Writing what you know

Week 3: Writing what you know

In week 3 it's all about what you know and how to use your life experience, memories and observations to fill your writer’s notebook and in the end to help craft your stories. To start with is collecting information from your everyday surroundings, looking for things you don't notice or think of as an everyday habit, then thinking about it in a unique way. This can be either places or people that you meet/encounter when you are out. A lot of focus is put on your use of the five senses in writing, describing what you see around you using sight, sound, smell, touch and taste. Then lastly 'Raiding you past' trying to remember a specific point in time and writing what comes back to you in a logical sequence - though it is o.k. to invent stuff as well for fiction.

I am still carrying on with daily Haiku, my favourite from week 3 was:

Dark valley, winding
Silent shadows by moonlight
Furry figures creep


I hope you like. I am also enjoying the new technique of trying to fix on a memory and writing what you remember, my best from week 3 was arriving at a beach in my childhood:


I am in a town; loud noises all around; people chatting; the smell of sand and sea; the winds whistles by making my hair fly around, the ground is hot and rough, the sound of boat horns from far away and some close to my right. The taste of ice-cream hits me from a nearby ice-cream van. There is a puppet show just over the road where a man with white hair and a white tee-shirt stands with a tall puppet with black hair and a red jacket. The puppet is almost as tall as the 6 foot man. The hot sun shines off the many cars in the car park, a sea of red, black, silver and blue all looking out over the water or at the large supermarket down the street, Morrison’s I think. The supermarket is brown brick, a light brown with a rough surface, like the waves from the sea next to me. You have to pay a toll for staying in the car park and as my grandma and dad go to pay I lean against the car, close my eyes and try to imagine I am the only person in this car park with just the noise of the sea around me and the smell of ice-cream, sand and sea in my nostrils.

That's it for week 3, I am really enjoying the course so far and feel my writing is improving already. I am busy for the rest of the week so week 4 will most likely be up next Monday.

Till then, happy writing! 

Week 2: Keeping a writer's notebook

Keeping a writer's notebook

 

This week is about keeping a writers notebook (In case you couldn’t tell), not so much the type that’s different for everyone. Me I use a cloth Paperchase notebook which I adore and I keep a shopping list pad with me when I am out and about so I can jot things down quickly.

The rest of this week’s activities are about gathering ideas/info/words for your notebook. From writing down quickly what you observe around you to keeping a diary. Creating contradictive characters to morning papers and writing down your reviews on books you have read. Lastly daily haiku are discussed as well as searching through newspapers and magazines for any ideas. 

The final activity is then about building on the work in your notebook. Having a play around with initial concepts or characters and taking them in different directions before committing to those ideas.

That’s it for week 2, my notebook it building up nicely this week and I have really enjoyed daily haiku and searching through newspapers so I am going to continue using both. Week 3 should be up on Monday.

Till then, happy writing!

I'm back!

Apologies for the long delay in updating my blog. I have been very busy is my excuse! In September I started my first full-time open university year. I’m doing an open degree in creative writing and design. So this year I am doing level 1 U101 - Design thinking for the 21st century and level 2 A215 Creative writing. As well as a part-time job (3 days), the writers bureau comprehensive writing course as well as their poetry course. So like I say I have been busy!
All things writing wise will be posted here (I will create a new blog for design work) I will post each week with updates on A215 and whenever I can on all my other writing updates, so without further ado here is a round up of week 1.

Stimulating creativity and imagination: what really works?

The start of the big red book (you will understand if you have/are studying this course) is all about starting up. How to get words whether good or bad down onto the page. It involves developing a writing habit (must write everyday, must write everyday, must write everyday…) and techniques to free up your writing (ignoring your inner critic and editor). Specifically these techniques are free writing where you write for a short amount of time whatever comes into your head, you can chose to write with a prompt or not with this technique and your ideas should move around and surprise you if you don’t use that inner editor. The second is clustering which is like a mind map you start with a word or idea and let your brain go from there so for example fame is your starting point and your first ‘arm’ is fame-money-luxury-new smell-shoes and a second could be fame-celebrity-television series-losing it all etc.

That’s it for week 1, I will be back with an update for week 2 over the weekend as we are actually up to week 8 on the course so you should be getting updates very regular to start off with.

Till next time, happy writing!

Updating

O.k I've been away from my post again, but that doesn't mean I've not been doing anything!

It's been all go since February with my Open University Courses, I signed up for two in the end for The Arts Past and present course which is the long 60 pointer and a shorter level 1 course, start writing fiction which I just finished last week. I go in two creative fiction pieces for start writing fiction which I feel I did well at, when I get my assignments back I will post them here for you all to read.

I'm enjoying my Courses so far, I really like the history section especially Fame and Faraday. I've got my first assignment in, done and dusted, I got a good score for my first assignment in god knows how long.
I will be getting my third assignment in this week on philosophy (Which I am not enjoying so much).

On the writing front, I'm averaging 3 stories a  month at the minute between 500-2000 words in length, I'm editing the three from last month this week, see if I think they are good enough to send off anywhere.
I've also written a few poems and I will be sending my first writers bureau poetry assignment off before the end of this month.

That's it for the moment, I'm going to aim to post to this blog again each Tuesday around mid-day.

I hope you will all join me.
And happy writing!

All go on the Western Front!

Hello to you all!


I have had a good start to 2012 thankfully, on the writing side I have completed studying my first 3 modules of the writers bureau, at last! I'm hoping to get my first assignment off by the start of next week.
I got a new idea for a book as well, though I am thinking of writing it as a long short story first to see if I want to write a full book and see if the plot will last for 100,000 words, I think the long story I will aim for 5-10 thousand words. I plan to start that next week.


On the open university side of things I have finished studying the poetry section and the first draft of my Tma 1 which I am gonna correct and send off today and then start the History section tomorrow.


So its all go on the western front! I have been brushing up on some poetry reading as well, An anthology called The Rattle Bag, My favourite poem so far has been Alphabet Animals which made me laugh and gave me some inspiration on how to structure one of my poems.


Hopefully I will have just as much to report next week, if not more. 
See you all then and happy writing!

Farewell 2011!

And hello to 2012.
I hope you are all ready for the new year and you achieved all you wanted to last year.

I have a busy Year ahead with open university study, writing time and my two Bureau courses. I don't go much for resolutions as I forget them by the 2nd but I do have a "To do" list:

1. Study and complete AA100: Arts past and present course with the open university. (In Febuary)
2. Start my second full year open university course in October. (Not sure which one I will chose yet)
3. Study first 15 modules of my comprehensive writing course and send off first 7-8 Assignments.
4. Study first 10 modules of my poetry course and send off first 4-5 Assignments.
5. Read as much as possible.
6. I would like to go on holiday this year as I was unable to last year, maybe a trip to paris is in order or venice...

And of course I want to drop 5 stone and give up chocolate, crisps, pizza and the fish and chip shop. Oh and exercise 4 times a week :P

That sounds like more than enough to be getting on with so I best get cracking, Have a happy and healthy new year... I may finish that bottle of wine first.