Creative Writing Course

[Draken]

Well I finally decided to do something to get myself writing more regularly and signed up for a Creative Writing Course. It's just a ten week evening course, no formal qualification at the end of it or anything, but I'm really doing it for the fun of it!

Thought it might be fun to share the exercises we're set each week, so you can try the exercises if you want? Will post what my effort was each week as an example. Feel free to jump in, contribute, criticise, whatever.

[Draken]

The first exercise was to write a monologue by a character built around three things. The idea is that the reader starts to build up an idea of what the character is like from the monologue.

My three things were the description "Former child star", a picture of a beach and the phrase "The itch has gone."

My effort is on my other computer, so I'll post it tomorrow!

[Draken]

“On the Beach…I quite like this song. Haven’t heard a Chris Rea song on the radio for a long time. This one always reminds me of that film…now what’s it called? Ah she’s tuned it to Radio Two, that explains it. Radio Two, the place Radio One DJs go to die. Know that feeling: from Saturday evening prime time to Pebble Mill lunch time, that’s my career in a nutshell. Anyway that film…it wasn’t The Beach, modern Hollywood rubbish…it was in black and white I’m sure. And with a sad ending. Hmm, On the Waterfront rings a bell…that was the one where Marlon Brando says “I coulda been a contender”. Know the feeling mate. Two and a half years on Doctor Who and they replace me with a bloody robot dog. I mean acting was all I’d known: stage school, theatre, adverts, those train rides to London for TV auditions. I was hungry for performance, I had an itch to act. I was the youngest ever male assistant to the Doctor! The only one to kill two cybermen in the same episode! How could they take that away from me in favour of a talking piece of tin? Oh I remember now, it wasn’t Marlon Brando…it was Ava Gardner. And it was set in Australia. And they all died at the end. What WAS it called…oh of course! On the Beach: the same name as the song, silly me! Bloody hell, am I REALLY having this conversation? With MYSELF? I need to go out and get my life back. Maybe I should call a couple of agents, I still have friends in the business. Oh, who am I kidding? The hunger has passed, the itch has gone. Ava had the right idea in that film: find a nice beach somewhere and resign yourself to your fate. Not that it’s an option for me: it’s started raining again, for a start. Hopefully somebody has left that damn robot dog out in it to rust."

[katya]

I like your monologue! I don't have one of my own, but just wanted to let you know that I'm listening and I hope you keep posting.^^

[Arat-Falathion]

Yes, I ditto that

[Draken]

Thanks guys, if it's being some use/interest I'll keep posting!

The next exercise was to talk to another course member about the character in their monologue - how did they picture him/her, what were the details of their life etc. Then - working alone still - we had to write a dialogue between our own character and the other. It was a pretty good exercise in building up a feel for characters from what they said and how they said it.

I chose a lady who had written a monologue about an aging joke shop owner who had just lost his business, as he seemed a good foil to my somewhat whiney ex-star!

Oh yes, they had to meet over a meal as well. (Not sure why!)