Xander Michael

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]

I’ve always got a soft spot for Kipling’s style – it is so much fun to read aloud to small people. As for the really strong dialect sample (not got my book with me so can’t remember which one that was – about the frog!), I can admire it and enjoy its differentness … but for anything beyond flash length, I’d really have to care about the…[Read more]

Gorgeousness is clearly in the eye of the beholder 🙂 I’m not fussy for the Kipling or Gloss examples but rate the other two.

I’m on a ferry tmrw, so hoping to do some eavesdropping there… Although the forecast is not marvellous so that may hamper my efforts!
I’m liking some of the exercises in the books so may play with them over the next few days.

Oh, the Hadron Collider! Now there’s something else I know nothing about!
For me, the fun is in the not knowing and the annoyance is trying to list the things that wouldn’t automatically come to mind because I know nothing about them anyway. If that makes sense?

Favourite thing on the list of ‘Things I know nothing about’ (and there are six so far) – the Mariana Trench.

Yep might be a good idea. I’ll do that tmrw unless anyone disagrees… We could post on the main wall to announce new units so anyone interested can join.

My lovely books have arrived. If anyone needs it, I’m happy to share photos of the relevant pages (Aside from CalMac ferry vagaries, I don’t want anyone excluded because of book costs). This site doesn’t let you post pictures, I believe (?) but I can do it by email or fb. Just shout…

Spot the person with lots of actual experience structuring study programmes! Thank you so much @woolleybeans this is just what we needed, and sounds like it should accommodate everyone’s needs.
I say we go with this & if we need to review how it’s working after the first few 3 week blocks, then by that point we should have a much clearer idea of…[Read more]

Ok, I can understand that. I guess it’s a balance, isn’t it? Between providing a timetable for those of us who like structure (I prob count myself there), and not excluding people whose other commitments make that timetable unfeasable. … And getting caught in an infinite loop of trying to decide a timetable that fits everyone! … AND not…[Read more]

Yeah, the time commitment/coordination is the challenge with something like this. I’ve been thinking about how it might work, having jumped in enthusiastically without doing any thinking first! I guess for me, the best way seems to be to look at it as a series of group exercises, rather than a whole MA.

Maybe the way to do it would be if someone…[Read more]