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!