@daisydown
Active 6 years, 8 months ago-
Squidge replied to the topic Writing Practice: Year 1 in the forum
Andrew Wille's DIY MA course 6 years, 9 months agoFeel like I’m going to fall at the first hurdle, as my diary over the next few weeks is chokka, and I’ve never been a very disciplined writer.
But – am going to try to get one definite session of at least a couple of hours under my belt every week, day to be flexible.
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Jules replied to the topic Craft Seminar Class 1: Getting Started: Memory, Obs in the forum
Andrew Wille's DIY MA course 6 years, 9 months ago@janeshuff try going on Youtube and looking for News items. Pick somewhere English speakinh and aim for a local news report. I’ve found there’s lots of excerpts of dialogue in local interest stories that way.
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Woolleybeans started the topic Professional Development Masterclass in the forum
Andrew Wille's DIY MA course 6 years, 9 months agoWelcome to the Professional Development Masterclass. The aim of this segment is to gain a deeper understanding of where your writing is located within the wider worlds of publishing and readers.
Choose up to 6 tasks from the suggestions and note your choices in a reply to this topic.
In 3 months, you will be reminded to share your key…[Read more]
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Woolleybeans started the topic Writing Practice: Year 1 in the forum
Andrew Wille's DIY MA course 6 years, 9 months agoWelcome to Writing Practice for Year 1 of the DIY MA.
This is where we will share targets, discuss routines and generally chew over the process of establishing and maintaining a writing routine.
We have a task for the start of this segment:
Create a weekly/ fortnightly writing schedule using exercises and prompts.
You may also incorporate…[Read more]
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Woolleybeans started the topic Craft Seminar Class 1: Getting Started: Memory, Obs in the forum
Andrew Wille's DIY MA course 6 years, 9 months agoWelcome to Class 1 of the DIY MA. Find a seat (not all at the back) and let’s get started.
We have allocated 3 weeks for this class (yes, you can have a toilet break when you need one, and plenty of tea or other beverage of choice is encouraged), and we are starting with the class reading.
In your copy of Janet Burroway’s Writing Fiction (te…[Read more]
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Woolleybeans replied to the topic Syllabus and course materials. in the forum
Andrew Wille's DIY MA course 6 years, 9 months agoClassroom construction will begin as soon as I have more tea.
Agreed on the group becoming private now and on posting to announce new units.
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Woolleybeans replied to the topic Syllabus and course materials. in the forum
Andrew Wille's DIY MA course 6 years, 9 months agoMine will arrive on the island when the people who bring them over on the ferry get around to it…
If everyone is okay with me doing so, I’ll set up threads on the relevant components once I have had a sleep, so they will be ready to go.
We have said 3 weeks for this class/segment, so hopefully we will all have our books in plenty of time to…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic September 2019 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 9 months ago
Thanks Libby and Sandra – and once again, thanks to Squidge!
October beckons.
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Sandra replied to the topic September 2019 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 9 months ago
Congratulations on the win Ath, and for what it’s worth I found it uncomfortably horrific in its pervasive cult brainwashing manipulation – the sort of thing I usually avoid reading and very definitely cannot write, so am as admiring as I am uncomfortble with it.
And thanks Squidge for the competition which I took as opportunity to try out a…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic September 2019 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 9 months ago
I might be a bit over sensitive, but it’s the kind of trope that surfaces when feelings are being tested: stories about minorities and their secret evil ways. The classic cases would be all the tales of alien mind-control and body take over that were so popular during the anti-communist frenzy in the US during the late 40s and 50s, or the ‘Yellow…[Read more]
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Squidge replied to the topic September 2019 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 9 months ago
Ath – really?!
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Athelstone started the topic Monthly comp – October 2019 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 9 months ago
I recently found some writing notes that I’d forgotten about. I was surprised by my reaction. That seems like a theme to me. Something (anything) forgotten then discovered. Surprising reaction. 400 to 500 words (tops).
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Athelstone replied to the topic September 2019 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 9 months ago
Thanks for a fab competition, Squidge. You’ve brought a tear to my eye. I’ve been doing the monthly competition for nearly 10 years, although with fewer entries in the last few months, and this is my first win! There were some super entries this month; I’m really pleased.
I re-read my entry and worried that it might be steering too close to the…[Read more]
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Squidge replied to the topic September 2019 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 9 months ago
Apologies for the delay in posting – life got in the way!
Well these shades of beige definitely weren’t boring. Thanks to everyone who entered – thin on the ground perhaps (well it is York month) but not thin on quality.
Some really poignant pieces in this mix (Dreamweaver, Je m’appelle Missy, and Hil’s Tortoiseshell Specs) secrets in Battle…[Read more]
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Athelstone posted an update 6 years, 9 months ago
Wow! Came across some notes I scribbled down about 5 years ago: events in the life of a character in a book I’ve put aside. Not prepared for how guilty it would make me feel. It really seemed as though I abandoned somebody important – almost like a real person. What are my life lessons here? Stop scribbling stuff down? If I do, don’t read it…[Read more]
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Perhaps the last question is the right one. Or return to the character if not the same story. It sounds as though the character has life or you wouldn’t feel bothered about them. Someone to come back to when the time is right?
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I’ve got two notebooks full of random notes on characters or ideas. Most of it will never turn into something, but they’re great for when I’m feeling a bit blank – looking through and seeing what wants to be written. If you’re feeling that guilt, then perhaps that idea wants to be written enough for you to spend a little bit of time expanding on it?
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I’ve written a fair amount of this character, but killed her before her history unfolded later in the story. It was during that unfolding that I began to like her. I was feeling bad enough about having done her in, but then I came across a load of notes about a chance encounter she has with an old friend after a separation of several years. I have…[Read more]
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RichardB replied to the topic replying to agent rejections in the forum Coffee Shop 6 years, 9 months ago
It’s never even occurred to me to reply to form rejections. What’s the point? Who’d bother to read it? I can’t speak for any other circumstances, because I’ve never been there (sob).
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Squidge posted an update 6 years, 9 months ago
I know we’ve had an issue with bots at the mo – I’m getting the ‘I’m not a robot’ thing every time I log in, but I thought once we’d done it once, it meant you should be OK to log in without after that?
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I’m getting that too Squidge. Can never sign in on the main page. Always get diverted and have to do the bot thing.
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And me!
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Although it’s not too much of a problem now I know.
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Do you guys use whatever your browser equivalent of ‘keychain’ is? Usually if you have your password stored in that, it will only periodically check that you’re not a robot. Apologies for needing to add recaptcha but the bot situation was getting a bit dire!
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Um…keychain? I’ve tried clicking the ‘remember me’ but it doesn’t.
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Athelstone replied to the topic replying to agent rejections in the forum Coffee Shop 6 years, 9 months ago
Do you mean that you sent a ‘thank you’ to the agents after they declined? I haven’t done that in the past. Not that I’ve made many submissions lately.
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Squidge posted an update in the group
Andrew Wille’s DIY MA course 6 years, 9 months agoWow, WB – that’s really comprehensive! Thank you. Also makes me realise I need to print out Andrew’s course outline and read it through properly…
I’d be glad of an October start, cos I’m trying to set new routines around an empty nest, and it’ll be good to focus on something other than the lack of guitar playing and a deserted bedroom… ;)…[Read more]
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Woolleybeans replied to the topic Syllabus and course materials. in the forum
Andrew Wille's DIY MA course 6 years, 9 months agoOk, so. We wouldn’t need to be massively set in stone on a lot of it. I figure the following:
1) Making each ‘class’ in the craft seminars span 3 weeks actually means that with the odd week taken off as a break, the craft seminars would fit nicely into 2 years without being massively heavy time-wise. A couple of hours a week, it reckons, doing it…[Read more]
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