Tuesday 2 April 2013

Writing with Friends

This is my final week of lectures at the University of Winchester. I don't know where the time has gone. I can still remember my enrolment, my first lectures, and my first (very poor) assignment like they were yesterday.

I hated university at the start and was a nervous wreck when it came to attending lectures; I freaked out about deadlines and the amounts of work we had to do almost instantly; and don't even get me started on workshopping! Yet, now I'm going to miss it all. My lectures are so short, and I only have 3-4 a week that it was hardly worth getting so worked up about them. The assignments were relatively easy and creative, and I never did badly in them (well, mostly). And workshopping is a great invention; ideal for the novice writer and nobody was ever mean about my work.

But the main thing I will always remember from University are the friends I have made. I am not the most social person and I find making friends terribly hard, I'm just so shy! Yet I know these friends will last forever. Kat, Megan and Lauren  have helped me a lot during the last three years; they've kept me positive when I have felt extremely negative, they've encouraged me when I needed it, and they've read nearly all my work and helped to edit it, giving me great advice and tips. My writing wouldn't be the same without them.

Kat, Me, Megan (on her wedding day) and Lauren
Kat is an amazing editor. She picks up on the tiniest of mistakes that I would never even notice. She has a great writing approach and I'm jealous of her literary style, I could never write anything as imaginative or unique as her. Whether she does go on to write professionally, or become an editor, she will be one of the best!

Megan has always been there and is so caring; she always asks if I'm okay and is so positive about my work. Her writing really reflects her personality as it is filled with human emotions and real-life situations. People may look down on chick-lit but with the way she writes it I know she can write a best-seller.

Lauren and I have so much in common, including writing young adult fiction and fantasy (we've also been in all the same modules, except one or two). I admire her ability to mix commercial and literary styles effortlessly and with great success. She may be quiet but her writing expresses so much. I know she isn't planning on being a writer, but she certainly has what it takes.

I'm really sad to be leaving them after three fantastic years. We will all be going our separate ways after University, and I live furthest away in Devon, but we are going to stay in touch, sending out work to each other and possibly starting a blog; we can't decide on a name though! The best bit about our little group is that we will be honest about each other's writing, and won't just say it's lovely, we really get down to the nitty gritty, and that's what friends are for!