Write Now
Sunday, 9th October 2011, 10:38pmYesterday I attended my first day school for the Open University’s A215 Creative Writing course. It wasn’t as scary as I thought it was going to be; we spend about 45 mins talking about ourselves and our writing influences, then did a sequence of exercises, which started small (a body part – mine was the bicep) and developed into an interesting narrative (I ended up writing about a soldier).
This is my second OU course, I just finished AA100 The Arts Past and Present at the end of September. I won’t know my final result until December, but completing it was a big achievement for me. I’ve abandoned several courses over the years, I even dropped out of uni when I was 18. It’s so easy to quit when it gets tough, to talk myself out of continuing, to give myself excuses not to carry on. Weirdly enough, I’ve wasted hundreds of pounds on ditched courses, but this time I received funding to cover the course so I didn’t have to pay a penny towards it.
AA100 also improved my essay-writing ability, although I’m still not so confident in that area. I might have even gotten a distinction overall on the tutor-marked assignments if I hadn’t messed up the 4th assignment on English Christianity in the 16-19 centuries…
To be honest though, I decided to study AA100 to pass time as I waited for the next scheduled Creative Writing course, and because it’s the compulsory course for most of the Humanities degrees. I’ve wanted to do the writing course for years, but always talked myself out of it. Now I’m enrolled, and I’m really nervous about it. I’ve always wanted to be a writer, since I was a kid. I used to write all the time until about 10 years ago when I started working full-time and got bogged down in crap. I’m hoping that this course will give me the support and structure to get my flabby writing muscle fit again. I’m not a fan of writing exercises, though I know that many people find them helpful. When I used to write I just followed my own inspiration, and I find it hard to follow random prompts. However, I’m going to try to be open to the process, even if I find it uncomfortable at first. No pain, no gain – right?
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Ravenclaw… I like it
Sunday, 4th September 2011, 9:58pm
You are a RAVENCLAW!
As a Ravenclaw and as an NFP, you value imagination, ideas and intelligence. You are probably somewhat of an individualist and avoid conforming just for its own sake. You are insightful and perceptive, and since you are empathetic and value harmony, you usually try to avoid conflict. Of course, you may enjoy participating in heated debates, but only as long as they remain on an intellectual level and not a personal level. In general, you are open-minded and curious, and set high standards for yourself.
Quiz: Hogwarts Sorting Hat: Based on Myers-Briggs Personality Typing
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London’s burning
Tuesday, 9th August 2011, 12:11amJust a quick one to say how shocked I am about the riots in London over the last few nights.
The first riots in Tottenham on Saturday night were bad enough but now they’re happening all over London.
There’s no excuse for destroying homes and shops, looting and terrorising. It’s all so mindless, and is just ruining the lives of innocent people.
The police are overwhelmed, the army needs to get involved now.
Long time, no see
Tuesday, 5th April 2011, 1:18pmIt’s been a while, hasn’t it? Sorry about that. The longer that I’ve left it dormant, the harder it seems to resume it. So much and so little has happened since I blogged regularly. I’ve also been thinking about the general purpose of this blog, and how best to move forward with it. I don’t want to stop blogging altogether, but I don’t know how much I want to combine the personal elements with the general. I guess I could just continue writing and just see what emerges.
So, at this moment I’m at an internet cafe in The Gambia, West Africa. I’m halfway through my 2 week holiday here, staying in the Senegambia / Kololi area. It’s my 3rd time in West Africa (my first trip was around my 30th birthday last year, when I went to Senegal, then I went to Gambia again last June). The whole story about my previous trips would take at least another blog post or two, so I’ll leave that for later.
I’m going to have to work on a proper journal of my activities this time, as I’m already starting to lose track, but the highlights so far were holding a Royal Python in my hands at the reptile farm in Kartong (I was too chicken to hang it around my neck like another guy), and visiting the clever monkeys at the Bijilo Forest Park. Photos to follow!
I’ve gotta say though, that this can be a challenging place for an introvert to visit. The people here are very friendly and gregarious and are naturally curious about tourists, so you’ll often get stopped as you walk down the street and asked your name and where you come from, etc. It’s almost impossible to go for a quiet walk anywhere without being interrupted, so I prepare myself for that whenever I leave my accommodation. It is so beautiful though.
Merry Christmas
Saturday, 25th December 2010, 5:50pmHey all, I just wanted to wish you all a lovely Christmas and a great 2011. Here are some pics I took during a recent snowy period here in the UK this month.
I’ve just had dinner and I’m just planning to relax for the rest of the day and wait to see if my folks like their presents when they get around to opening them. It’s been a quiet one this year, with just one of my uncles coming (at 10am). My brother is supposed to be coming at about 7pm (as he’s been spending the day with his girlfriend and her folks).
Sky Movies has been showing Avatar continuously since last night, and my dad keeps on watching portions of it when he’s in the living room. He’s probably watched the entire ridiculous movie by now. Twice.
Anyway, in case you’re in a cheesy Xmas mood, click on the following link to hear Shakin’ Stevens singing that classic tune: Merry Christmas Everyone
