If you are a teacher of English or creative writing, you will find this book to be a rich source of material to discuss and analyse with your students. And if you are a writer, this book will Iām sure prove to be a good investment in extending your craft.
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You may not believe this, but film-making and film studies on the one hand, and writing on the other, have a great deal in common.
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The word Oulipo is an acronym of a French group, Ouvroir de littĆ©rature potentielle. This is usually translated as Workshop of Potential Literature, although given its association with the sharing and critique of work on creative writing courses, the word āworkshopā might be ditched in favour of āwork roomā.
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One of the techniques employed by the Oulipo is known as N+7. This is where you take each noun, and replace it with a word that is seven words on in the dictionary. Of course, results vary according to what dictionary you use. The following article is an N+7 version of my review of the Penguin Book of Oulipo. Enjoy!
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I like the ānoirā feel of this picture.
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The shortlisted books for the annual ALCS Educational Writersā Awards were as beautiful and informative as ever this year.
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Iāve spent the last term on a course called Great European Short Stories. Here are my views on the course, the tutor, and the other courses of his that Iāve attended.
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Not every day for the writer has to involve actual writing.
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Thereās nothing wrong with legitimate criticism ā in fact, it should be welcomed. But donāt mistake nasty put-downs for useful advice.
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What sort of story or article does this conjure up for you?
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You've successfully pitched the editor, so the hardest part is over. Now what can you do to maximize your chances of getting further work from the same outlet? Here are 12 things I've been doing for years with quite a bit of success. Maybe they'll work for you, though thereās no guarantee of course -- they donāt even work for me 100% of the time! But hopefully theyāll give you a better than average chance of continuing commissions.
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Short-form writing is neither quick nor easy, but the effort is, in my opinion, worth it. This book explores the form with useful information, challenging exercises, and interesting examples.
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My first foray into the world of Oulipo.
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AZZCardfile is the old Windows CardFile on steroids. While itās not as feature-rich or sophisticated as Scrivener, itās much faster to grasp ā and itās free.
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Writing in your head, or prewriting, can be a good idea -- and you don't always need to type it out.
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If you fond it difficult to stay focused on your writing, then maybe this is just the boot up the backside you need....
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Conventional wisdom has it that you should keep your rejection slips to remind you of how far you've come as a writer once you’ve established yourself. I’ve even read of people who proudly plaster their walls with the things.
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I feel a bit like the first person in Khalil Gibranās story of The Gravedigger. Itās taken me years and years, but I am finally getting rid of boxes and boxes of my clippings, ie the articles Iāve had published.
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Another photo to act as a writing prompt, this time of a sign.
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A recent conversation I had with a cab company has left me completely baffled.
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