After some thought and deliberation, I joined a creative writing course in January at a local college.
A brave move, some would say, to be going back to college after all these years to learn something new, but I am loving it.
There are eleven students enrolled on the course, both men and women and from all walks of life. It’s what you might call “a good mix”.
The tutor is a writer, naturally, and each week we cover a different topic associated with writing.
I’d like to convey some of my learning, if I may, onto you, Dear Readers. So, off we go…
In our first week, the main lesson I learnt was about the practice of free writing, and the importance of learning this craft by practice.
Stephen King said in his book On Writing, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” Good advice, I think; but easier said than done.
Both as a result of reading those words, and of the first night of my course, I am now in the habit of writing almost every single day. If I climb into bed at night without having written at least a few lines in my journal, I feel there’s something missing from my day.
Also on that first night, our tutor introduced us to the discipline of Free Writing. Every week now, we spend a few moments in silence at the beginning to centre the mind and relax a little. Then, after a prompt of some kind, we are encouraged to write. Not a great deal, just for about ten to fifteen minutes. Just to allow the creative juices to flow, as they say.
It certainly seems to have unlocked something inside of me, and long may it continue!
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