Bullet in the Brain is a weirdly funny piece of writing by Tobias Wolff. In an attempt to get our students to write more prose, Kate asked us to read it before this session, and I was entranced by the detail and beauty of such a dark piece of writing. It is about a pretentious book critic who, when confronted with a gun, regresses into sarcasm rather than submitting in silence. The result is a bullet in the brain, and Wolff details the final moments of Anders' life, recounting the memories that come to the fore of his mind.
As a group, I think we struggle to write prose, feeling more comfortable with poetry. To loosen us up, Kate started us with writing about memories (it was up to us whether they were from our own experience or imaginary), prompting us with starter sentences like, "I remember the grass..." or "I remember the sea...". In Wolff's piece, he lists all the things that Anders does not remember before detailing one seemingly insignificant memory, which is the last thing he thinks about before he dies. So Kate advised us to use a similar style, pinpointing a unique, unusual moment for our characters to be thinking about.
A lot of the pieces were rather dark, probably due to using Wolff as inspiration. Many recounted suicides or deaths, from jumping off a bridge to waking from an overdose, though we also had some more optimistic writing in the group. But all the memories, fictional or otherwise, were magical, written to make the tiniest detail become powerful and emotive.
Even Miss Woolley managed to write something serious!
Kate has challenged the young writers to expand on this writing, turning it into a short story. Since we only have an hour or so each week, it is impossible for the young writers to create anything particularly long in that time: today's pieces were about 500 words. Plus, some of our students have a habit of leaving a piece to fester and not adding to it - either because they think it is complete or because they are embarrassed to read over their own work - but we are trying to encourage them to look at the writing of prose as they do poetry, as an ongoing process of revision and improvement. So hopefully, we will have some marvelous pieces of prose to read soon. It is brilliant to see the students so quickly inspired by a piece of prose!
Tuesday, 4 March 2014
Tuesday, 11 February 2014
Top Tips: Editing
Today we had an alternative First Story session in which Kate held one-to-one tutorials with the students, looking at possible competition entries, their A-Level portfolios, and submissions for the anthology. We held a similar class towards the end of last term, when our First Story group took the opportunity to get as many writers as possible in our class so that our young writers could benefit from the advice of many different voices of experience.
With Kate, Azfa, Alan Buckley and Mr Moyser together, we looked over the students writing in order to offer feedback and support with editing; and I thought this might be a great opportunity to gather some top tips, so here they are:
With Kate, Azfa, Alan Buckley and Mr Moyser together, we looked over the students writing in order to offer feedback and support with editing; and I thought this might be a great opportunity to gather some top tips, so here they are:
- Kate Clanchy - give yourself a numerical target. Tell yourself you will remove 50 words from a piece of short writing. The ones that you cut will probably have been unnecessary.
- Tim Pears - get other people to read over your work. They'll see what you can no longer see from what does or doesnt make sense to typos. Very useful!
- Mr Moyser - don't be afraid to cut. Get rid of any excess words. Get rid of anything like "very" - these words are unnecessary!
- Julie Bolitho-Lee - read it out loud., listening back to the words and rhythm.
- Alan Buckley - when writing poetry, come in strongly and step off lightly. Really focus on the first and last sentences of your piece.
- Azfa Ali - make sure you don't edit out your own voice. Sometimes, it can be tempting to cut out things that make you feel uncomfortable to write about or share, but include these things! They make you who you are!
If anyone out there has any further tips to add, please tweet me @litllibrarian!
Tuesday, 4 February 2014
First Show of Independence
The First Story group at Oxford Spires are a brilliant group of individuals. Sometimes I wonder if I am biased, but I'm becomming increasingly convinced that they are objectively marvellous.
Today, we returned to travel writing, moving away from our recent venture into the depths of poetry to try our hands at some prose. Kate asked us to think about a walk we took regularly, a place with memories and meaning. We thought about setting from a variety of perspectives, from the bird's eye view to the man on the street, thinking about taste and smells and sounds. The journey needed a finishing point and pauses along the way, with space for reflecting and reminscing.
Kate sets pretty clear guidelines as we write, encouraging us to write freely but signposting possible senses and feelings to explore along the way. She talks in a soothing, calm voice, meaning that you can either absorb what she says and use it in your writing, or let her words float over your head as the journey takes you wherever it wants to go. Writing can be funny like that - sometimes it feels like you have no control over it.
The reason I know our First Story are so wonderful is that, today, most of them let Kate's words wash over them today, as they were completely engrossed in the work in front of them. Some kids had their heads down for ages, completely engaged and inspired. Others created perfect short gems of writing, fully formed within minutes. Despite Kate's breif, we had lots of poetry - one girl even started off writing prose before realising that she had accidentally written a poem.
We have a beautifully diverse group at Oxford Spires. In fact, we have two groups. We have a junior group who meet at lunch time, and although I am never able to attend (due to having to man the Library), Kate always brings me samples of their genius to see.
Our after school group consists of upper school and sixth form students. All are with us on a voluntary basis, though at the start of the year, some were a little more reluctant and reserved than others. We have a little gang of very intelligent, literary year 11s, who squeeze in some creative writing between their many academic commitments. These girls seem to have been part of First Story forever, and now write the most amazing prose without any effort. Then we have the sixth formers, who I see fairly regularly as most of them are Library regulars. Amongst these, there are a mix of reserved and thoughtful observers, bright and bubbly young adults, and independent, stubborn free thinkers.
And then there are the teachers, Miss Woolley and myself, who strive every week to write something sensible, and struggle constantly to share with the rest of the group (especially when the kids write something awesome, in which case anything you might have thought was good writing suddenly seems ridiculous!).
Most of the writing that comes out of our group is fairly serious, exploring relationships, memories, future plans and fears. This week, when the students became so engaged that Kate's words of guidance were falling on deaf ears, I knew we were onto something good. And when everyone shared what they had been writing, it was clear that our First Story group are pure magnificece.
Today, we returned to travel writing, moving away from our recent venture into the depths of poetry to try our hands at some prose. Kate asked us to think about a walk we took regularly, a place with memories and meaning. We thought about setting from a variety of perspectives, from the bird's eye view to the man on the street, thinking about taste and smells and sounds. The journey needed a finishing point and pauses along the way, with space for reflecting and reminscing.
Kate sets pretty clear guidelines as we write, encouraging us to write freely but signposting possible senses and feelings to explore along the way. She talks in a soothing, calm voice, meaning that you can either absorb what she says and use it in your writing, or let her words float over your head as the journey takes you wherever it wants to go. Writing can be funny like that - sometimes it feels like you have no control over it.
The reason I know our First Story are so wonderful is that, today, most of them let Kate's words wash over them today, as they were completely engrossed in the work in front of them. Some kids had their heads down for ages, completely engaged and inspired. Others created perfect short gems of writing, fully formed within minutes. Despite Kate's breif, we had lots of poetry - one girl even started off writing prose before realising that she had accidentally written a poem.
We have a beautifully diverse group at Oxford Spires. In fact, we have two groups. We have a junior group who meet at lunch time, and although I am never able to attend (due to having to man the Library), Kate always brings me samples of their genius to see.
Our after school group consists of upper school and sixth form students. All are with us on a voluntary basis, though at the start of the year, some were a little more reluctant and reserved than others. We have a little gang of very intelligent, literary year 11s, who squeeze in some creative writing between their many academic commitments. These girls seem to have been part of First Story forever, and now write the most amazing prose without any effort. Then we have the sixth formers, who I see fairly regularly as most of them are Library regulars. Amongst these, there are a mix of reserved and thoughtful observers, bright and bubbly young adults, and independent, stubborn free thinkers.
And then there are the teachers, Miss Woolley and myself, who strive every week to write something sensible, and struggle constantly to share with the rest of the group (especially when the kids write something awesome, in which case anything you might have thought was good writing suddenly seems ridiculous!).
Most of the writing that comes out of our group is fairly serious, exploring relationships, memories, future plans and fears. This week, when the students became so engaged that Kate's words of guidance were falling on deaf ears, I knew we were onto something good. And when everyone shared what they had been writing, it was clear that our First Story group are pure magnificece.
Click here to see my work from this session.
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
A First Story Visitor
I love being able to show off the First Story students at Oxford Spires Academy, so when Nikki came to visit, I was very excited!
Nikki is the Project Officer at First Story and often liaises with me about events, competitions and general administration. Today, she came to observe our after school class, as the First Story superstars at HQ occasionally like to do.
I took Nikki on a little tour of our school first, showing her the contrast between the old administration block that has historically been part of the school since it was a boys' school back in the 1950s, through to the brand new Rubens Business Centre, which only opened last term. The Library, where we host our First Story classes, is in the old build. It is a large room with high ceilings and a stage, because it used to be the school hall. Now, it's walls are lined with books and there is a large central table where our creative writing club meets.
Continuing to focus on the details in our poetry, Kate had us take a look at a poem called I Come From by Robert Seatter. It explored sights and sounds and tastes, funny family traits and school day memories. We also looked at a beautiful poem of the same name by our very own Azfa, in which she talks about her childhood in Glasgow.
Some of the students immediately responded to the poem, getting excited by the structure and rhythm, so Kate started us writing lists of three. She encouraged us to think about a space from our past - a bedroom or classroom - and to draw out the senses experienced in that room: what could we see; what could we smell; what could we hear? Immediately, the students started to recall memories, thinking about friendships, adventures and stories they'd heard a thousand times.
Poetry can be very personal, but I was proud that the students in our group were confident to read in front of Nikki. Somehow, in just a few minutes of writing, these teenagers had completely engaged with the structure and meaning of I Come From, and they ran with it. The rhythm was natural - Kate barely needed to guide any of them in editing - though some struggled with an appropriate ending. At this point in the year, when students have a good understanding of the expectations and have explored a variety of poetic forms, it is amazing how quickly and independently they can produce beautiful work.
Nikki said she was blown away by how easily the students understood the task, and was impressed by the outstanding writing they all produced so quickly. She was in awe and would like to come every week!
Nikki is the Project Officer at First Story and often liaises with me about events, competitions and general administration. Today, she came to observe our after school class, as the First Story superstars at HQ occasionally like to do.
I took Nikki on a little tour of our school first, showing her the contrast between the old administration block that has historically been part of the school since it was a boys' school back in the 1950s, through to the brand new Rubens Business Centre, which only opened last term. The Library, where we host our First Story classes, is in the old build. It is a large room with high ceilings and a stage, because it used to be the school hall. Now, it's walls are lined with books and there is a large central table where our creative writing club meets.
Continuing to focus on the details in our poetry, Kate had us take a look at a poem called I Come From by Robert Seatter. It explored sights and sounds and tastes, funny family traits and school day memories. We also looked at a beautiful poem of the same name by our very own Azfa, in which she talks about her childhood in Glasgow.
Some of the students immediately responded to the poem, getting excited by the structure and rhythm, so Kate started us writing lists of three. She encouraged us to think about a space from our past - a bedroom or classroom - and to draw out the senses experienced in that room: what could we see; what could we smell; what could we hear? Immediately, the students started to recall memories, thinking about friendships, adventures and stories they'd heard a thousand times.
Poetry can be very personal, but I was proud that the students in our group were confident to read in front of Nikki. Somehow, in just a few minutes of writing, these teenagers had completely engaged with the structure and meaning of I Come From, and they ran with it. The rhythm was natural - Kate barely needed to guide any of them in editing - though some struggled with an appropriate ending. At this point in the year, when students have a good understanding of the expectations and have explored a variety of poetic forms, it is amazing how quickly and independently they can produce beautiful work.
Nikki said she was blown away by how easily the students understood the task, and was impressed by the outstanding writing they all produced so quickly. She was in awe and would like to come every week!
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
First Technical Fault
Apologies to Kate for labeling this post with this title, but it had to be said!
We added some musical madness to our First Story class today, with Kate drawing inspiration from Leonard Cohen's Famous Blue Raincoat:
Once we were actually able to play the song, the group discussed the difference between writing lyrics and writing poems, though none of the First Story students present considered themselves lyricists. We looked at the rhyme in particular, which Kate openly abhors usually, but we agreed was acceptable in song lyrics. Why is this?
The song is written in the form of a letter, full of mystery about who is being addressed and who is being spoken to. But within the lines are tiny, unique details, strangely specific in a song so vague. Like the famous blue raincoat of the title, these details leave us asking questions, as demonstrated by numerous online discussions about what Leonard Cohen was trying to say.
Drawing on Cohen's style, we wrote our own letters, focusing on a small number of solid images, like names of streets and people. We were given the opportunity to write about something personal or create a dramatic monologue about a fictional scenario.
I went for the fictional option, and, as I so often find when I initially struggle with a piece of writing, the words soon took over and a story developed. What began as a love letter between a recently separated couple turned into a macabre tale about obsessive love, with a stalker writing to his victim.
Our First Story students, again proving themselves to be pure genius, wrote amazing pieces of prose and poetry, some imagined and some semi-autobiographical. As a whole, our group tend towards the darker side of writing, often exploring love or loss or even hope through cynical eyes. And yet, we have much to celebrate amongst our cohort of young writers, as demonstrated by their ability to get right back into the flow of creativity today.
We added some musical madness to our First Story class today, with Kate drawing inspiration from Leonard Cohen's Famous Blue Raincoat:
Once we were actually able to play the song, the group discussed the difference between writing lyrics and writing poems, though none of the First Story students present considered themselves lyricists. We looked at the rhyme in particular, which Kate openly abhors usually, but we agreed was acceptable in song lyrics. Why is this?
The song is written in the form of a letter, full of mystery about who is being addressed and who is being spoken to. But within the lines are tiny, unique details, strangely specific in a song so vague. Like the famous blue raincoat of the title, these details leave us asking questions, as demonstrated by numerous online discussions about what Leonard Cohen was trying to say.
Drawing on Cohen's style, we wrote our own letters, focusing on a small number of solid images, like names of streets and people. We were given the opportunity to write about something personal or create a dramatic monologue about a fictional scenario.
I went for the fictional option, and, as I so often find when I initially struggle with a piece of writing, the words soon took over and a story developed. What began as a love letter between a recently separated couple turned into a macabre tale about obsessive love, with a stalker writing to his victim.
Our First Story students, again proving themselves to be pure genius, wrote amazing pieces of prose and poetry, some imagined and some semi-autobiographical. As a whole, our group tend towards the darker side of writing, often exploring love or loss or even hope through cynical eyes. And yet, we have much to celebrate amongst our cohort of young writers, as demonstrated by their ability to get right back into the flow of creativity today.
Tuesday, 10 December 2013
The First Performance Poetry Day
Words cannot describe how elated I feel after the events of today.
Six months ago, I was watching Jools Holland with my sister when George the Poet graced the screen and my sister and I stopped everything to watch this (note: my sister rarely stops talking, so I knew this was a special moment). I thought he would be an ideal role model for our students: young, intelligent and passionate, with incredible skill in writing and performing poetry.
Today, Oxford Spires hosted the inaugural Performance Poetry Day. We already have some confident and competent performers in school, from alumna Azfa Ali to current First Story students. But today, we targeted the kids who don't usually come into contact with our creative writing activities, offering them an opportunity to work with inspiring and talented young spoken word poets.
We set up two parallel workshops: one for a select group of twelve boys to work with George and another for twelve girls to work with Azfa. In Azfa's group, she got the students to think about rhythm using playground clapping games, whilst the boys who worked with George impressed us by turning up full of ideas about which they might want to talk and write.
George's enthusiasm for change and hope was infectious. The students instantly respected him and wanted to share with and impress him. He talked about the state of contemporary society and the problems he saw with the current political system and the struggles he anticipated his teenage audience are likely to soon face. The students engaged immediately, talking about misogyny, poverty and racism. In a short space of time, they worked together to create poems about these issues and more, drawing on their own experiences.
At the end of the day, we crammed as many students as possible into our new Theatre to show off the hard work of the selected workshop students. Those who wanted to perform had the opportunity to stand up in front of their peers and demonstrate their new-found talents. Azfa and George also performed some of their poems, and the students showed their appreciation through applause, sometimes interrupting the performances with clapping and cheering.
I am so proud of the students who were involved with the events today. Kate and I are buzzing, because we have managed to reach a large number of students who previously had little knowledge of the great creative writing activities that take place in our school. Across OSA, everyone is talking about poetry. At last! Our plan now is to create a performance poetry club to take these skills and talents even further!
With thanks to all my colleagues for their help in running Performance Poetry Day; and many, many thanks to the people at the John Betjeman Poetry Competition for Young People for their support and sponsorship for this event.
Six months ago, I was watching Jools Holland with my sister when George the Poet graced the screen and my sister and I stopped everything to watch this (note: my sister rarely stops talking, so I knew this was a special moment). I thought he would be an ideal role model for our students: young, intelligent and passionate, with incredible skill in writing and performing poetry.
Today, Oxford Spires hosted the inaugural Performance Poetry Day. We already have some confident and competent performers in school, from alumna Azfa Ali to current First Story students. But today, we targeted the kids who don't usually come into contact with our creative writing activities, offering them an opportunity to work with inspiring and talented young spoken word poets.
We set up two parallel workshops: one for a select group of twelve boys to work with George and another for twelve girls to work with Azfa. In Azfa's group, she got the students to think about rhythm using playground clapping games, whilst the boys who worked with George impressed us by turning up full of ideas about which they might want to talk and write. George's enthusiasm for change and hope was infectious. The students instantly respected him and wanted to share with and impress him. He talked about the state of contemporary society and the problems he saw with the current political system and the struggles he anticipated his teenage audience are likely to soon face. The students engaged immediately, talking about misogyny, poverty and racism. In a short space of time, they worked together to create poems about these issues and more, drawing on their own experiences.
At the end of the day, we crammed as many students as possible into our new Theatre to show off the hard work of the selected workshop students. Those who wanted to perform had the opportunity to stand up in front of their peers and demonstrate their new-found talents. Azfa and George also performed some of their poems, and the students showed their appreciation through applause, sometimes interrupting the performances with clapping and cheering.
I am so proud of the students who were involved with the events today. Kate and I are buzzing, because we have managed to reach a large number of students who previously had little knowledge of the great creative writing activities that take place in our school. Across OSA, everyone is talking about poetry. At last! Our plan now is to create a performance poetry club to take these skills and talents even further!
With thanks to all my colleagues for their help in running Performance Poetry Day; and many, many thanks to the people at the John Betjeman Poetry Competition for Young People for their support and sponsorship for this event.
Wednesday, 4 December 2013
First Trip*
*I should clarify: this is about the first trip since I officially started this blog. (Also, I have to stick with the 'Firsts' of the blog titles, which is proving to be a challenge). I have been on many First Story trips in the past, from residentials in Somerset and Shropshire to the First Story Festival at Lady Margaret Hall in Oxford.
First Story students from Larkmead, Cheney and Oxford Spires Academy gathered together at the Pitt Rivers museum to work with Kate Clanchy, Tim Pears, and Julie Bolitho-Lee. We were separated into three groups, giving the students a chance to work with different young people and different writers. It was a really mixed group, with some fresh little year 7s, some gifted and talented children, and some inclusion students.
Tour guides from the Pitt Rivers showed us around, highlighting specific items in the museum. If you have ever been to the Pitt Rivers, you will know that it is full of acquisitions! There is hardly room to turn around, but this is it's charm. As our tour guide informed us, most museums work on the idea that they have the best of something - the best portraits, the oldest artefacts, the most unique exhibits. But the Pitt Rivers has the most of everything - twenty different boomerangs from loads of different countries, thousands of materials from hundreds of eras. They reckon they have items from all but five nations!
Naturally, we could not see everything there - I have been often and I still see something new each time I visit - so we focused on a few select areas. We looked at items that would have been given as an offering in the hope of medical cures or blessings from the Gods. We debated what might be in some mystical bottles, thought to contain witches. We saw the totem pole that stands tall in the centre of the museum. But best of all, we got to look at some local artefacts: magical potatoes from Cowley, believed to ward off rheumatism, and mandrake root from Headington, which would have been used in love potions.
Then it was time to write. As a starter, Kate got us to write word photos, which are short poems designed to capture a specific moment or item. We thought about things we had seen in the museum, and had to select just three adjectives and keep our poems to about ten words. This was a lovely little task to get us thinking about how language can best be utilised, and it encouraged us to keep things short.
For the main element of the workshop, we talked about our 'demons'. Kate asked us to think about creating a container in which we could trap all our dark memories and bad habits and pet peeves. Students were encouraged to write about whatever came to mind, from their hatred off-brand ketchup to their fears of not fitting in.
When we all gathered together again, every group had something to show off about. Students in the other groups wrote list poetry or flash fiction, starting with the phrase: "The night I was locked in the museum..." It was interesting that a lot of the students used the totem pole in their writing, highlighting what a significant feature of the Pitt Rivers museum it is.
My students came away from the trip feeling freshly inspired and with new techniques for creative writing. I love having the chance to work with students and authors from other schools, sharing in their experience and creative processes. I appreciate that these events are complicated to organise, but First Story should be incredibly proud of all the opportunities they are providing for young people across the country.
First Story students from Larkmead, Cheney and Oxford Spires Academy gathered together at the Pitt Rivers museum to work with Kate Clanchy, Tim Pears, and Julie Bolitho-Lee. We were separated into three groups, giving the students a chance to work with different young people and different writers. It was a really mixed group, with some fresh little year 7s, some gifted and talented children, and some inclusion students.
Tour guides from the Pitt Rivers showed us around, highlighting specific items in the museum. If you have ever been to the Pitt Rivers, you will know that it is full of acquisitions! There is hardly room to turn around, but this is it's charm. As our tour guide informed us, most museums work on the idea that they have the best of something - the best portraits, the oldest artefacts, the most unique exhibits. But the Pitt Rivers has the most of everything - twenty different boomerangs from loads of different countries, thousands of materials from hundreds of eras. They reckon they have items from all but five nations!
Naturally, we could not see everything there - I have been often and I still see something new each time I visit - so we focused on a few select areas. We looked at items that would have been given as an offering in the hope of medical cures or blessings from the Gods. We debated what might be in some mystical bottles, thought to contain witches. We saw the totem pole that stands tall in the centre of the museum. But best of all, we got to look at some local artefacts: magical potatoes from Cowley, believed to ward off rheumatism, and mandrake root from Headington, which would have been used in love potions.
Then it was time to write. As a starter, Kate got us to write word photos, which are short poems designed to capture a specific moment or item. We thought about things we had seen in the museum, and had to select just three adjectives and keep our poems to about ten words. This was a lovely little task to get us thinking about how language can best be utilised, and it encouraged us to keep things short.
For the main element of the workshop, we talked about our 'demons'. Kate asked us to think about creating a container in which we could trap all our dark memories and bad habits and pet peeves. Students were encouraged to write about whatever came to mind, from their hatred off-brand ketchup to their fears of not fitting in.
When we all gathered together again, every group had something to show off about. Students in the other groups wrote list poetry or flash fiction, starting with the phrase: "The night I was locked in the museum..." It was interesting that a lot of the students used the totem pole in their writing, highlighting what a significant feature of the Pitt Rivers museum it is.
My students came away from the trip feeling freshly inspired and with new techniques for creative writing. I love having the chance to work with students and authors from other schools, sharing in their experience and creative processes. I appreciate that these events are complicated to organise, but First Story should be incredibly proud of all the opportunities they are providing for young people across the country.
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