Creative Writing Week 1: Introduction.

Week 1: The Art of Free Writing:

Free writing can be a great tool to get writing started and improves with practice. The best time to practice is first thing in the morning before you are fully awake, perhaps still in the dream state. I like to free write just before falling asleep (this works for me) and I do this on my phone in the notes section. My notes are full of surprises and I get my best work from this process. See here a post about Virginia Woolf and her approach to writing daily: 

https://www.brainpickings.org/2013/01/25/virginia-woolf-on-keeping-a-diary/

Free Writing: Begin to write without stopping for five or ten minutes. Put down everything that comes to mind on the issue or question. Do not stop to think about spelling, grammar, or punctuation. Simply, write everything possible on the topic freely without stopping. Do not stop at this stage to evaluate the results or worry about sentence structure. The goal is to pour out as many ideas as possible in a steady stream of writing. 

See further information about free writing here: 

https://writingprocess.mit.edu/process/step-1-generate-ideas/instructions/freewriting

Try a focussed free write using the word 'Waterfall' as a stimulus word. Try any word at home for a timed 5 minutes.

Note: Free writing is not the same as automatic writing.

Here are some examples of short pieces of writing:

Daniil Kharms: http://www.sevaj.dk/kharms/kharmseng.htm

Gertrude Stein: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/gertrude-stein

Here's something more contemporary and narrative from writer Tania Hershman: 

http://www.smokelong.com/coat-and-shoes/

You might also like:

Russel Edson: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50777/the-adventures-of-a-turtle

If you would like to read more short fiction I recommend the following websites:

https://www.smokelong.com/

http://brevitymag.com/

See The Bridport Prize, a writing competition featuring a flash fiction entry: https://www.bridportprize.org.uk

And more locally, Bath Flash Fiction: https://bathflashfictionaward.com

Look through your material and write a 250 to 500 word short piece, or poem on any subject. 

Here's some recommended reading to help further your writing:

Short Stories: That Glimpse of Truth: The 100 Finest Short Stories Ever Written (Profound, lyrical, shocking, wise: the short story is capable of almost anything. This collection of 100 of the finest stories ever written ranges from the essential to the unexpected, the traditional to the surreal. Wide in scope, both beautiful and vast, this is the perfect companion for any fiction lover.)

Poetry: Staying Alive  Staying Alive is an international anthology of 500 life-affirming poems fired by belief in the human and the spiritual at a time when much in the world feels unreal, inhuman and hollow. These are poems of great personal force connecting our aspirations with our humanity, helping us stay alive to the world and stay true to ourselves.