Sunday 5 July 2015

A Creative Writing Course for everyone!

When I told my husband last week that I was looking for a creative writing class he was, to put it mildly, a little taken aback. His reservations were many and varied.

     'You have a novel being published in less than two weeks,' he said, 'you have a deadline, you're already planning the next one, two, three, and you're always moaning you haven't got enough time, why bother?' 

I listened, nodded and for the most part agreed, but I still wanted to push ahead. I've taken a few courses before and enjoyed the variety of writing I've produced, the different genres explored and the stimulation that the different exercises can bring. Courses have taken my writing to places I never thought possible and I want to keep that creativity and adaptability alive while at the same time committing to writing my novels.

His main objection to the idea however, I couldn't ignore. Time, or lack of it, is always going to be an issue, isn't it? This isn't just about squeezing in a couple of hours a week to attend a class. Factor in the time spent travelling to and from and the hours that would have to go in to producing something worth taking back and it all adds up. And of course once I'd signed on the dotted line there would be no give and take as to when this new avenue of study would happen.

I shrugged my shoulders, threw the idea out into the Universe and waited. Sometimes you have to wait a while for a response but on this occasion it was no more than two days before the answer appeared on my Facebook feed as I was travelling on the P and R to Norwich.

And here it is folks, my free Creative Writing course courtesy of novelist, prize winning short story writer and creative writing lecturer, Bridget Whelan!



I haven't made a start yet, however this is how the book is described on the Amazon page:

BACK TO CREATIVE WRITING SCHOOL isn’t a manual on marketing or a guide to finding a publisher. There are other books – good books – that can help with that. 
It’s about using 30 imaginative writing exercises to experiment with new ideas. 
It’s about defeating the blank page. 
It’s about producing the best kind of writing you can achieve. 

And that is exactly what I was looking for!

Term ends for me on July 15th (yep, the day before The Cherry Tree Cafe is published) and then I'm living #thewritinglife until the beginning of September. My aim is, during those 6 or so weeks, (along with working on promotion and my next novel of course), to set aside the time to work through the first 6 exercises. I'm going to limit the amount of time I spend to approximately 2-3 hours a week and hopefully by September I will have established enough of a routine to keep it going.

If you fancy joining me, let me know!

H x

2 comments:

  1. Many thanks for your kind comment about my workshop at the RNA conference, Heidi - I enjoyed doing it, and I'm glad that it was helpful.

    All the very best for The Cherry Tree Cafe. :-)

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  2. Manual sounds like a great idea. Do tell me your experience after you done with it.

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