes in good time anyway lol.
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Oh, what an obnoxious kid! I have the urge to smack the back of his head for that one. Poor Rebecca! I really like teenagers. I wanted to finish my student teaching in grad school, but I changed my mind because my degree is in health education. I couldn’t deal with weekly phone calls from parents because I told their kids something they think is “immoral.”
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Yes they’re definitely obnoxious! I can understand you not wanting do health education with teenagers – there are a lot of competing ‘morals’ out there and what someone thinks is perfectly fine, the next person may have a problem with.
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I know what you mean about social media, it can take up such a lot of time, and I forget that the reason I’m doing it is because of my love of writing and wanting people to experience my books 😀
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Yes it’s so easy to get distracted. Today I made myself write at least 500 words before sorting through my emails!!
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Elaine! Great excerpt. Teaching teenage boys…tricky business. Rebecca will have to be firm. I have 2 boys so I know! 🙂
About the social media thing, it is time consuming. Scaling back to focus on your writing is understandable. I get the impression this form of networking is a great way to connect with other writers. But connecting with readers…i’m not sure yet. After chatting with my students most don’t visit author websites unless they want to see about an upcoming book. However, other writers can help you connect with their audience, so socializing is important. 🙂 I’m still learning the best way to market. Either way, I prefer to focus on finishing my novel. I like when things are completed! 😉
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Hi Chloe! Thanks so much for your comment, it’s great as usual. 🙂 Glad you appreciated the excerpt. And yes – Rebecca is going to be tough with those boys.
It’s interesting what you say about connecting with readers rather than just other writers. After all – we want the people out there who read novels to read our work. And yes finishing the novel is important!!
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Lol, oh, teenage boys, they are universal. I remember many such conversations in English class. Poor Rebecca. I hope they give her a break soon.
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Oh Rebecca gets a break. She gives them hell lol. 🙂 And yes teenage boys are the same the world over!!
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