Libby

I believe there’s a chemical released in your brain during traumatic (or very happy) events that fixes the memory. Probably some sort of survival learning mechanism I would guess. But this does mean our I Remember pieces are like to be tear jerkers. I had a go yesterday and was reduced to sniffling. I’m going to a conference on UK GAAP this…[Read more]

So poignant, Hil. He sounded like a lovely person.

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.

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.

I’m going to have a go at ‘writing gorgeous’ but I thought I’d pick a passage I’d already written and try and ‘beautify’ it. Personally I think a little of some of the examples goes a long way. The Kipling and the Molly Gloss, I love, and I think that’s because the ‘gorgeousness’ doesn’t obstruct the sense but enhances it. The other two, I’m not…[Read more]

Thank Jules and Bella. I have now booked a trip to the UK at the end of October (to visit family rather than purely to record people) and I’ll do some recording then.

Ooooh the Hadron Collider is a good one although I did watch a TV programme about it, I think, but still am none the wiser. Funnily enough this was the first exercise I tried. There is something about it that just made me start automatically. By the way, we are all posting in the wrong thread.

Can I leap in early and say that I would really like to do the overheard dialogue exercise, but I’m in France without access to native English speakers other than my OH and he’s a man of few words. If anyone else does this exercise, might they be able to share the recordings with me? Or does anyone have any ideas where I can find real dialogue on…[Read more]

This is marvellous, WB. My books should arrive tomorrow!

Thanks, Wooleybeans, this is all looking great. Just waiting on the books before digging in.

Agree that posting on the main wall for each unit would be a good idea.