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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creative writing
Blogger, by Terry Freedman
Nonfiction Notebook: Is creative writing teachable?
Some people say "of course creative writing can be taught", while others say the opposite. I take a slightly more nuanced view.
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Creative writing class
Creative assessment on a creative writing course
Reading each student’s work each week, at a rate of ten minutes each, took nearly two and a half hours. Thinking of suitable comments, adding them in to the appropriate place in Google Classroom, and updating my spreadsheet markbook took another hour and a half.
Something had to be done.
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The 60 Minute Writer
in Events, News & views
My creative writing course
Read MoreReview: Sentence models for creative writing By Christopher Youles
Most books on creative writing tend to be less technical, at least in appearance, than ‘Sentence models’.
Read MoreWho needs a Creative Writing MA? (Revisited)
I wrote this article in 2020. Having read it again, I still agree with the views I expressed then. In fact, I’d go further. When anyone who has achieved the benefits potentially offered by X tells you that you don’t need X, I think a huge dollop of cynicism is in order.
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Aurora and Terry, by Terry Freedman
Creative writing: My attempt to write a Carolean Verse Romance
I’m not known for writing poetry, much less in the style of the 16th century. But I’ve had a go, and I like to think that my poetry is a bit better than my art.
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An outdoor cafe, by Terry Freedman
Some creative non-fiction
I’ve written a piece called My Life in Cafés. I wanted it to be bittersweet, a mixture of pathos and humour.
Read MoreOn being late
Far from being late all the time, I am ridiculously early. We all know that there’s nothing worse than a convert (just try smoking within a mile of where I’m sitting if you’re not convinced of the veracity of this statement).
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The Oulipo: part of my writing ‘toolkit’. Picture by Terry Freedman
The Oulipo, and how it has helped me as a writer
Unlike other approaches to writing, Oulipo is based on constraints rather than such devices as free association.
Read MoreOld Nick
This was written as a creative nonfiction writing assignment I set myself, as a way of paying homage to a dedicated — if fierce — teacher.
Read MoreIs creative writing teachable?
Some people say "of course creative writing can be taught", while others say the opposite. I take a slightly more nuanced view.
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Question mark - Terry Freedman
Who needs a Creative Writing MA?
Are Creative Writing MAs worth doing?
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Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay
The long goodbye
This is an article I wrote for a creative nonfiction writing assignment, dealing with dementia. It was first published in an anthology called Between The Lines.
Read MorePhotoPrompt #26: Rush hour
Here is what the rush hour looked like on the last day I travelled in London.
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Neon tube map, by Terry Freedman. I’m thinking: does this count as a visual homophone (a homovide?) of a tube map?
A short story involving homophonics
Homophones are words that sound the same but don’t mean the same, such as fare (food) and fare (cost of travel), or their and there. In Oulipo, you take a phrase and think of one which sounds like it. I believe that it is permissible to stretch the definition of “sounds like”, so I have taken advantage of that fact.
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Click the cover to see the book on Amazon (affiliate link)
Review of the Oulipo Compendium
Click on the cover to be take to the book’s Amazon page (please note, this is an Amazon affiliate link).
Quick look: Short-form creative writing: a writer's guide and anthology
You may be very good at condensing a complex argument and proposals down to no more than six bullet points (as one of my line managers always demanded). This book makes it clear that there are more creative opportunities too.
Read MoreReview of a creative nonfiction course
I recently did a creative writing course. Here are my reflections on it.
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Frazzled, by Terry Freedman
Review of the American Gothic course at the City Lit
Why has doing a course on American fiction been so enjoyable, and useful to me as a non-fiction writer?
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