How many ways can you organise a library?
Read MorePaul Braffort's Imaginary libraries
in Creative Writing, Oulipo, Events
constraints
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 MoreMea Culpa: I used AI to help me write something -- but it's not as bad as that sounds
In a couple of weeks’ time I shall be teaching a course called Creative Writing Using Constraints, at the City Lit in London. I felt that the blurb on the City Lit’s website was a bit mundane. So I got AI to write a better one.
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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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Think outside the box, by Terry Freedman
Constraints are good for you!
in Oulipo, Short form
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
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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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.
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Oulipo word cloud
An upcoming creative writing course
in Oulipo, Events, Creative Writing
Can creative writing be automated (without using A|).
Read MoreImaginary libraries
in Creative Writing, Oulipo, Events
How many ways can you organise a library?
Read MoreI have been...
Have you ever thought about all the jobs you’ve had, whether paid for or as a volunteer?
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Shoredticth in black and white, by Terry Freedman
Applying constraints to enhance creativity
in Creative Writing, EiS, 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.
Read More
Creative writing using constraints: a course
What is writing with constraints? In a nutshell, it means writing according to specific and tight rules. The “official” name for this is Oulipo, which is a French acronym for Ouvroir de littérature potentielle.
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More about the creative writing course I'll be teaching: books
In London on June 8th I’ll be teaching a course called Creative Writing Using Constraints, an introduction to the world of the Oulipo. This is a round-up of some of the books I’ll be referring to and talking about.
Read MoreCreative writing using constraints (a forthcoming course)
in Oulipo
This 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.
Read MoreThink outside the box, by Terry Freedman
Why constraints are a good thing for writers of all kinds
in Oulipo, Short form
When it comes to communication, being restricted is definitely better, ie more conducive to effectiveness, than having no limits at all.
Read MoreThe 100 word constraint
Working within a limit of 100 words is both terrifying and liberating.
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Blue Cube, by Terry Freedman
A short story involving homophonics: the answers
In a recent article I set a puzzle: identifying the hidden homophonics in a short story. Here are the answers.
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