Below you will find two versions of a book review. The first is the one I submitted to the editor of Teach Secondary magazine, while the second is the version he actually published.
Read MoreCreative Writing
Review: The shortest history of AI -- two reviews in one!
Below you will find two versions of a book review. The first is the one I submitted to the editor of Teach Secondary magazine, while the second is the version he actually published.
Read MoreReview: Ways of Telling -- three reviews in one!
Three reviews of the same book: a straight version, an outlandish version and the published version.
Read MoreReview: Magic and Mechanics -- two reviews in one!
After each story there is an interview with its author.
Read MorePaul Braffort's Imaginary libraries
in Creative Writing, Oulipo, Events
How many ways can you organise a library?
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Sale, by Terry Freedman
15% off courses at the City Lit
in Creative Writing, Oulipo, Events
My courses running in June and July at the City Lit can now be applied for using a 15% discount code. In fact, you can use the discount code on courses to the value of between £99 and £500 running in June, July and August.
Read MoreWrite like you mean it -- courses flyer
I asked Claude.AI to convert all of my courses information to a single page zine-style information bulletin. Tjhis is what it came up with.
Read MoreThe deeper meaning of A Void
Georges Perec famously wrote a novel without using the letter ‘e’. A cool literary trick, but what did it really signify?
Read MoreCreative writing courses coming up
When I decided that I would like to create a flyer for my forthcoming creative writing courses, and that I would like it to have the look of a zine, it made sense to me to enlist the services of artificial intelligence..
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Shoreditch in black and white, by Terry Freedman
Imposing limits on yourself in order to enhance your creativity
in Creative Writing, Events, Oulipo
The standard advice for writers who are feeling uninspired or blocked is to allow your mind to wander where it will or to just start writing aimlessly to see what happens. Therefore to suggest the opposite approach, that of imposing some constraints on your thinking, seems completely counterintuitive.
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Notebook, by Terry Freedman
4 reasons to work with pen and paper (updated)
I often find that working on paper is better than working on a computer. For the initial outline anyway.
There are several reasons why working on – and with – paper is beneficial.
Read MoreReview: Verb Your Enthusiasm: Two reviews in one!
No book about the craft of writing seems complete without a stern chapter on the importance of eschewing adverbs and adjectives - but what to put in their place?
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stop look listen, by Terry Freedman
No safety net
in Creative Writing, Events, Oulipo
Did you know that Raymond Queneau produced a single sonnet that could be read 100 trillion ways?
Read Morestop look listen, by Terry Freedman
What if the rules were the point? An advert for a creative writing course
in Creative Writing, Events, Oulipo
Lipograms, N+7, the snowball, and other techniques
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"Hugues Merle (French, 1823-1881), 'Hamlet and Ophelia'" by sofi01 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0. Speech balloons added by Terry Freedman using Phrase it.
Alternative versions of Hamlet
In recent years I’ve become interested in a branch of writing called Oulipo, and have discovered that it’s not only people associated with the theatre or film who have put their individual stamp on Hamlet. Writers too have got in on the act.
Read MoreTwo previews
In this post I preview two books which you may be interested in. One is a series of autobiograohical stories, beautifully written, while the other comprises six writers explaining why they did what they did in their short story included in the book.
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Creative writing using constraints
in Creative Writing, Events, Oulipo
That’s the name of a one-day course I will be teaching at the City Lit on 13 June 2026. It’s already half full.
Read MoreReview: The Bengali Book of Short Stories -- two reviews in one!
I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote! In substantive terms there is little difference between the two, but you may find it interesting to see what the editor altered.
Read MoreReview: In Writing -- two reviews in one!
I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote!
Read MoreRemembering Paul Jennings and a bit of a thrill
It’s really interesting looking at signs, because they either tell you so much, or you can use them to light a fire under your imagination.
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