Oulipo
Shoreditch in black and white, by Terry Freedman
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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Think outside the box, by Terry Freedman
When it comes to communication, being restricted is definitely better, ie more conducive to effectiveness, than having no limits at all.
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stop look listen, by Terry Freedman
Did you know that Raymond Queneau produced a single sonnet that could be read 100 trillion ways?
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stop look listen, by Terry Freedman
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.
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.
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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 MoreA poem written within the parameters of a constraint of sorts.
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Click the cover to see this book on Amazon (affiliate link)
Anyone interested in the craft of writing should read this book. It’s not a primer, or dictionary, or anything of that nature. But it does exactly what it says on the tin.
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Oulipo word cloud
Can creative writing be automated (without using A|).
Read MoreHow many ways can you organise a library?
Read MoreHave you ever thought about all the jobs you’ve had, whether paid for or as a volunteer?
Read MoreAn article I wrote for a client is characterised by 24 pieces of data. More correctly: metadata. So what?
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Shoredticth in black and white, by Terry Freedman
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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My writing-related filing cabinets, by Terry Freedman
I think evaluations are very odd devices to be honest. Someone once “marked me down” on her evaluation of a one day course I was running on the grounds that the traffic was terrible.
Read MoreThis course will look at examples of constraints created by some of the Oulipo’s main proponents, with work including the Hundred Thousand Billion Sonnets, the Metro Poem, and others. Course participants will have the opportunity to try out several techniques, and invent one or two of their own.
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Labyrinth
by Ideogram
In Escapism: a 50 word prose poem I presented readers with a prose poem constructed in accordance with a constraint, and invited them to suggest what that constraint might be. Here’s the poem again, followed by the solution.
Read MoreThe following story has been written in accordance with a constraint, in true Oulipian style. The Oulipo is a writing movement based on constraints, such as omitting the use of a particular letter when composing a text.
Read MoreIf your interest in the Oulipo goes beyond simply trying out their techniques, and you wish to learn about the context in which it was conceived and the developments in went through, you will find this book very useful.
Read MoreAs someone who had little in the way of mathematical prowess at school, I initially opened Prime with some trepidation.
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