Personal Blogs

So A215 is underway. Heading into the weekend I was 'meh', but now I'm excited. But that's always the case with anything when you've had a few months off. I'm now looking forward to improving my creative writing skills.

For a while now I've been trying to write poetry and fiction using pen and paper. This was after reading an article on The Guardian about how the pen is mightier than the keyboard. Apparently, we use a different part of our brain when using the pen. I, however, have found no difference in my quality of writing. And I've been less productive using pen and paper than I have been using a keyboard, so I've decided to return to thumping keys.

With fiction, anyway. With poetry, I think I'll continue to create with a pen. This is because I enjoy the process of counting stressed syllables and marking them on the page. There's something therapeutic to it.

Over the course of the year I plan to focus a lot more on literary theory too. I guess I want to be an all-rounder: novels, poetry, criticism, editing, the lot! Regarding literary criticism and theory, I think I'll find essays on JSTOR and study them.

For the 2018/19 academic year, I did two thirty-credit modules: English for academic purposes online (L185) and Exploring languages and cultures (L161). Neither were particularly interesting to me. I suppose I chose those two modules instead of the recommended one (which was Voices, texts and material culture) because I thought they might benefit me more – which they did, to a certain degree. But it is literature and creative writing I thrive for. Which is why I'm very excited for my new module: Telling stories: the novel and beyond (A233).

I have already received one of the textbooks, which is titled Realism. I love new textbooks. There are no creases; it has the new-book smell; and every time I touch the textbook, I handle it with care, in fear I'll damage it somehow.

I believe there are about ten novels to read over the course of the module, with five being realist novels and five being fantasy. I have already begun reading one of the realist novels: Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy. It is proving to be a bit of a slog. There is far too much description and exposition for my liking, and far too little action. That said, it is beautifully written in places. But at the moment, I could not care less who wins Bathsheba Everdine's heart.

I've finally finished note-taking for my EMA. The EMA is due in a week on Thursday, so I better get to writing it. I'm pretty sure I know how I'm going to answer the question, but I think it'll be a struggle to hit the 2,000 words.

I've been reading and writing more poetry lately. The stuff I write isn't great, but I do find it more fun to write than prose. Writing a poem is like doing a puzzle.

I've also written a piece of flash fiction, but I'm not too sure I like it. I think there's too much pointless dialogue. I was thinking about writing stories with minimal dialogue, but I'm not sure readers would like that. For example, in my flash fiction, I have the following dialogue:

   'What's wrong?'
   'Nothing.'
   'Well, something must be wrong, because you're not talking to me.'

I don't know. Sometimes I think it'd be best to skip over this type of dialogue and write instead:

   He asked her what was wrong because she had barely said a word. She said it was nothing.

Personally, I think that's much better. It's crisper and simpler.

I'm still waiting to hear back about my flash fiction submission, but that's expected, as usually it can take a good few weeks before hearing anything at all. In the meantime, I've been working on a short story. I've rewritten it so many times I've lost count. But I'm very happy with this version. All I need to do is finish proofreading it and then I'll submit it to some place.

As far as my second assignment is concerned, I've finished writing it and am now proofreading it. Overall, I'm happy with it.

Recently, I began doing audio transcriptions for a website called TranscribeMe. It doesn't pay well but it is fun. It means writing as well, which is good.

Not much else to write really. Hopefully, I'll have something more interesting to write next time.

I've just finished reading the chapter on Paul Cézanne in Reputations. I found most of it interesting, especially the practical aspects of paintings and the brief history on still life. I always wondered why still life paintings were such a big deal and now I know. 

Take a painting of an apple. This could be an allegory for life: when we are ripe we're at our best and most beautiful but we eventually rot away and die. It could be a religious allusion to Adam and Eve. This mixes beautifully with the allegory of life and death: once Adam and Eve ate the apple and became aware of their nakedness, God ended their time in paradise and sent them into a world where they'd inevitably die. The apple representing life and death is also philosophical, with existentialism springing to mind.

I do appreciate Cézanne's work a little bit more than I did before. At first I didn't like it. I still prefer the 'conventional' paintings, though.

Next, I'll work through the online activities related to Cézanne's chapter and see how I get on.