Barny

This served as a reminder of the things we go through as children. It’s quite harrowing, in a way, although thank goodness for Glenn’s mum!

@Hilary – interesting question. I am pretty sure it would have turned out differently and I would probably have tried to make it funny.

Love the Scotsness of it (made up a word). The now, right enough, a wee bit.
My favourite bits of the I remember are the bus that didn’t come and his old hands cradling nothing.

I’ve used I remember for character, and I’m planning to do it again for my brand new novel in gestation.

I love this, Bella. I wonder – if you’d been asked to write about that incident without doing it as an ‘I remember’, do you think it would have turned out differently in other ways than simply not starting each sentence with that phrase? I agree it’s like a poem, and I especially like the line about Glenn’s mum who also ‘remembered’.

This is wonderful! I remember kissing a photo of David Cassidy which my friend had stuck to the mirror in her bedroom. (Donny Osmond was hers.) And there’s nothing wrong with wearing a bra AND a vest now – but there would have been then!

*passes round the tissues and a box of chocolate fingers*

I’m so happy that we’ve got together to do this course. Although it hasn’t (yet) got me out of a logjam with a current WIP it has inspired me to re-write a previous WIP in which I have faith despite no interest from agents. I’ve dived in and am loving the process.

I love these, too. I remember the specs vividly – I was made to have the pink ones although I thought the blue ones were (very marginally) better.

From a child’s perspective, this is quite a scary, stomach churning tale. Nicely evoked. I’m glad it had a happy ending.

There’s a big ouch in the middle there with the dentist! My teeth are aching at the thought of it. You really conjure up the childhood feelings beautifully (and painfully).

I’m with you on all that @Raine.

Aw @hilary that’s lovely! Sending you lots of hugs and tea!! I think the idea of being given prompts and free writing is such a liberating feeling, especially if other writing is proving a struggle. And being able to do so in a group makes the whole writing thing feel less lonely, I find. I know I have been really struggling with the urge to just…[Read more]

I never found out, he ran off yelling something in Gaelic!

These are gorgeous, Sea. I love the image of the pineapple seller, and picking the car lock with your fingernail! So many different childhood emotions encapsulated here with deceptively simple phrases, really nice.

This is so evocative and sweet! I totally agree re bananas in custard – ugh. But isn’t Glenn’s mum a gem! Like @squidge says – interesting to see it worked into a kind of story, it gives it almost a prose poetry feel to it.

Good luck!!

Well. I’ve read the Le Guin and Burroway chapters and have had a strong emotional reaction. Not to the gorgeous passages. But to the prospect of this whole MA, to notebooks and journals and free-writing, and sharing with you lot and telling the stories that matter to me. I’m sixty years old and I’m sitting here crying! Don’t worry – I won’t use…[Read more]

Right! Write! Read! I have 2.5 hours this morning, so I’m diving in. Splash!

Love the authenticity of the dialogue. And I really, really want to know what Jonny has 68 of!

Noice. I like how the I remember sequence in this case tells the story – I’ve only ever used it as disjointed memories previously, all loosely connected to a theme. This puts a totally different spin on the exercise. I had a similar experience, but in my case it was tapioca… 😉