It's words, Jim, but not as we know them
As ever, I am forced to look to Mr Stuart's blog, and in particular, Aldo's comment, for inspiration for my own inane witterings. This time it concerns the subject of teaching creative (or any other) writing. I've toyed with the idea of joining a creative writing group and Truffaut has even suggested I sign up for a post-graduate course - there's a very good one in Aberystwyth. As ever, it is the action that somehow fails me. I have, however, some small experience of the teaching side (cue laughter from all that know me).
A few months ago, the company I (sometimes) work for asked me to run a series of report writing courses, on the grounds that I am a 'writer'. I'd never done anything like it before, but a couple of days of reading some self-help manuals and a few hours swearing at Powerpoint soon had a day-long course whipped into shape. It was planned around a specific form of consultancy report the company was (and still is) delivering to farmers, and complaints had come through from those who must complain, about the general standard of report writing.
I spent a long time reading these reports and I have to say that they were, almost without exception, dreadful. It's odd, but some people who can clearly and concisely explain something in speech fall to pieces when faced with the task of writing it down. I can understand some of the younger generations of consultants being a bit shoddy with grammar and suchlike, since they stopped teaching pupils how to write about fifteen years ago. But the old school guys, consultants who have been delivering reports for twenty, thirty or more years, really ought to know how to do it now. Apparently they don't.
So I ran a workshop, with the morning spent covering the fundamentals of writing (not reports, just effective communication of ideas). Then in the afternoon I showed them how to go about constructing a report. It went down well with the punters, which I think reflects more upon the dreadful state of writing in general than on my innate brilliance as a teacher (which goes without saying). But it scares me that the company needed the course in the first place; scares me more that they came to me to run it.
And having run it, I find myself increasingly critical of my own work. I now spend long hours agonising over the correct use of semi-colons and whether a subordinate clause would be better off as a separate sentence. Stuart will no doubt tell you how tyrannical I am in this regard when reading through his manuscripts. I am become a comma pedant.
And if you think that's bad, just wait until I get onto narrative point of view.
A few months ago, the company I (sometimes) work for asked me to run a series of report writing courses, on the grounds that I am a 'writer'. I'd never done anything like it before, but a couple of days of reading some self-help manuals and a few hours swearing at Powerpoint soon had a day-long course whipped into shape. It was planned around a specific form of consultancy report the company was (and still is) delivering to farmers, and complaints had come through from those who must complain, about the general standard of report writing.
I spent a long time reading these reports and I have to say that they were, almost without exception, dreadful. It's odd, but some people who can clearly and concisely explain something in speech fall to pieces when faced with the task of writing it down. I can understand some of the younger generations of consultants being a bit shoddy with grammar and suchlike, since they stopped teaching pupils how to write about fifteen years ago. But the old school guys, consultants who have been delivering reports for twenty, thirty or more years, really ought to know how to do it now. Apparently they don't.
So I ran a workshop, with the morning spent covering the fundamentals of writing (not reports, just effective communication of ideas). Then in the afternoon I showed them how to go about constructing a report. It went down well with the punters, which I think reflects more upon the dreadful state of writing in general than on my innate brilliance as a teacher (which goes without saying). But it scares me that the company needed the course in the first place; scares me more that they came to me to run it.
And having run it, I find myself increasingly critical of my own work. I now spend long hours agonising over the correct use of semi-colons and whether a subordinate clause would be better off as a separate sentence. Stuart will no doubt tell you how tyrannical I am in this regard when reading through his manuscripts. I am become a comma pedant.
And if you think that's bad, just wait until I get onto narrative point of view.
Comments
Are you going to watch the new Doctor Who? The writer is from Swansea. Perhaps you should take a screenplay writing course. Television needs good writers.