The Last Hurdle

Okay, so I'm nearly there. So far this year I have submitted over 37,000 words to the OU purely through my TMA's. I have 4000 to go and they have to be in at 12 noon next Thursday. Have I started writing them? Erm, no. The next week is going to be fairly intense. But I will get there... I will.

After that I have to wait until August for the results that will determine my degree classification. Even then it isn't quite over: I have another 15 credit points to gain to be awarded honours, so I won't actually graduate until April 2011. But the end is in sight.

So for everyone else packing up ECA's and attending exams over the next couple of weeks, before that painful 2 - 3 month wait until results day: Good Luck!

Quick Update

It's been a bit of a break for the blog I'm afraid, and it's been a very busy time. Jake has gone of to school in his new uniform for the first time and is going to be the star in the nativity play, yes thats right, literally the star. That's going to be a bit of a costume challenge. I'm thinking sequins and cardboard. He spent a month of the first half of term off sick with Swine Flu but at least its over with now.

As for writing, I have started my Advanced Creative Writing course with the OU along side their new Children's Literature Course. I'm biting my fingernails waiting for the first creative writing grade of the year. It should be in sometime today. Eek. I'm completely deleting the opening chapters of my novel and am seriously considering writing it backwards as I have a climax I'm thrilled with and feel confident about the ending. Has anyone else done it this way?

September saw me complete the HACK for the NSPCC 24 miles turned into 27 as I got lost on the last mountain. We had fantastic weather which resulted in severe sunburn and I couldn't move for two days after. It was all worth it though. The photo below was after an hour of walking and I allowed myself a moment to watch the sunrise.

Anyway, I promise to blog more often and also have to catch up on my visiting.

Results Day

The results for my OU Creative writing course came in yesterday after days of compulsively refreshing the student homepage. This is a bad habit I am obviously not alone in as collectively we managed to crash the OU's online Student services for a day (delaying our results?). I was extremely relieved to see I had achieved a Grade 2 Pass, which, assuming I can maintain the standard next year, puts me on track for a 2:1 degree.

Things have been very busy for the last few weeks. I have moved house unexpectedly (half of my belongings are still in limbo). This resulted in some very forced 'bad' writing for a couple of weeks but I am happy to say I have managed to write something everyday. I finally came out of my funk last week when a whole short story poured out of a free write. Who knew Chicken Soup could be so inspiring.

So Quiet

Apologies for this being my first post in almost a month. I've been using the time since my course has finished to catch up on my reading and start work on editing some of my short stories and poems ready for submission. I think it's finally time to start 'getting out there' a bit. I'm mentally preparing myself for lots of slim rejection letters, but you never know and they won't get anywhere languishing on my Hard Drive.

Reading at the moment is extremely fun as I am working my way through the set books for the OU's Children's Literature course, (Any excuse to re-read Harry Potter). It has suprised me that children's books today deal with so many painful subjects such as child abuse, slavery and drugs. Having spoken to the local bookshop owner, it appears that at the other end of the spectrum, she is no longer able to stock Charlotte's Webb or many other farm yard tales due to the threat of death of animals causing complaints from parents. I'm sure this is the kind of debate the course will address.

Anyway, here's to filling some more blank pages.

It's all Over

The last assignment has been entrusted to the Royal Mail (I won't hold my breath for it making the deadline but I have Proof of Posting). It is the story that I feel most attachment to out of everything I have written this year, but I am also aware that it is quite dark and may not be to everyone's tastes. I will have to wait and see until August to find out how it was received.

It feels very strange that the OU Creative Writing course is over. I now have a huge gap until October to fill. Then I wil be starting Advanced Creative Writing and also Children's Literature. I have a whole stack of children's book to re-read before the course starts ranging from Harry Potter to Swallows and Amazons. I am very much looking forward to it as you can imagine.

For the moment I am reading Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier. I ate at the pub twice whilst on holiday and couldn't think of a better souvenier to buy than a copy of the book (and a bookmark). I don't normally read classics. I don't dislike them, I just seem to stay on the more modern side of literature, (and sometimes on the Chicklit side of that). I am, however making a real effort to read much more widely. So far I have just got through 3 chapters of Jamaica Inn but I am gripped. I will update you when I have finished the story.

So now it's on to three month of unashamed reading and writing. Maybe I might even try to sell some of the stories I have written during the course.

And it's Off! And I'm Off!

My final assessment for my Creative Writing Course has just been sent off into cyberspace. Just the Examinable piece of work now (which I've been itching to start for about two months now) and it's all over. I'm really quite sad about this, but on the other hand I will have a whole Summer to catch up on my reading and taking my writing life at a much slower pace. Of course the novel will get a lot of attention too, rather than just keeping me awake at night. My characters are very intrusive you know, stepping into my dreams or waking me up when I'm dosing off.

I won't be around next week to compulsively check for returned assignments though as I am off to Bude tomorrow morning for the week. It is most likely going to rain on us but I'm really looking forward to the break. My boyfriend doesn't realise I have snuck a notepad and pen into the luggage yet. I've seen his fishing gear in the back of the car though so I think we are even.

Photos next week!

Lots of Work Today

There is loads of writing to be done today. The little one is in Speech Therapy for two hours this morning so there will be plenty of time for lots of freewriting and ideas generation.

The novel is on the backburner for the next few weeks as I have a big assignment due at the end of next week, closely followed by the BIGGEST assignment two weeks later. I'm going to Bude at the end of next week so I'm hoping some new landscape will prove inspirational.

It's funny how you go through different phases in writing, sometimes doing nothing but generating ideas and freewriting, and sometimes doing nothing but working on projects for weeks on end. My aim is to mix it up a little more as it always amazes me how quickly a full length piece of work can grow from a five minute freewrite.

My blisters from walking the Orme have almost gone, although nine hours of waitressing on Monday was quite stressful to the feet. I have now invested in a pair of proper women's hiking socks. so we'll see if they work. The sunburn has morphed into a tan so I am no longer looking like a tomato.

It's Done and Gone

At last my life writing assignment has gone, albeit a week late. I can't pretend I'm happy with it, but writing things that are difficult is probably a good thing to get used to as a writer. Now it's all back to fiction, where I feel cosy. Only two more assignments to go though, and my current course is over. The lovely group of people who have supported me and critiqued my work will next year be replaced. This makes me both sad and a little nervous. Surely I can't have it so good next year as well.

Having got this assignment out of the way, my mind is buzzing with ideas again. Another notebook is almost filled. I love the motivation of starting a new pad with a gorgeous cover. My next one came from Chester Zoo and is covered in furry zebra print. Now I just have to remember where I put it.

So. On to the next project.

Too many Projects

I've passed the mid point of my OU Creative writing course now, and it's at this point that instead of concentrating on completing one assignment at a time, there are three projects to work on.

One is my lifewriting project. This is the one that's panicking me the most. All the guidance in the course books seems to point owards full length pieces. We have 1500 words. I was thinking of doing a piece on my childhood using the seasons as a through line, but to get a good grade I think we need to concentrate on a lot of characterisation. Ironically this is the project that is due in first.

The other projects are a short story geared to a magazine and the final examined piece of work. Both of these can be works of fiction so I'm not as worried about them. In fact I'm a bit excited about getting another couple of short stories under my belt.

Life writing however is completely new territory. Even if you choose to write autobiography you have to be so careful not to offend people you know. I keep putting it off and working on one of my other projects instead. Hopefully inspiration will strike in time as I really want to do well on this course. In fact I'm going to miss it like mad when it's finished. I still have so much to learn.