(Quick preamble to say that at the foot of this email there’s a link to a free online MA taster workshop I’m running with my colleagues, tomorrow and next Wednesday.
Thanks so much for the shout-out! Also, I've never seen that particular Random Word Generator before and it's a good one, since you can ask for nouns, verbs. etc. So thanks for that, too! As far as prompts go--they make it so much easier to face a blank page. I've been using them for years and years--not ones that tell you "what" to write, such as "two people in a bar having a fight. Write." But prompts that simply prompt you enough to begin. Just a tiny kick-start.
It’s a great generator, yes! Very tweakable. I’m pretty new to prompts myself - my first taste being when I took part in the Stinging Fly ‘One Night Stand’ thing a couple of years ago - but am increasingly fascinated. And yes - not a prompt that tells you what to write but rather just gives you a nudge in an unexpected direction…
I don’t have any problem generating ideas - its deciding what is story v what is back-story and HOW to tell this particular story. Once I crack that nut I can normally finish. Am still v much learning how to crack that nut.
Well this sounds very much like a starting point for a future Class Notes - will have a think and gather some thoughts. (Although I should warn you that the problem you describe here is basically: how to write, how?)
Yes, I thought that as I wrote it. I do get to the point of being able to, but not as often or as easily as I would like (for context, I have an MA in Creative Writing, so not without tools)
Thanks so much for the shout-out! Also, I've never seen that particular Random Word Generator before and it's a good one, since you can ask for nouns, verbs. etc. So thanks for that, too! As far as prompts go--they make it so much easier to face a blank page. I've been using them for years and years--not ones that tell you "what" to write, such as "two people in a bar having a fight. Write." But prompts that simply prompt you enough to begin. Just a tiny kick-start.
It’s a great generator, yes! Very tweakable. I’m pretty new to prompts myself - my first taste being when I took part in the Stinging Fly ‘One Night Stand’ thing a couple of years ago - but am increasingly fascinated. And yes - not a prompt that tells you what to write but rather just gives you a nudge in an unexpected direction…
I don’t have any problem generating ideas - its deciding what is story v what is back-story and HOW to tell this particular story. Once I crack that nut I can normally finish. Am still v much learning how to crack that nut.
Well this sounds very much like a starting point for a future Class Notes - will have a think and gather some thoughts. (Although I should warn you that the problem you describe here is basically: how to write, how?)
Yes, I thought that as I wrote it. I do get to the point of being able to, but not as often or as easily as I would like (for context, I have an MA in Creative Writing, so not without tools)