Friday 9 September 2011

Week 2, Day 5 — Time Travel


I’m off to see a Team K member today!

I’m currently on the train heading home to visit my old school, where I will be taking a creative writing workshop this afternoon with the Higher English students.  Part of the session will be a reading of the short story I won an award for earlier this year, followed by an analysis of the writing and the creative process.  I’m quite excited about it.  I feel prepared for the first part given I’ve been doing similar readings over the past month at my coffee shop exhibition, but the second part is what’s going to be interesting.  I haven’t had my work critically analysed in this manner before.  Yes, I’ve had assignments and had feedback on writing from peers, publishers and agents I’ve sent material to, but I’ve never heard a group discuss the merits (if any!) of my work in an open forum.  That bit I’m nervous about!

The invitation came from my old English teacher, one of the first people to tell me I had a talent for writing.  As young as twelve she was encouraging me to write prose and submit my work.  I did quite well as a teen; I had two features published in regional newspapers, winning a teen-journalism competition in the process, had a handful of articles published by my local newspaper and was a runner-up in the international Pushkin Prizes competition with my portfolio of work written in class.  I also wrote the scripts for the local pantomime and drama group in my latter years at school.  Thinking about these achievements now, it makes me wonder when exactly in my personal history I stopped believing in myself and started to think my work wasn’t adequate?  I may have to do a bit more of the time travelling exercise to investigate this further; it’s important that I’m able to recognise when my belief in myself is lacking to prevent future crises of faith.

On the subject of time travelling, I best go read my notes for this afternoon before it’s time to traverse those lost corridors of my teens.

K

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