Interesting news!

Hello everyone!

Following my OU course in creative writing, a few very talented fellow students decided to create a publisher, which they named 'Ink Pantry' with the aim of creating an anthology of student work from the course A215.  They were asking for submissions, so I re-edited a couple of samples of my course work, and with crossed fingers, submitted.  My hopes weren't very high, and I didn't tell any of my friends or family as I didn't want them getting exited for me needlessly!

After an indeterminable amount of time, I received a very unexpected email, which went along the lines of: 'Congratulations, one of your pieces has been selected for inclusion in the upcoming anthology, yet to be entitled.'  - Now, I did get excited at this, but still felt it best to keep quiet, until the physical proof is in my hands.  I am not really a superstitious sort, but still, didn't want to jinx anything by letting on too early.

Finally however, after the Christmas period, a brown paper wrapped object was fed to my letterbox.  Upon opening, I saw my limited run physical copy of 'Sea of Ink', (which is available as an eBook in a range of online bookshops worldwide!)  I am only now writing this blog entry about it, as I have been inundated with work for my latest OU course, A230 (Reading and Studying Literature) which I shall write about in a separate entry, when I can find some more time and energy!

I highly recommend to everyone this anthology.  My poem is surrounded by some amazing works of prose and poetry, by some equally amazing writers.  I am just proud to be in amongst them - and I guess can now call myself a writer?!  I do hope in the future to be able to write more - I shall endeavour to keep this blog informed of any progress!

Thanks for reading, best wishes to all!

Neil

© Neil I Fletcher - 2013

Time for an update

Hello there

I figured that it's time to post a new blog just to let everyone know what I have been up to since my last post.  I handed in my assignment, nice and early - and had it marked, remarkably fast from my tutor, which is wonderful.  It has some nice advice on how to improve, and some compliments on certain aspects that I did well on.  One of those aspects was my freewrite which she claimed was really good and got near full marks on that portion of my TMA.. pity I didn't do so well on the rest of it!

I might post the Assignment for everyone to read and critique, depending on what the tutor says about publishing TMA work after it has been marked.  I am unsure right now as to whether it's allowed or not.

Another thing of note, is that I have bought myself an nice shiny copy of the 'Chamber's Dictionary, 12th Edition, with Thumb Index' - awesome doorstop and word finder!  1900 odd pages crammed full of words and descriptions of said words and their usage.  Fantastic for any budding writer who needs inspiration or clarification methinks.

Finally on this blog, I have to announce that I bought myself a fountain pen.  Doesn't sound too exciting, I grant you - yet it's a left handed version.  The nib is claimed to be for left handers, and basically I believe the ball of the nib is at an oblique angle and a nice medium size.  The pen is by a German maker called Lamy - from their 'safari' range and I bought their black ink cartridges to go with it.  (The pen is a matt black colour, so figured to get inks that more or less match.)  So far, I have been pleasantly surprised.  Not a single smudge, scratch or tear in the paper, no ink on my hand as I write either. (Lefties push the pen nib left to right so the hand naturally can come in contact with what has just been written)

I am so pleased with this pen, that I am thinking of getting a second pen for a different colour ink.  The next pen that I am looking at is a Lamy Nexx M - which I believe has a rubberised grip.  Until I get hold of one, I won't know for sure, but it has a nice look about it and if it's anything like the safari then it will be worth getting.

Before taking the risk of buying my cartridge/fountain pen, I didn't think that I would ever like to write by hand again, much preferring the keyboard and my improving touch typing.  Now however, I find that I am spending an hour or so a day writing by hand - trying to improve my chicken scratching handwriting and enjoying the tactile feel of writing by hand.  I hope that once I have written something that I deem worth putting up here, I shall type it up, or scan it onto the computer if my handwriting is sufficiently improved!

I haven't put links for the lamy pens on this blog, but if someone from Lamy reads this blog (by some miracle) and fancies getting in touch regarding sending me a Lamy Nexx M, then I will gladly change it to show links.  Heck, you never know ;-)

All the best to those who read this blog, feel free to comment and discuss any and all issues from the blog.  Until next time, best wishes

Neil

Nervous times ahead!

So, it's getting close to Assignment 01 deadline.  Well, one week until it's due in.  I am fighting the urge to 'tinker' with my work today, after spending a copious amount of time on it already.  I feel that I need to try and distance myself from my work a little bit before one final sweep through.

To say that I am nervous would be an understatement!  Blind panic might be more accurate.  The trouble is, in previous modules, the work is set around a specific subject of text.  From this, it is normal to read through material, and regurgitate it on paper in a unique way.  This isn't true for creative writing.  In this case, the work comes from within, and the only real influence, (apart from favourite author's) on the work is the techniques that we are taught in the Workbook, to name a few: Clusters, Freewrite, Haiku, morning pages and memory association.  From these techniques the aim is to create a totally unique story, which is then to be judged and remarked upon - then returned.  It's so scary to think that my work is to be judged and returned to me - will I be deemed foolish, idiotic, naive, pathetic, obvious?  Or will, by some miracle, my work be given merit and praise?

Right now, all I can do is quietly panic and resist the urge to mess about with my writing any more.. And of course to share my thoughts with anyone who wants to read this! (thanks if you do!) Am I alone in these feelings? Feel free to answer in the comments below!

An interview with Sir Terry Pratchett.

Hello all.

I saw a post today by Karen Cairns which I really wanted to repost on my blog.  It's a piece from the guardian and is an interview with a hero of mine, Sir Terry Pratchett.  The article is from the Guardian, Friday 14th October 2011.

If by any miracle, he were to read this, I would just like to say 'thank you' for the wonderful Discworld and every other book that he had a hand in also!  I really hope that he is able to continue to write for many years to come!

(Thanks also to Karen for pointing out my atrocious spelling! Concrete evidence there that proof reading is handy!)

Day school

I went to my tutor groups A215 day school today.  It was well worth the discomfort of sitting in strange chairs as I met some wonderful people who are all really talented.  These tutorial schools are very handy for meeting up with other people who are in the same predicament as you, and spending some time chatting helps to get the creative 'juices' flowing.
It was also nice that there were four tutor groups together.  I got to meet people who aren't in my tutor group but who are on the same course so we all got to help each other a bit in mixed up groups for the morning session which was a nice idea.  Lunch time too was a great time for mingling and chatting - to be fair another hour of that would have been welcome as it was pleasant getting other writer's views on different genre's.
I think that the most important lesson learned today though was that we are not alone.  Also that every action, occurrence and passing scene can be written about in a way that involves the reader by using the senses in the writing.  Whether its the sound of a scratching pen, the feeling of a woolly jumper or the smell of freshly mown grass, they can all be appreciated by someone reading them as it's more than likely that they will have had these sensations at some point in their lives and can relate.

Enough blathering by me for now.  It's been a long day so time for a break.  I will hopefully be putting up some more writing of some form soon!

Using Blogspot

Hello readers!

I have been told that I have helped a few people to get to grips with creating their blog, and was asked if I could blog about it to help others.  So here it is!  I don't expect to put the 'difinitive' guide to blogging on here and you shouldn't expect it either, but I do hope to help with a few basics.

OK, so you have made your blogspot account and you want it all set up and ready to go. There are a few relatively easy steps to take for this to occur. (NB. All of the following are done in the traditional style interface, so if the website looks all minimalist orange and grey click the option on the top right to change back to the normal view!):

1. Pick a template design, or design your own using the various options and menus - just remember to click the 'Apply to blog ' button!
2. Choose your layout - this is a personal choice so go with whatever you fancy, there are many to choose from. Again don't forget to 'Apply to blog'
3. When you have finished with styling your page, you will want to make sure that you have visible all the elements of the page that you want, whether they are groups for you posts (called labels here) or a page counter, whatever you fancy.  To add a 'gadget' as they are called in blogspot, simply click on a blue 'add a gadget' wherever you want it to go.  Then from the drop down menu that pops up, scroll down until you find what you want and click the blue + on the right of the item.  You can repeat this as often as you like, but bear in mind the more you add, the slower the page will load to people with slow internet speeds. 
4. You can also move these added 'gadgets' once you have added them.  Whilst in the 'page elements' page - where you added them in the first place, you can grab a gadget and hold the left mouse button down, then drag up up or down the list it's in or even move it to another location where there is an 'add a gadget' option.  Don't be afraid to have a play with it, it's your page and you should be proactive in it's design! I would like to point out one gadget however, and that is the 'labels' gadget.  This one is brilliant for storing your posts into groups.  In you are wondering what I am talking about, look to the left of my page and you will see 'clickable' words like 'A215', and 'Random'.. that is the labels gadget in action.. Nice isn't it!
5. Click on the 'Settings tab' this is where you can update the title and description but also do much more advanced settings like changing who can comment on your blog.  Your best off having a look through all of these settings yourself, and setting them up as you want them, but I would suggest you click on 'comment's and change it to allow 'anyone' to comment.  It's a personal choice though so have a play with it.
6. Posting on your blog. OK, the time has come to post on your blog.  Once you have given it a title, written all the words and checked it over, make sure that you take note of the 'labels' box.  This is where you can let the post know where you want it to appear.  You can add as many labels as you like, just serparate each one with a comma.. eg.  A215, Random, Stuff..  you get the idea.  As I mentioned in point 4, it's worth doing in my opinion.  They will only show up though if you have the 'label' gadget on your page - you will if you have followed this guide correctly. 
7. Following others.  If you would like other people to view your blog, then it's a good idea to follow other people yourself, and don't forget to put thoughtful and constructive comments! In order to follow someone else there are a multitude of different options available to you to add them to your 'following' list.  Either go to their blog, and click follow, click on their picture in your follower list and then click on their 'link', or you can go to your dashboard - which you should think of as your hub for all blog action, you can easily get to your dashboard via the top right of the screen, either click dashboard, or if it isn't there, then click design and then dashboard! When on the dashboard screen, scroll down until you see the word ADD which is under your 'reading list'.  Click the 'add' button and add the required link into the 'url' box.  This is the best way that I know for adding 'wordpress' blogs to your reading list!  So once you have added the url to the box, eg.. http://trying-to-write-right.blogspot.com click next and follow the instructions.  You will note the 'manage' box next to 'add'. Manage is where you can unfollow any blogs that are no longer wanted. To do that you have to click the 'manage' button, then 'settings' to the right of the correct blog, and then 'stop following this site' which is on the right hand side of the pop up box.

OK, I think that is it for now.  Please feel free to comment if you have anything to add or query! I will try and help out with whatever I can.

Thanks for reading, and I hope that it helps you!

Neil

A truth.

Okay so that is a weird title.  But I wasn't really sure what to call this - although I guess musing would be better.  I am not going to change it though as that would go against everything that this posting is about.  I was reading a link that was put up on Facebook, entitled '25 Insights into becoming a better writer.' In fact, here is the link and I urge all aspiring writer's to just have a read as it shows that all writer's have the same issues when it comes to writing!

One overlying rule that I took from this early on is this: Don't be afraid to write badly.  Find a way to turn off your inner editor, and just write.  Only turn the inner editor back on once all of the words are on the page.  The process of writing isn't a problem, it's the fact that we are our own worst critics when it comes to writing.  The number of times in the past that I have written a good deal of words, then deleted the whole lot 'in a huff' at myself for writing such rubbish.. well if I had £5 for every time I did that, I would be rich!

So in summation, my advice is to read through that list of snippets that other writers have given, and thank you! (Just in case by some miracle one of those writers ever reads this!)
My advice to myself and to anyone who wants it is:

1. Just write, and don't be afraid of writing nonsense.
2. 'Don't be afraid to write rubbish' - Pretty much the same as point 1, but so important it's worth mentioning twice!
3. Never throw any writing away, keep it for a rainy day - you never know when it might come in handy!
4. Leave the editing for when you are finished with putting the words on the page.  Only when the first draft is done should the editor in you come out and see the words.
5. Don't finish the first draft and immediately start editing.  Leave the words to 'simmer' for a day or more.  (It's amazing what happens to them whilst they are left alone.  If you immediately edit, you will undoubtedly break it!)
6. Keep calm and carry on.
7. Make time to write, even if you don't really want to do it, try and get something down on the page.
8. Give yourself a word limit and try to keep to it every day (this is a good one for a single story, but also good for multiple 'activities'.
9. Don't ever stop or give up permanently. (this one is wishful thinking!)

I think that will do, I have pontificated enough and so shall finish this blog here.  Thank you all for reading and as always, if you have anything to comment or criticise or add, please leave a comment below! 

Best Wishes

Neil

Freewriting - Not as easy as it sounds!

Hi!

Today I thought I would give my thoughts on freewriting.  Over the last two to three weeks, I had thought that I was making some good progress in freewriting, and was relatively happy with my efforts.  Then I posted an example on my tutor group forum.  I am SO glad that I did this as it helped make me aware that my 'freewrites' are more 'freewrongs'!
The troubles that I was having with them can be summed up thus:

1. Although I was trying to not think about what I was writing, I was still trying to keep to the initial prompt.  This is not the done thing.  The idea of a focused freewrite is that you use a prompt (the focus) to start the ball rolling, and then let your subconscious lead you wherever it may take you!
2. When I wasn't trying to keep to the key phrase, I wrote for five minutes on a theme so that I basically wrote a story.  This isn't freewriting either, even if I was trying to let my subconscious tell it to my hand without my brain getting in the way.  Even then, it's still basically writing a story not a freewrite.

So whilst neither of these techniques that I was using is wrong in the grand scheme of writing, in the pursuit of freewriting, they most definitely are a no-no.

My tutor had given me pointers about where I am going wrong, and that led me to try again, so with some frustration I hammered out whatever came unbidden to my fingers, writing words on the keyboard as fast as I could for five minutes without pause and without thought.  It looked and felt like the crazed ramblings of a delirious simpleton when I read it back, and with some trepidation I posted this latest pile of drivel onto my tutor group forum.  Lo and behold, it was freewriting!  The mad leaps and angry grumbling that I had produced was my best attempt to date!  

I think that my, and I am sure other peoples greatest problem when it comes to freewriting is that my/their internal editor is deeply embedded in the brain and it hates to see inconsistencies or crazy leaps, spelling and grammar mistakes, amongst other things.  This editor whilst great, has to be switched off for freewriting, whether by frustration or sleepiness, anger or subtlety, determination or subterfuge the gate keeper must be swamped so that he can't correct or change anything!

In summation then, a focused freewrite just means that you have in mind a key word or phrase when you begin, and then you just let whatever wants to come out of the 'end of the pen' do so without interruption or editing!

Thanks for reading this - it helped me to get this out, and I hope that it helps you in your freewriting efforts.  Please feel free to comment and let me know if I have left anything out that could be useful - or if you have any hints tips or tricks to master freewriting that you would like to share!

My First (Very) Short Story

Here is my very first blog of a very short story.  It involves a (mostly) fictional version of myself as I try to write.  I hope that you like it, but even if you don't, I would appreciate any and all constructive comments and criticism's. Cheers.

Hell and high writing

I feel a nervous energy flowing about me when I am not writing, yet when I sit to put pen to paper I feel that I am stifled - that the words are there, hiding just out of sight mocking my ineffectual musings and procrastinations. If I could, I would just mind dump the whole lot onto the paper in one continuous stream, turning the tap of my brain on and emptying it down this drain of paper. I heard that there is a technique called 'freewriting' which does exactly that: throwing words at the paper in a relentless onslaught, an unending barrage of verbs and nouns, consonants and vowels – the ultimate game of 'countdown' all in one round.

Sadly this hasn't worked for me as of yet. The words have put up barricades in my head, dug trenches and set up traps in my mind. I feel like I am a soldier in the trenches fighting these words to the death, or at least a wrestling match where I am not allowed to use my hands yet they can fight me in packs with bats. It's a sad sorry state that I find myself in, all tongue tied and useless. They say that this is called 'writers block', well I think it's more like a brick wall covering the doors and windows of my creative soul. I am not sure if I have been evicted or just boarded over and forgotten about but that is how it stands.

Another option that I heard works is something called 'clustering'. Apparently this is where you pick a word or phrase to start with, and then spider off one word or phrase at a time that you can associate with your starter or 'key' word or phrase. Hmpf! Trying to think of a starter word is hard enough, let alone word association! I managed to write one word the other day! Then I crossed it out, then blocked it out with permanent marker, and then I went looking for some correction fluid to remove it from the page entirely. After that, I made a cup of tea, had a biscuit and went back to the page, scrunched it up, threw it at the bin, then spent ten minutes playing 'bin basketball'.

I repeated this sad sorry state for a week solid! My God it's awful this block, this worrying nagging energy buzzing about with no outlet. I feel like the words that I want to write are a swarm of angry bees buzzing about inside my head. If they don't get a release soon, they are going to sting my brain to pieces. This way, madness lies! OK, lets try again...

Free writes are mental!

I am not going to post all that came out in my latest free write session, but I was so excited by it I figured I would have to share my thoughts on freewriting.

Wow!  It's amazing how the brain can tangent!  The key word start really does act like a key.  With my eyes closed I started to type whatever came into my head, and apart from a myriad of spelling mistakes - which really don't matter at all in freewriting, a story emerged, or at least a kernal of one!  It had absolutely nothing to do with the prompt, but told a tale of evil doings of a madman on a stormy night!  I won't post what I wrote as it is, but if I can knock it into shape then I might well post the 'in shape' story then.

I just felt that I had to tell somebody about it as I am so excited, so figured why not just blog it!  I hope that everyone else has a similar experience soon so that they can feel what I am feeling.. If I were to try and vocalise it, I would say a mixture of excitement, pride, nervous energy and wonder!

OK, I will shush now and go relax a bit.  I dare not play with what I have written now in case I mess up what is there!  Take care all!

Neil

Update on one link

OK, so it turns out that the link to VYM that I have in my first ever blog might not work for windows computers.  I do the majority of my writing using Linux Mint, not Windows, so couldn't tell if it did or didn't work in Windows, so please forgive the oversight!

I did a quick Google and found a new site that claims to be VYM for windows which is being tested to see if it works by Annie Green, (thanks Annie) who deserves a plug to her blog for her trouble!  I shall confirm this one way or another as soon as I can!

Sorry for any confusion that this may have caused!

Neil

New Blog Design

When I first made this blog, I didn't really take the time to design the layout or styling, as I was eager to get around to posting rather than making the blog look pretty.  I found the time today to take a look at the formatting side of the blog however, and took the time to, (I hope) make the blog look more professional yet easier to read.  I also renamed the blog so that it matches the website URL, which again I think is more friendly and easier to follow whilst being more professional in appearance.

As always I appreciate outside input, so if you have any thoughts good or bad regarding the new look of my blog please don't hesitate to post a comment under this posting.  I hope to get around to writing some more free-writes and Haiku soon - some of which I undoubtedly will post on the new look blog.

Journal version 2.0?

Hello again!

Because the idea of carrying a notepad around everywhere I go with a pen or pencil seems a bit scary, I had a look into a more up-to-date approach to note taking and memo writing.  I have an Android phone, so figured to check on the Android market and see if there was anything on there that might help me out with this problem.
It turns out that there are solutions to this problem on the Android Market.  The option that I plumbed for is a free App called 'NoteToSelf' which I believe is by a Brian Swartzfager.  I haven't had a lot of time to play with the App so far, but what I have seen has been promising.  There is the option to type out any thoughts, hopes and dreams on the little on screen keyboard but there is also another option for adding notes which is Speech to Text.  I did a little rooting about on the market and found another free App called 'Voice Search' which it says is by Google Inc.  This App allowed NoteToSelf to access the Speech to text feature, so now when I think of something and I am not near my trusty computer or laptop I can talk into my phone and it saves what I say as text to read later.  Some of the words that have come up have been.. unusual, but this is a good thing really as any inspiration is good and bonus words could possibly give an idea for a short story or poem or even a Haiku.

Anyway, this is my workaround for the notebook and pen debate and I hope that it gives inspiration to do your own workaround. (or just do the same thing!)   If anyone has any better ideas feel free to put them in the comments section, I would love to hear from you.

A215 (My first ever Blog!)

Now that I have the course material I thought it best to make a start on the work.  The course doesn't officially 'start' until the 1st October, but since the book is here I might as well get a move on with it!

I have read about clustering and figured that to save paper and hand cramp from using a pen, I would have a look for a tool on the pc for creating these clusters. (a cluster is very similar to a mind map) Since I use Linux Mint, (Ubuntu not Debian release) I easily found a couple of likely candidates using the package manager.  The one that stood out for me most was the quirky entitled VYM (view your mind) which I believe works on all platforms.

When it comes to free writing there are lots of helpful bits and bobs of advice out on the interweb, so I won't link any at this time.  However, I will say that I have made some good use of a web timer that since I type all my free writes does a great job of telling me to stop writing.  It's called Timer Tab and is brilliant as a countdown timer in my browser because it saves me needing my watch or phone at hand when I am free writing.  I must point out that I use Google chrome as a browser, and have not checked whether it works on all other browsers.. I shall leave that to anyone who fancies giving it a try!

I would like to thank all of the sites that I have linked and those that I haven't, but use regularly anyway. 

That is all for this blog.  I hope to add more in the near future, I just have the small matter of writing material first!