Talk about daunting- well, for me. I haven't really been brave enough to try writing very much. (That, and along with the creative pursuits I want to do- it seems a little selfish given the amount of time and energy vs responsibilities I have...) I don't remember school being very helpful with teaching writing, or encouraging it- though I have always enjoyed it. What I mean is, and this is where this course is really helpful, there was never any indication of strength of interest (let alone talent!); if you showed an aptitude there was no direction or guidance given. (Perhaps I didn't show any, maybe that was the problem!) I recall a few kids being passionate about journalism, but I have always had trust issues with journalism, and it didn't grab me.
The 'English' electives (which were compulsory...) had a 'tick-the-box-you've-completed-this-lesson-move-on' kind of feel about it. One was required to do a few haiku, some soliloquies, a couple of book reports. I don't even remember learning how to write an essay well. Fortunately I picked up persuasive writing at college quickly enough to do well enough- suffice to say, what did I learn in those long hours at school?
I'll be honest and say a great deal of what I learnt was how to get out of boring work with by doing the minimum requirement for a good grade, and then by some fluke (?) pass well enough in areas that did interest me to get a good overall grade; yet I couldn't specifically say what. Perhaps that has more to do with my memory than the caliber or passion of my English teachers. Only one I can actually picture, none of which I can name. In short, I can't say I was inspired anywhere!
In fact, I DO recall clearly spending time with a friend - I can't recall which of us came up with this brilliant idea- in the sick bay on absolutely false pretenses (our nurse was a bit of a soft touch, and my friend was an exceptional actress. I think my effort was pretty much just to try not to giggle....). We spent at least one period- perhaps more if I recall correctly, and I am recalling three other times we bunked off right now; ah, happy days.., two when we were very nearly busted it was thrilling! Sorry, wandered off a bit there. So, we were in the sick bay and we spent a good few hours writing stories, reading them to each other, embellishing plot twists. A few illustrations. We did enjoy putting thoughts down and developing plots and characters in our own time, writing in each other's journals to pass the monotony, copying the odd bit of poetry or 'extremely moving and profound' (probably not so much, actually, in retrospect) song lyric that spoke exactly how our wise teenage selves felt. Thank goodness that over emotional/not so great judgement time of life is well in the past... Good thing blogger didn't exist back then otherwise I would have spilled verbiage all over the Internet (which also didn't exist then - shhhh!) and probably looked back unimpressed with how impressed with myself I had been. I am sure you're not like that....
So this writing module. It covered brilliantly helpful information such as:
- Practical elements in a story (such as planning, choosing a setting and viewpoint etc)
- Artistic attributes (including how to develop main characters, add contrast and develop conflict)
- How to pitch your story and write a synopsis, then develop a chapter map
and many other very helpful bits of advice. And that was just the first module! So I am quite excited. And daunted. Did I mention that? It is clearly designed for people with a little more confidence in their ability than moi, but I will persevere, because who knows?
Finally, I was excited (it doesn't take much) to discover that the YouVersion Bible app I use has a function where you can highlight a verse that may have struck you in your readings (as this one did this morning) and add a background to it. I know you can do (and I do) this in apps such as Phonto, but this was convenient as it was all in the program and I could go straight back to where I was reading. A kind of cheats version of Bible Journalling! And I do love this photo, makes me homesick :)
I have also been working on creative prompts and classes, and have a few in various stages of completion; none yet ready for posting- but I MUST do some organising today or I will not cope for the rest of the week. I need some sort of order out of the chaos that is slowly building around this place for my sanity's sake. Interestingly, creativity is wonderful for peace of mind, but the tasks that go undone while I take that time rob that same peace! It is a fine balance and something I have struggled to balance for many years. That being said, I started carving some stamps last night and only gave up because the light was so bad- better watch out, it could become an addictive habit!
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