Well I’ve got the winter workshops lined up at last. Drumroll please! The first one is a masterclass on linebreaks (well you knew that was coming, didn’t you!), held on Saturday 26th July. We’ll be looking at the different things you can do with linebreaks – drama, pacing, rhythm, meaning, tension, enjambment, parsing – you …
Some Reasons why Creative Writing Classes Might Actually Be Good Things
There’s been an outbreak of anti-Creative Writing Course rhetoric causing a few ripples in the UK. This most recent bit has been kicked off by comments allegedly made by Hanif Kureishi at the Bath Literature Festival a couple of weeks ago. Go read his comments (in the Independent, or the Guardian, whichever you prefer), and …
Continue reading "Some Reasons why Creative Writing Classes Might Actually Be Good Things"
Signing off for 2013
Well that’s another year, just about gone. It started with a lurch, flailed around a bit in the middle, and then collapsed into an unsightly puddle and really never managed to recover. Or maybe I should put it honestly – that this has been a brutal year. That I want it gone. Some of it …
Plans, fatigue, and moolah
Just found out that Creative New Zealand have rejected my funding application for money to enable me to finish the new collection. Bah. And probably humbug too. I knew it was a bit of a long shot, but on the other hand I thought I ticked pretty well all of the relevant boxes. The hope …
Things Teaching Has Taught Me
1. Build it, and they will come. Timetable it, and they might. Or not. Depends, really. 2. No matter how organised you think you are, you aren't. 3. Bulldog clips. 4. The class that you're sure will be really popular will take the full amount of time available to clear the minimum numbers threshold. 5. …
A Dark Feathered Art 