the business and craft of writing
Now that I’ve wiped the tears from my eyes, I can finally put together a post on this beautiful book: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
For those of you new to the Book Club, we discuss best-selling novels from a writer’s perspective to see what makes them tick. As in the last Book Club discussion, I’ll pose some questions under the following headings:
In my introduction to creative writing classes, I’m amazed at how many people believe that free verse has no structure; the result is a formless offering of words that often leaves the reader unfulfilled or with a sense that something is not quite right. And because there is no predetermined pattern to refer to (eg an abab rhyme scheme) it’s difficult to pinpoint what’s wrong with the poem.
Now while I agree that writers of free verse do not have to conform to the ‘rules’ of set form poetry (eg sonnets, ballads, limerics, haiku etc., each with its own rules of rhythm, rhyme and meter) there is definitely structure. The difference is each poem defines its own structure which emerges from within. If you don’t like the word ‘structure’, consider balance, pattern or cohesion. The tricky thing with establishing your own structure in a poem is that you have to ‘teach’ your reader how to read it, and, once established, you need to continue with it – or subvert it, but more of that later. Continue reading ‘How Free is Free Verse?’
The Crafty Writer has managed to persuade accomplished poet Joan Johnston to write a series of posts in which she will introduce readers to the beautiful art of poetry and encourage you to pick up a pen and sketch pictures with words. This month, Joan talks about the importance of listening. Continue reading ‘Poetry: are you listening carefully?’
Welcome to the very first Crafty Writer Book Club discussion. As promised, we’ll be looking at Val McDermid’s The Grave Tattoo from a writer’s perspective. I’ll get the discussion rolling by posing a few questions or making comments relating to the following:
Writer’s block can halt productivity for days or merely hours, but it can be broken with positive action and a deliberate motivation to do so and a few techniques.
I was planning on writing a post on the mythical Writers’ Block, but another blogger beat me to it. Check out this great article on Breaking the Block by Neil Dixon:
You may also want to visit Neil’s new initiative, which looks like it’s going to make a positive contribution to the writing blogosphere. I particularly like his realistic approach to writing and publishing by refusing to lead people into believing that they too can be the next Dan Brown.
It’s a new year, so time for a new initiative: the Crafty Writer’s Book Club. Unlike most other book clubs or reading groups, this will focus on learning the business and craft of writing.
At the beginning of each month we will nominate a book to read from the current bestsellers’ lists, then, at the end of the month we will discuss the book and see how the author put together a top-selling product. We will look at creative writing techniques such as plotting, characterisation, style and structure and see what we can learn, as well as considering the book’s genre and market placement. Although I will be leading the discussions, my hope is that you all will be willing to contribute and that we can learn from each other’s views on what makes (or does not make) the book tick. If you have not already done so, you may want to work through my free Introduction to Creative Writing course, which will give you a foundation from which to start commenting. Continue reading ‘Crafty Writer’s Book Club Launch’
In this seventh instalment of my creative writing course, poet Andrew Philip introduces us to the basics of writing poetry. Andrew has been part of Edinburgh’s Shore Poets since 2002. His poetry volume
We’ve just spent five weeks on this non-fiction course looking at different styles, genre and markets for non-fiction writing. I hope by now that you have got an idea of what you would like to write about and started researching it. Whether it’s a travel article, an autobiographical piece or a general feature article for the magazine of your choice, you should be ready to write something up.
This is the sixth session in my eight-part course on creative writing. This week we’ll be looking at
In my experience as a creative writing teacher I’ve discovered that there are two types of writers: those who are good at dialogue, and those who are not. If you are good at dialogue, make sure you’re not just writing a script; if you’re poor at dialogue, you need to allow your characters to break out of their headspace and address the reader face-to-face. Continue reading ‘Creative writing - dialogue’
In this fifth session in my free creative writing course, we will be looking at characterisation. In creative writing we become, in a way, like God. In short stories, novels and poems, we construct a world then fill it with people who take on a life of their own. Iris Murdoch described a novel as ‘a fit house for free characters to live in’. How far a literary construct can have free will is an ongoing philosophical debate; more pertinent to writers is whether plot should follow character or the other way around. Continue reading ‘Creative Writing - Characterisation’
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