After two weeks I am just as certain that this course is right for me as I was before it started, and it’s because of the little things like – the different and very non-horrific approach to ice-breaking; the fact that David Bishop works to a list and ticks each action after completion; the fact that Sam Kelly smiles even when she is talking; that there is such a mix of people on the course; that we have our very own library, writer’s room and reader-in-residence; that I have already been challenged and introduced to something new; that we have … Continue reading It’s the little things that count

I am sure it was Oscar Wilde who described a cynic as someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.  A couple of weeks ago, I was called a cynic and while I would normally be delighted to align myself with anything Oscar said, in this particular situation I fall under the umbrella of the Oxford Dictionary definition as a person who has little faith in human sincerity and integrity. I was having drinks with friends in their home and as huge X-Factor fans they were showing me some of the better and some of the … Continue reading Cynic or realist?

Today was the first teaching day of the course!  Hurray!  Is it sad that already I could do this every day and never find it boring? Our day is split into two modules: Theory and Innovation in the morning and Life Writing and Writing Practice in the afternoon. Our first T and I session with Sam Kelly looked at the T.S Eliot essay, “Tradtion and the Individual Talent’, apparently quite the be and end all to ‘New Criticism’. It was a very meaty essay with lots of gristle and personally I found it sometimes a little hard to swallow.  I liked bits … Continue reading Creative Writing Week Two: Theory and Innovation – T.S Eliot ‘Talent and the Individual’

Well it finally came! On Thursday I  joined 23 new colleagues on the newly created and very exciting MA Creative Writing at Edinburgh Napier University.  Although I have been waiting only a few weeks for this day, in reality it has been 23 years.  I keep pinching myself to remind me that I am no longer talking the talk but finally walking the walk…it’s a scary but rather nice sensation and I am excited all to hell and back about the big things just around the corner. True to form I turned up two days late for the first session … Continue reading Matriculation and the great ice-break