Tuesday 22 November 2011

Well Read

We are in week 7 of homework, week 8 of term. I had my work read out for the second time since the course started during the last class. I have to admit that while I thought I didn't need the ego boost from a public audience it is good to hear your piece. It takes on a new life and gives the writer a different perspective.

My Magnum Opus is coming along OK. I think I was sub-consciously trying to finish it before the end of term but since my reading I've felt re-energised. I think there is still a lot more of the tale to tell and so I'm going to keep letting it unfold.

One of the many great things about doing this course is that the weekly classes and homework give direction and impetus for the student to keep producing work. In my case each homework assignment has given my story direction, my characters their own voice and my writing its own style. It's great.

I still haven't got anyone to read my work but I don't think I'm ready to show it yet. At lunchtime I thought of some new scenes to fill in some of the yawning holes in my prose. Then I went on to consider how my first story could become a critically acclaimed work and turned into an Oscar winning film starring Olivia Williams. Well. All dreams have to start somewhere don't they?

Tuesday 15 November 2011

Creative Writing - The Terminology

Flash Fiction, Sudden Fiction, Postcard Fiction, Micro Fiction, Nanofiction, Short Story, Novella, Novel, Poem, the list is endless. There is so much jargon. Who'd have known that you can't just write a story? Every piece of work falls into a category. Where do you start? Where does it end?

Apparently writers fall into one of three categories. Your plotter will start out with a planned story line, know exactly where the tale is going and how it will end. The discoverer starts writing with no clear direction and lets the story tell itself. Then there are those, probably the majority of writers, who are a natural combination of the two. You will start at the beginning of a journey with an idea of where it may take you but let it evolve organically, allowing natural, unplanned twists and turns to evolve. 

At the moment I seem to clearly fall into the second category. Our first homework exercise set me off on a story I had no idea I wanted to tell. Each subsequent installment is directed by our next assignment. So far I'm on almost 7,000 words. So what is that? A short story I believe.

Teacher feedback is precious. As yet she hasn't seen my project in its entirety, in fact she doesn't know it exists as one body.  I'm worried about demanding too much of her valuable time but equally I have no one else to show it to. What to do?

Wednesday 2 November 2011

5 minute exercise - Autumn

The wind blows through the autumn leaves
A light south western, gentle breeze

A watery sun trickles through the trees
Rustling in the light south western, gentle breeze

Children laugh as they play in the sun
Grown ups walk, talk, while all sorts of dogs run

Because this is September, an autumn day
And somehow all the rain clouds have run away

We find our place in the watery sun
To eat, talk, love, enjoy some late summer fun