I got locked out of my blog yesterday. Being the techno-twit that I am (I know how to do what I know how to do, but beyond that it's all QBASIC to me) I wasn't sure if I'd done something wrong, or if there was a problem with the site. So I did the only logical thing ... I turned it off and hoped it would all be better when I switched it back on again. And, hurrah, it is! Turning it off and hoping it will fix itself is certainly up there with hitting it with something heavy, or spraying it with WD40 in my lexicon of how to mend things.
Spent a lovely afternoon yesterday watching Saracens put Leicester Tigers back in their cage. Good rugby ... and some very nice legs, bums and pecs on show on and off the pitch! Shocking, I know, but, hey, I'm an unattached girl, I can ogle as long as I don't drool in public.
Got the last week of my first year at OU next week. Exam piece is to be submitted on or by Thursday lunchtime. I'm partly relieved, partly terrified by the prospect of handing in that final story. My last mark for my TMA05 wasn't what I hoped - I got 72%, which isn't tragic, I know, but a bit of a smack across the chops after an 89%. It took me a good week to climb down from my huff and re-read my tutor's assessment, which was (to summarise) that the relationship between the two characters needed to be further developed in order for the reader to have some emotional involvement. So, not, I think you'll agree, total pants. Seeing as it will have to be revised before it is good enough to be considered being sent anywhere for either a competition or for publication (ah, the dream of seeing my name in print for the first time), I think I'll post Janus Man so you can see what all the fuss is about.
It's the constraints of word counts that frustrate. I think it has made me realise that I prefer the parameters of writing novels. You have the time and space to develop your characters at whatever pace you feel the story needs. It's true that writing a short story (especially if you only have 2,000 words) is a bit of a nightmare and I do take my hat off to those who can do it and who choose that as their discipline. It's a great skill to master as, similar to poetry, you have to distil your language, reduce it down and concentrate it so the flavours are distinct, but make the whole a rounded, satisfying slice of life. It's a shame it's such an under-appreciated art-form over here.
So the next thing you will be watching me do (hopefully, if you stick around), is start my novel. I do, after all, have to put all this new-found knowledge into practice, otherwise it's been a pointless exercise. And I have to find something to keep the juices flowing between now and October when Level 3 starts. First of all, I need to decide if I'm going to take one of my previous ideas and work on that, or find a completely new subject. Ah, so that's what my writer's notebook is for!!
Watch this space.
Sunday 29 May 2011
Monday 23 May 2011
How Time Flies
We are coming to the end of our Level 2 Creative Writing. All the assessment pieces have been submitted and marked. Just the exam piece to go. I have 'classmates' who are tying themselves in knots over Distinctions and 2:1s or 2:2s. It does make me wonder about how indicative of good writing these marks are. Judging a piece is so subjective.
Even with classics or icons of literature, there will always be people who dislike an author or a particular book. Personally, my heart sinks when I think of Dickens, Hardy, Woolf or a Bronte (pick one, any one). I think I'd rather stab myself repeatedly in the leg with a fork than have to sit through Return of the Native or Wuthering Heights again. I understand there are those who love these books and the authors are thought to be literary genii, but personally I don't get it. Give me Austen, Shakespeare, Chaucer or Wilde every time. The same goes for modern authors.
So, bearing in mind that, apart from the rudiments we are taught, like metaphor, point of view, showing not telling, etc, Creative Writing doesn't have tick boxes or facts on a checklist, how does one judge? A history essay can be judged on whether you have your facts right, presented them in an intelligent fashion and put together a coherent argument - if the answer is yes, then this is your mark - if the answer is no, then marks will be deducted for each point missed. At what point might one conclude one is not cut out to be a writer, or at least not a writer of fiction? Less than 80%? Less than 60%? Almost certainly if you are getting less than 50% you might suspect you've missed the point somewhere along the line. But even if you are getting 90% or more, that won't get you an agent or a publishing contract, which is, I would have thought, what most of us are aiming for.
The literary nabobs deride authors such as Dan Brown, Barbara Cartland, Stephenie Meyer and the chick-lit genre almost in its entirety, but these writers sell books! Millions of them. The general public love them. And, frankly, who are we writing for? Critics or the general public?
At the beginning of our course, someone in our Student Cafe posed the question: if you had the choice of writing a book which only sold in limited numbers, but was considered by the critics to be a work of genius, or a blockbusting bestseller that would bring you fame and fortune, which would you choose? At first I, along with the vast majority, chose to write the work of genius, but now, I'm not so sure. My aim is to entertain. I like telling stories. I want to tell my stories to as many people as I can and I want my readers to be transported to the world I create for them. I don't want my readers to finish my tome and then have to sit in a quiet corner contemplating the implications of what they've read. I want them to finish the last page at 3 in the morning because they couldn't put it down, declare that it was a 'rollicking good read' and then go and hunt out something else I've written.
Well, I suppose time will tell. Will any of us end up on the shelves at Waterstones? Your guess is as good as mine.
Even with classics or icons of literature, there will always be people who dislike an author or a particular book. Personally, my heart sinks when I think of Dickens, Hardy, Woolf or a Bronte (pick one, any one). I think I'd rather stab myself repeatedly in the leg with a fork than have to sit through Return of the Native or Wuthering Heights again. I understand there are those who love these books and the authors are thought to be literary genii, but personally I don't get it. Give me Austen, Shakespeare, Chaucer or Wilde every time. The same goes for modern authors.
So, bearing in mind that, apart from the rudiments we are taught, like metaphor, point of view, showing not telling, etc, Creative Writing doesn't have tick boxes or facts on a checklist, how does one judge? A history essay can be judged on whether you have your facts right, presented them in an intelligent fashion and put together a coherent argument - if the answer is yes, then this is your mark - if the answer is no, then marks will be deducted for each point missed. At what point might one conclude one is not cut out to be a writer, or at least not a writer of fiction? Less than 80%? Less than 60%? Almost certainly if you are getting less than 50% you might suspect you've missed the point somewhere along the line. But even if you are getting 90% or more, that won't get you an agent or a publishing contract, which is, I would have thought, what most of us are aiming for.
The literary nabobs deride authors such as Dan Brown, Barbara Cartland, Stephenie Meyer and the chick-lit genre almost in its entirety, but these writers sell books! Millions of them. The general public love them. And, frankly, who are we writing for? Critics or the general public?
At the beginning of our course, someone in our Student Cafe posed the question: if you had the choice of writing a book which only sold in limited numbers, but was considered by the critics to be a work of genius, or a blockbusting bestseller that would bring you fame and fortune, which would you choose? At first I, along with the vast majority, chose to write the work of genius, but now, I'm not so sure. My aim is to entertain. I like telling stories. I want to tell my stories to as many people as I can and I want my readers to be transported to the world I create for them. I don't want my readers to finish my tome and then have to sit in a quiet corner contemplating the implications of what they've read. I want them to finish the last page at 3 in the morning because they couldn't put it down, declare that it was a 'rollicking good read' and then go and hunt out something else I've written.
Well, I suppose time will tell. Will any of us end up on the shelves at Waterstones? Your guess is as good as mine.
Saturday 14 May 2011
I'm back!
Did you miss me?
I've been busily scribbling away for my last set of assessed and exam pieces. I got an 89% for my Life Writing and am now awaiting my mark for my last assessed piece. Our exam is due in on 2 June. My submission currently lies in pieces. My task this weekend is to start re-assembling it. I have taken heart from the many quotes from authors on the subject of editing. As you can see, I'm finding something else to do first. The prospect is daunting. Who would have believed that simply re-arranging words on a page could fill a human heart with such terror?
The end of my first year at the OU draws ever closer. I began with the hope of improving my technique and finding out the tricks of the trade, the blueprint to writing a good story. I am ending the year understanding that there is no magic formula. There is a list of rules, but these have been broken by many good writers. However, you do have to understand them and be able to work within the rules before you can start breaking them successfully. What is essential, more than anything else, is hard work. Write, write, write and then read it out to anyone who will listen. Listen to the rhythm and and the flow. Listen also to the feedback you get from your audience. Remember you are writing for the reader and they can't see inside your head. Then edit your work until every word with which you are left is essential, even if it means cutting out the bits you love. And when you aren't writing, read. Read everything. Grow a thick skin; cultivate tenacity; have self belief and develop your endurance. Don't give up.
I am going to post some of my old work and also some of the work I have done during my OU course. I hope you will be able to see the difference. I hope you will like what you read.
I've been busily scribbling away for my last set of assessed and exam pieces. I got an 89% for my Life Writing and am now awaiting my mark for my last assessed piece. Our exam is due in on 2 June. My submission currently lies in pieces. My task this weekend is to start re-assembling it. I have taken heart from the many quotes from authors on the subject of editing. As you can see, I'm finding something else to do first. The prospect is daunting. Who would have believed that simply re-arranging words on a page could fill a human heart with such terror?
The end of my first year at the OU draws ever closer. I began with the hope of improving my technique and finding out the tricks of the trade, the blueprint to writing a good story. I am ending the year understanding that there is no magic formula. There is a list of rules, but these have been broken by many good writers. However, you do have to understand them and be able to work within the rules before you can start breaking them successfully. What is essential, more than anything else, is hard work. Write, write, write and then read it out to anyone who will listen. Listen to the rhythm and and the flow. Listen also to the feedback you get from your audience. Remember you are writing for the reader and they can't see inside your head. Then edit your work until every word with which you are left is essential, even if it means cutting out the bits you love. And when you aren't writing, read. Read everything. Grow a thick skin; cultivate tenacity; have self belief and develop your endurance. Don't give up.
I am going to post some of my old work and also some of the work I have done during my OU course. I hope you will be able to see the difference. I hope you will like what you read.
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