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1099. alistairConnor - 9/19/2021 6:30:29 PM hello...
I'm filling in the form for my second-year creative writing course (one Friday a month, I did the first year on Wednesday nights but I found that exhausting)
My younger daughter insisted I should do it, to get me writing again. I hadn't written a thing since the above post in 2014...
And I hadn't written anything in French, ever. Plenty of technical documentation, and a dozen sarcastic emails a day, but no fiction. And while I can write instinctively and fairly fluently in English, I was appalled to realize I hadn't a clue in French.
It was fun, I learned a lot, I learned some humility (I'm a genius, not) and learned to rewrite. Lots of technical baggage that I used to imagine I didn't need...
I would probably never have made any progress as a writer in English. I expect to learn the trade in French, then probably switch back to English when/if I get serious... (perhaps when I retire)
I managed to squeeze out an 8000 symbol short story in June, just before the deadline for the school's annual volume.
So technically, I'm now a published writer... (about 150 copies printed) 1100. alistairConnor - 9/19/2021 6:32:36 PM And in the enrolment form, they ask if I have previously followed or conducted a writing course... so I had to reference this thread.
It was good. 1101. arkymalarky - 9/19/2021 6:44:37 PM Think it Sounds great. Dad didn't publish his 1st book until he was over 65 and now hes published 3 and makes a little bit of money from sales on Amazon every month still. 1102. alistairConnor - 9/24/2021 7:49:31 AM Having breakfast and watching the news. Carles Puigdemont, exiled Catalan separatist leader, has been arrested in Sardinia.
My wife smiles gleefully. "I'll have work to do today".
True story.
... And I'm reading a book about dramaturgy :
Protagonist / Objective / Obstacles.
This trilogy defines every story ever told. And conflict is the driver. At least, that's the doctrine of my school, "Les artisans de la fiction". Time for a shower, then I'm on my bike to go downtown for seven hours of writing lessons. 1103. Ms. No - 10/7/2021 11:10:02 PM Ah, takes me back to teaching the acting unit in my drama course.
motivation, objective, obstacle, tactics
I would tell the story of the Ham Sandwich at Midnight:
You awaken in the middle of the night. You are hungry. You decide to make a sandwich. So you go to the kitchen and begin assembling your sandwich only to discover you are out of mustard. There is mayonnaise, but you hate mayonnaise -- it's only in your fridge because your ex left it there. You could eat the sandwich with mayonnaise or eat it dry, or you could go to the all-night market for mustard. Or you could just go back to bed. Hungry.
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