Just flowing
On Sunday I did the freewriting for TMA01. I started with a cluster about 'ring'. After depressingly circular, paralysing marriage associations and some lame divergences into ring tones, things started to drag. A break: a drizzle dash to the dripping log pile to get the fire going, yet more tea and then another try. This time I started from 'road sign' and things started to get going. First an excursion into bizarre road signs like this one.
Then I started thinking about the place name signs you drive past and just wonder - why? Cold Slad, Nether Wallop, Fryup. This led to thoughts about the legends behind place names (inspired by the mythology around the village I used to live in, Osmotherley).
I've been working through Chapter 3, collecting memories, associations and sensory details from hot summers in the 1970s to write an autobiographical account in the present tense (Activity 3.6). I think this is what made it all came together in my mind, and off I went. First of all, a proto-poem about the fancy dress my brother and I wore for the Silver Jubilee street party: the Queen and Knave of Hearts. I started writing in my brother's voice about my huge strop when he stole one of my tarts (imagine my mother trying to keep a straight face) and suddenly an idea for a story sprang up: village legend getting mixed up with reality in a small boy's mind, all written in his voice. I splurged out a rough draft of 400 words or so and I'm itching to work on it more!
The reflection part of these writing activities motivates me tremendously: I'm learning so much from how ideas are released, worked up and transformed.
Last night I dared to show an old friend my student poems, and she did a critique that was immensely useful, including suggesting I just knock the last verse off one of them. I feel I'm over a hurdle: she can make suggestions and I just enjoy it and don't feel like giving up!
Then I started thinking about the place name signs you drive past and just wonder - why? Cold Slad, Nether Wallop, Fryup. This led to thoughts about the legends behind place names (inspired by the mythology around the village I used to live in, Osmotherley).
I've been working through Chapter 3, collecting memories, associations and sensory details from hot summers in the 1970s to write an autobiographical account in the present tense (Activity 3.6). I think this is what made it all came together in my mind, and off I went. First of all, a proto-poem about the fancy dress my brother and I wore for the Silver Jubilee street party: the Queen and Knave of Hearts. I started writing in my brother's voice about my huge strop when he stole one of my tarts (imagine my mother trying to keep a straight face) and suddenly an idea for a story sprang up: village legend getting mixed up with reality in a small boy's mind, all written in his voice. I splurged out a rough draft of 400 words or so and I'm itching to work on it more!
The reflection part of these writing activities motivates me tremendously: I'm learning so much from how ideas are released, worked up and transformed.
Last night I dared to show an old friend my student poems, and she did a critique that was immensely useful, including suggesting I just knock the last verse off one of them. I feel I'm over a hurdle: she can make suggestions and I just enjoy it and don't feel like giving up!
posted by Liz at 1:58 PM
1 Comments:
I think your post shows the importance of persevering, and just keeping going with that freewriting! I'm glad it is going so well for you.
Carole
Post a Comment
<< Home