Thank you for sharing. It was great to read the takeaways from your structured learning programme so far.
I have also signed up for a course. Very much a beginner but decided I should start taking this seriously. Mine does not start until 12th Feb but I will be sure to share how it is going.
This is my first ever writing course so I cannot help with recommending any just yet. I hope it is worth my while, though, and I can then point people in its direction :) Here is to writing in 2024! 🎉
This is really exciting, Siya ... I think we all think of ourselves as beginners. I only set up this little writing project on the 1st of May last year so early days for me too. I'm looking forward to reading some of your 'Dear Diary' entries and your flash fiction. The fiction seems to be where I've landed but I am hoping that Matt's course will encourage me to experiment with language and styles. Not long to wait for your course. Enjoy!
Thank you so much! ☺️ I ought to go back, reading your old posts - I disappeared last April and only made a return at the beginning of Dec 2023. The course is an extra incentive for me to not let work take over my entire life! I am very keen on fiction but I get lost easily, not knowing where to start. Hoping course helps! 🤞
I really hope you can find the balance you are looking for, Siya. I am finished with the world of work so there is time to make things up as I go along. When I am short of inspiration I have two things - I have a notebook full of writing prompts ... even better, though, I started writing fiction based on paintings or photographs, imagining the things that are happening just out of sight. There's a folder full of 'art-inspired fiction' in this space. I also write a few 100-worders which don't take so long (or 50 words with Justin Deming and his 'Fifties by the Fire'). I really hope the course works for you - and the flurry of new writers here to inspire us.
It's weird, Matt, we think nothing of investing in ourselves with professional learning in our 'world of work', indeed our respective Services find plenty to train us on. But somehow, we either feel we shouldn't invest in our passions/interests or we somehow think it'll all just flow from the pen. Talking about me, of course, but there's a risk that we don't value the writing in the same way we value the day job (of course, I now have no 'day job' so perhaps I have removed a barrier!). B
I mentioned in a note earlier that I’d never taken a course, in fact I have, though it wasn’t for me. I had to take two courses that briefly touched on neurological problems in children and another on how to accommodate such problems in a school environment. They were obligatory and I was terrified I wouldn’t understand one single French word that was said, but, surprisingly, for the most part, I did and both were very interesting.
II’ve just nipped over to peep at Matt’s, website. Impressive... I’m definitely tempted to take my first course ever!
I love these two snippets Barrie, quite unlike your usual writing, more personal? I’m wondering what the prompts were?
We are definitely allowed to invest in our writing. Fact!
And, yes, I wrote a personal piece for Tanya Shadrick's 'Cure for Sleep' project and it made me more confident to consider memoir style imaginings. Thank you for the encouragement, Susie
Point 7 resonates hard. I came here to write and was distracted by your post. This is great stuff mate. Investing in ourselves is the best kind of investment. I look forward to reading the fruits of your seed sowing.
Hey Sean, I am very distractable. I should have a lock box for my phone, or fewer apps. I try to set myself up when I’m writing with a clear desk and all the random tabs of curiosity closed but still ...
Hey Barrie!
Thank you for sharing. It was great to read the takeaways from your structured learning programme so far.
I have also signed up for a course. Very much a beginner but decided I should start taking this seriously. Mine does not start until 12th Feb but I will be sure to share how it is going.
This is my first ever writing course so I cannot help with recommending any just yet. I hope it is worth my while, though, and I can then point people in its direction :) Here is to writing in 2024! 🎉
This is really exciting, Siya ... I think we all think of ourselves as beginners. I only set up this little writing project on the 1st of May last year so early days for me too. I'm looking forward to reading some of your 'Dear Diary' entries and your flash fiction. The fiction seems to be where I've landed but I am hoping that Matt's course will encourage me to experiment with language and styles. Not long to wait for your course. Enjoy!
Thank you so much! ☺️ I ought to go back, reading your old posts - I disappeared last April and only made a return at the beginning of Dec 2023. The course is an extra incentive for me to not let work take over my entire life! I am very keen on fiction but I get lost easily, not knowing where to start. Hoping course helps! 🤞
I really hope you can find the balance you are looking for, Siya. I am finished with the world of work so there is time to make things up as I go along. When I am short of inspiration I have two things - I have a notebook full of writing prompts ... even better, though, I started writing fiction based on paintings or photographs, imagining the things that are happening just out of sight. There's a folder full of 'art-inspired fiction' in this space. I also write a few 100-worders which don't take so long (or 50 words with Justin Deming and his 'Fifties by the Fire'). I really hope the course works for you - and the flurry of new writers here to inspire us.
I have never attended a writing course although the idea certainly intrigues me. I applaud you for continuing to invest in yourself and your writing.
It's weird, Matt, we think nothing of investing in ourselves with professional learning in our 'world of work', indeed our respective Services find plenty to train us on. But somehow, we either feel we shouldn't invest in our passions/interests or we somehow think it'll all just flow from the pen. Talking about me, of course, but there's a risk that we don't value the writing in the same way we value the day job (of course, I now have no 'day job' so perhaps I have removed a barrier!). B
I mentioned in a note earlier that I’d never taken a course, in fact I have, though it wasn’t for me. I had to take two courses that briefly touched on neurological problems in children and another on how to accommodate such problems in a school environment. They were obligatory and I was terrified I wouldn’t understand one single French word that was said, but, surprisingly, for the most part, I did and both were very interesting.
II’ve just nipped over to peep at Matt’s, website. Impressive... I’m definitely tempted to take my first course ever!
I love these two snippets Barrie, quite unlike your usual writing, more personal? I’m wondering what the prompts were?
Ah, that's proper training!
We are definitely allowed to invest in our writing. Fact!
And, yes, I wrote a personal piece for Tanya Shadrick's 'Cure for Sleep' project and it made me more confident to consider memoir style imaginings. Thank you for the encouragement, Susie
Point 7 resonates hard. I came here to write and was distracted by your post. This is great stuff mate. Investing in ourselves is the best kind of investment. I look forward to reading the fruits of your seed sowing.
Hey Sean, I am very distractable. I should have a lock box for my phone, or fewer apps. I try to set myself up when I’m writing with a clear desk and all the random tabs of curiosity closed but still ...
I’m enjoying Elizabeth Winder’s course on lyric essays at writers.com at the moment.
Making a note to have a peek at that later ... but first, a long cycle!