Tuesday 13 November 2007

Beginnings


Beginnings
I recently started an MLitt in creative writing and as part of the course I have had to set up a diary blog. I already have a non-diary blog and considered just changing that one a bit but then thought better of it. This gives me a chance to do things differently, to be a different blogger, take on, perhaps, a different persona...

At the moment the whole Mlitt experience is rather overwhelming, my current work load consists of: writing a review of William Faulkner's short story 'The Old People' in fifteen hundred words; writing a short piece (about 1,500 words) inspired by our last workshop which was on beginnings and endings; writing something 'playful' inspired by the mass of texts that invade every aspect of modern life; writing a fresh, new piece for work-shopping; choosing (which means leaving the house), reading and picking out a fifteen page passage from a book of 'genre' fiction – later I'll have to write a parody of it – for a work-shop; watching two episodes of a 'soap'; listening to a radio play or two episodes of the Archers; setting up this blog and reading other blogs; and evaluating – using the Lerman – four pieces of my peers' writing.

Of course, most of this hasn't been sprung on me, I've had the review boiling away for about four weeks and the rest I've had about a week to do so far and it's not all due at once, I've got til Monday for some of it. What I'm finding difficult is the juggling of styles, techniques and forms. I have a novel on the go too which is definitely faltering, I think it will have to go on the back burner for a while along with my friends and family. And I can't say I'm not loving it, I am, it's just a bit like being madly in love with a total bastard.