KazG

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… 😉

I read the gorgeousness passages out whilst in the bath. One of my dogs came and listened, but I can’t say he looked overly impressed…

I think I see what she is saying about them, in terms of them having the sounds and so on as part of the prose, but I didn’t really like two of them on a personal level. The third one was the one that struck me…[Read more]

I agree – using I Remember to find a voice is a super idea. I shall be pinching that one for sure.

I love your I Remember, and particularly the I don’t remember popped in the middle. It’s interesting to see where the exercise takes us.

I enjoyed the Burroway chapter. There were lots of great suggestions to kick start ideas and, like Woolleybeans, I think I shall have to summarise them before they slip away. I’ve seen free writing suggested many times but never tried it. Perhaps now is the time to give it a go.

I struggled to understand the gorgeousness of the pieces in the Le…[Read more]

What a fab idea to use the I remember exercise to find a character’s voice. I shall do that in future. Your ‘I remember’ is very lovely and conjures up so many scenes and senses. It needed several reads to take it all in.

Thank you! I have to admit I developed a bit of a soft spot for wee Jonny!

I’ve only ever used the I Remember exercise for finding a character’s voice before so it felt quite different doing it for myself. I still think doing it for a character is more useful for any actual piece of writing. But I guess this is good for simply getting yourself…[Read more]

Finally read all of Chapter 1 in the Burroway book. It made lots of sense and I can already feel the details slipping away from me… To that end, I am going to try writing myself some summaries of the readings and see if they help it go into my memory better.

Blimey – you did well to get all that dialogue down, Raine! Loving the accent in it. And I remember is so poignant – some of what you’ve written seems so matter-of-fact, yet it is still so full of emotion. Like it.