Creative Writing Degree

Creative Writing: Is it really worth it? Short answer, yes. Creative answer, this:

When choosing a degree to study at university there are a lot of factors to consider, sometimes so many it makes you want to live in a hole under a rock. I had never really thought about what I wanted to study, or what career I wanted in the future, until I visited a University Fair in my final year at college. I didn't know Creative Writing was even a thing and was looking into universities that taught Journalism; although I was a little apprehensive about that. I didn't think I'd have the confidence to be a journalist, not really; especially after I found out you'd potentially have to a screen test in front of cameras and possibly an exam before you'd even be accepted into a university. No thank you. In that respect finding Creative Writing was a life saver. All the creativity and writing without an emphasis on scary public speaking and exams.

Having studied Art, English Literature and Language, and Media Studies at A-Levels I was used to the comments about 'doss subjects', and my work not being very hard. It's true, I never found it hard, not because it was 'doss' though, but because I was good at it. I didn't mind the comments as I would rather do these creative 'easy' subjects that Science or Maths, which just thinking about makes my toes curl and my body shudder.

Choosing Creative Writing for a degree didn't mean the comments stopped. Out of my home friends I was practically the only one doing a creative subject, while most of my friends did some sort of science or humanity. That was fine by me. My first semester, while hard because I was away from home, was thoroughly enjoyable and inspiring, yet when I came home for the Christmas holidays I was bombarded with the 'doss' comments again but in a slightly more condescending and passive aggressive way. My friends said things like, 'I have lectures from 9 to 5,' and then upon hearing that I had a maximum of 12 hours a week they would reply, 'What could they really teach you anyway?'. Or, 'My tuition pays for the chemistry rooms and all the lab equipment, yours only needs to pay for pencils and paper.' (the sore point being that Arts were getting cuts and my university didn't even supply that).

But while they acted like their courses were far superior to mine, I was never jealous, because I enjoyed my course; I was excited to do the work and it was easy for me. I didn't have gruelling exams which required late night revision sessions; my essays were subjective so there were no wrong or right answers as long as I had the evidence, meaning I could express myself happily without (too much) fear. Not only that, my essay subjects were interesting, too, I got to write an essay about Batman, for goodness sakes! To top it off, my set texts were (mainly) enjoyable fiction, something you would voluntarily read, not hefty books of equations and numbers, which make your head spin. While others sat in the pub and complained about the work load, or going home early to revise, or the stress of their dissertation, I would smile a secret smile to myself and think of all the brilliant short stories, poems, screenplays, comic books, first chapters I had written, and how it had been so perfect for me.


I was sad to leave university, although happy to get away from overly harsh and picky markers my lectures had become. But I definitely believe my degree helped to shape me into the person I am now. I was a bit lost before university, being painfully shy and self-doubting, with no idea where my future was heading. Creative Writing opened a world of possibilities while not restricting me at all. It's amazing where a degree like this can lead you.

Considering the current job - money - housing - life crisis our country is currently facing, I was lucky to get a job only a couple of months after leaving university, and in something relevant to my degree. My employer admitted that it was my degree in Creative Writing that caught his eye, and not a day goes by without him saying something like, 'I'll leave this to you, you're the creative one,' or, 'You probably already know this having studied Creative Writing.' He comes to me for advice on many things regarding the company, Litphonix: a brand new audiobook company, and lets my creative energies flow.

A friend who studied Chemistry is still sending out job applications daily, while
sitting at home bored, watching multiple television shows. Another friend with a degree in Engineering is stuck in an administrative job while he searches for something better in his field. A lot of the others will be going on to do Masters, for lack of job opportunities, or for the security that university offers, allowing them to put off the adult world for a little bit longer.

If you ever doubt whether Creative Writing is a suitable subject, stop doubting it right there! It's more than 'making up stories', and I know I won't be the next J.K. like everyone jokes, but it was incredible in helping me find who I was, what I am, and who I can be.

Look at all my favourite pieces of work: here.

To Do List: BLOG MORE!

Wow. A seriously long time since I last posted and I don't even have an excuse. This summer has flown by in a blur of nothingness (though I got to go on holiday, which was lovely). It's been a strange one. And I'm not even going back to some sort of education this September which is even weirder.

I feel terrible because I haven't done any writing, blog or otherwise, since July. I haven't entered any competitions since May either. But I have written a To Do List, and those are the top things on it.
I guess I've been bogged down with this 'being an adult' business. The stress of finding a job, especially one involving writing, is humongous, mainly because there aren't any. However, I'm coming to accept it as I will hopefully being moving to Bristol next year while my boyfriend does a Masters in Law, and there will be plenty more jobs in Bristol than in the dead-end town of Ivybridge.

However, I have looked into volunteering at my local library, and have a sort of informal interview/chat on Friday the 13th (unlucky for some). If I get this position it will give me opportunities to meet some authors, even if they are just local, and have a good nosey at some interesting books. I'm a very organised person so I think I'll be great at shelving books, I always organise mismatched shelves wherever I go anyway.

One of my goals on my To Do List is to reach 10,000 words of my novel project, the continuation of The Stone Men of Raksaka. I'm on around 4,000 words and have drawn plenty of maps, but I really need to knuckle down. I have a selection of fantasy books to read to get me in the zone (my sister is a fantasy nut and half her room is filled with massive tomes). Plus, reading all these long fantasy series will add to my target of reading 100 books this year.

So I may not have any more assignments to do, but I will keep you updated on the personal writing, the job searching, and the potential competitions.

Now leave me alone so I can write! 

Reading Questionnaire for Teenagers - The Results

I took my teen reading questionnaire (which everyone should do!) to my local community college and had some of the kids in the library fill it out. Now I've turned the results into some funky graphs. I'm going to get more questionnaires filled out at a later date, as the school has now closed for the summer holidays.
On another note, but not totally unrelated, I am having second thoughts about my ECP idea, it turns out that a lot of teens like fantasy and mine isn't very fantastical. In fact, the more I think about it, the more boring it becomes. Anyway, enjoy these results first and I will be posting some other ECP plot synopses soon.

Reading Questionnaire for Teenagers

Here is a questionnaire I've come up with as part of some research for my dissertation. It's to see what teenagers are interested in reading. I am planning on going to my old school and handing it out to a couple of students but in the meantime I thought I would post it here and see what you guys are interested in. I would prefer teenagers/young adults to fill this out but if you're older and still want to fill it out try and do so with a teenagers mindset.

So here we go!

Gender: Female     Male

Age:

I am a keen reader (choose one)…

Strongly Agree        Agree         Neither Agree or Disagree       Disagree      Strongly Disagree     

Favourite book/book series:

Favourite author:

Favourite genre (choose one):

Action/Adventure     Comedy     Horror     Romance     Mystery     Sci-fi     Supernatural/Paranormal Graphic Novel      Fantasy      Drama     Other (please state)

Least favourite genre (choose one):

Action/Adventure     Comedy     Horror     Romance     Mystery     Sci-fi     Supernatural/Paranormal Graphic Novel      Fantasy      Drama     Other (please state)

How do you decide on what to read?
Book cover     Blurb    Author     Recommended by a friend    Book reputation     Part of series    Saw the film adaptation     Other (please state)

Do you prefer reading books (choose one)…

In First Person (I)    or     Third Person (He/She/They)

In Past Tense     or    Present Tense

With Happy Endings     or    Sad Endings      or      Ambiguous Endings

With Male Protagonist      or     Female Protagonist  

Further Comments…

University Grades

This is a pretty braggy post. I got my Critical Evaluation for Creative Voice back today, and I won't lie, I was worried about what mark I was going to get. My Evaluation last year was 60%, so I wasn't too hopeful this year. However, I got 68% yay! Anyway, my friend said that she kept a record of all the grades she has got and I thought I would, too. I don't want to seem like a show off posting them on here, but it means I can link them to the exact pieces of work so you can see what I wrote and what grade I got for it. Also, if you can't show off your grades what's the point of getting them?

Year 2 Semester 2 so far...

Creative Voice: Critical Evaluation – 68%

Year 2 Semester 1

Media Writing: 1500 Word Critique of Article – 67%

Media Writing: 2000 Word Article – 65%

Short Story: Parody – 68%

Short Story: Creative Piece – 64%

Textual Intervention: Creative Piece – 72%

Textual Intervention: Rationale – 66%

Creating Short Screenplays: Film Script – 64%

Creating Short Screenplays: Essay – 65%

Year 1 Semester 2

Creative Non-Fiction: Creative Piece – 66%

Creative Non-Fiction: Essay – 54%

Creative Voice I: Critical Evaluation – 60%

Creative Voice I: Creative Piece – 68%

Creativity II: Exhibition Piece – 62%

Creativity II: Evaluation – 63%

Poetry and Poetic Expression: Creative Piece – 64%

Poetry and Poetic Expression: Rationale – 68%

Year 1 Semester 1

Language – Writing – Reading: Essay – 62%

Language – Writing – Reading: Portfolio of Writing Exercises– 53%

Fictional Writing: Creative Piece – 65%

Fictional Writing: Rationale – 63%

Creativity I: Presentation Evaluation – 63%

Creativity I: Research Essay – 68%

Script Writing: Essay – 64%

Script Writing: Pitch Presentation – 72%

My particular favourites are the Pitch Presentation; my Creativity I essay, which was on Oscar Wilde; my poetry pieces; my Creative Non-Fiction piece which was on Doctor Who; my Short Story Parody, and finally, my Textual Intervention piece, which was a First!

Film Pitch - Tainted Blood

This is a piece that I did last year for Scriptwriting. In a group we had to come up with a film idea and pitch it to our lecturer. It was the first time I had worked in a group at University and it was a nice bonding activity, too. I'm still really close to the two girls, and one of them, Megan, also has a blog, it's called The Student Housewife.

We spent a lot of time on the script and rehearsed constantly, and in the end our efforts paid off as we received a first for it! I was really nervous as I tend to talk very fast and I didn't want to be the one that let the team down. Luckily, we had rehearsed it so much that I read at the perfect pace even if my heart was beating a mile a minute. Since then, however, I am much more confident in my reading aloud, in fact, I read something out loud to my classmates this morning!

During the pitch we all had something to say, and we colour coded our scripts. Megan was blue, I was purple, and Lauren was pink. I thought I'd leave it in colour to liven up my blog a bit, and so you can see how we all contributed.  

We came up with the idea after reading an article about the average life span being longer than it used to be a few decades ago, and I began to wonder what would happen if nobody ever died. In a way, it's very like the film Children of Men, only I haven't actually seen it so in no way did we copy it! 

I really like this idea and maybe one day I'll write it out in full as a book, obviously with Lauren and Megan's permission!

Tainted Blood is an action drama feature film following the lives of separated twins and their struggle to change a world where procreation is banned as the elimination of illnesses leads the human population to soar.

Seth is a young man that has spent most of his life hiding, living in basements, abandoned houses, or even underground, as he is an illegal child, born in a time when procreation has been banned by the Government. This is because after scientists found the cure for all diseases the world has become a dangerously overpopulated place.

His life takes a devastating turn as his girlfriend confesses that she is pregnant. Seth can’t bear for his child to grow up the same way that he did. When Seth was younger his twin brother, Xander, was taken during a governmental raid. These raids were to check for illegal children, and any that were found were sent off to army camps to learn how to fight and then join the ever threatening war over oil supplies. The two brothers were both hidden in a basement, but after Seth made an accidental noise and the Raiders started coming for him, Xander let himself be taken in order to protect his brother.

So Seth, in fear for his girlfriend and his unborn child, sets out to find the mysterious revolutionary movement called the United Forces of the Lost Generation (UFLG), who consist of other illegal children planning to overthrow the government and its regime. He has to disguise himself as an older man to avoid the suspicion of his age or being caught. He manages to travel around Britain hearing more about the UFLG and avoiding the Government, most of the time, but he has a few close calls.

 Throughout his travels he hears more about the group and eventually finds its hidden underground headquarters. Giving a motivational speech at the time is the UFLG leader, who looks exactly like Seth. It is his twin brother, Xander.

Seth manages to meet with Xander and says he wants to join the UFLG. During this meeting Xander explains how after he was taken he fought in the war and has seen many horrific things, but he worked his way into the Government. And now he knows all the ins and outs of the ‘Cure Vaccination Programme’. Xander says that he has a plan to stop the vaccination, therefore stopping over population and leaving Seth’s child to live in a better world.

Xander’s plan involves the use of Seth’s blood. Xander reveals that their father, who died before they were born, had an extremely rare genetic mutation that caused him to be immune to the vaccination. This immunity has been passed onto the twins and now their blood is riddled with many diseases and bacteria, of which the world’s population may not be able to survive. Xander and the UFLG plan to mix Seth’s blood with the vaccination, which has to be given annually to the whole world, in order to cut down some of the population and hopefully put an end to the war. 

The only problem is that the next vaccination is within the month and they need the blood now. And it will probably take all of Seth’s blood and he won’t survive. Seth asks why it has to be his blood and not Xander’s. But Xander tells Seth that he fought in the war and is now a Government official and that he deserves to live, whereas Seth is a nobody, somebody that has been hiding all his life, and not worth anything. Seth is appalled, he doesn’t want to die; he wants to be able to raise his child in a peaceful world.

However, before Seth can escape, Xander uses his followers to overpower him and take him to a secret medical facility. Seth wakes up in a bed with drips and wires coming off him and his blood being taken from him. It’s being put into containers that will be sent all over the world and secretly added to the vaccine. Xander oversees the extracting with grim satisfaction. Seth pleads with his brother, saying he is sorry for him, and sorry that he had to go the war and not him. Xander begins to break emotionally and begins to change his mind about the whole thing. But it is too late. The last of Seth’s blood has been drained and he dies.

Xander is devastated by what he did, but carries on the operation none the less. The blood is successfully mixed, and after the annual vaccination many people become sick and die. The new vaccination manages to wipe out a third of the population and puts an abrupt end to the war.

Now, because most of the Government was wiped out due to the vaccination, Xander starts a new Government to help rebuild the world, but without an ultimate cure, without a ban on procreation and without war. But Xander makes sure that Seth’s girlfriend and child know what a sacrifice he made, and that his legend lives on.

Media Writing - A New Blog

I have started a brand new blog especially for my Writing Media module, that's how dedicated I am! So, here is the link to my new blog. A blog within a blog, it's so very Inception!

http://hollysmediawriting.blogspot.com/2011/12/train-training.html

Second Year

So I am back at University for my second year and I still can't believe I'm actually at University at all! It makes me feel so old and yet I don't feel old enough, either. The blog entries should become more regular again as I will have lots of writing task and assignments to post. Just so you know the modules I am studying this semester are: Media Writing, The Short Story, The Short Screenplay, and Textual Intervention.

Well, lets get cracking on some blog entries then!

My Doctor Who Experience

Do not read on if you don't like spoilers! 

Doctor Who has been on our screens since 1963 and the Doctor Who Experience proudly marks how successful the show has been. The closest many of us will come to the Doctor and his TARDIS is by watching the television show. That was until now. The Doctor Who Experience is a place where all fans of Doctor Who can enjoy the thrill of the show and even help the Doctor escape from the bad guys once more. Steven Moffat, writer and Executive Producer of the show says, ‘The Doctor Who Experience is a fan’s dream come true - a fully interactive adventure that will allow viewers of the show to get as close as possible to some of the scariest monsters from the series.’ And I was one of first people fortunate enough to go to its opening week.

The Doctor Who Experience was two years in the making with exhibits including monsters ranging from the Absorbalof to the Zygon; costumes of every Doctor and each recent companion; and sets from the whole 50 years of the show and most amazingly the authentic interiors of the TARDIS. However, its main attraction is the 20 minute interactive walk-through with the Doctor guiding you through a whole new Doctor Who adventure; with you as his trusted companion.

But before you read on, remember Sweeties: Spoilers!

Upon arriving at London’s Olympia Two, where the Experience is being held, you are greeted and directed to an elevator. Now, this was all very exciting for me especially as I did not know what to expect; I had been purposefully avoiding any reviews as I did not want it to spoil any of the surprises.  The elevator doors open and the sound of the iconic Doctor Who theme tune surrounds you; instantly you know it is going to be good. After your ticket has been checked you then have your photo taken in front of the time vortex, but do not worry you won’t get sucked in!

Inside the first section of the exhibit are a few costumes and sets from the latest series with Matt Smith, with focus on the Vampires of Venice and Vincent and the Doctor episodes. Again the Doctor Who music plays loudly in the background; it is timed well with a countdown to the next walk-through experience. While queuing up I felt just as excited as any of the little children around me, although I was disappointed that I did not dress up like they had. Around the Experience there were many mini Doctors; all with bowties and sonic screwdrivers, and some even with fezzes! I want to wear a fez now, fezzes are cool!

Once the countdown reaches zero the doors open and you are sent into a small room with a screen and some benches. I have to admit that I was a tiny bit upset; I thought it would be more than this, and I did not even get a place on the benches, which were taken up by all the young children. But still I got goose bumps as the Doctor Who theme played again and the Doctor appeared on the screen in a trailer of the most epic scenes from the first series. You can imagine my surprise and thrill when the screen then cracked in two – much like the crack in Amy’s wall – and parted revealing a huge set of a futuristic museum. For a moment I thought this room was a work of 3D but there was an actual room behind the screen; it was like real science fiction!

Here another video was playing on big screen and a Node (an information drone from the Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead episodes) with a very realistic face starts talking about the artefacts in the museum; items from previous episodes. These artefacts include the giant telescope from Tooth and Claw, Van Gogh’s painting of the TARDIS exploding from The Pandorica Opens, and one of The Beast Below’s creepy Smilers. The use of projection of the Node’s face is very clever and just shows how much effort people have gone through for the Experience. However, the video is interrupted and suddenly the Doctor is on the screen! He has been locked in the Pandorica once more and he needs help; he had been looking for Amy Pond he says but decides that ‘shoppers’, as he calls us, will have to do. He then uses his sonic screwdriver to make the TARDIS appear; and its appearance is truly amazing. A wall disappears and out of the smoke the TARDIS materialises. It’s accomplishments like this that show how much effort and technology has been used in the making of this experience. Creative Director, Simon Clarke, spent three months creating these breath-taking scenes; ‘”Our goal was to achieve a seamless integration of the animated elements with the set design, painted backdrops and the glass screens that would house our graphics and VFX sequences, we wanted to create, in the same way an illusionist would, an indistinguishable line between what's reality and make believe.”’

The TARDIS doors swing open and it is definitely bigger on the inside! Everyone hurries inside - I’m practically running - and we are all delighted as we gather around the TARDIS console. It looks exactly like it does in the show, except this one has rails around it with a range of control sticks on them. The Doctor appears yet again on another screen and says we have to drive the TARDIS using the control sticks. He says that the younger you are the better, as adults aren’t very fun. There were no children near the control stick I was closest to so I did instead. This experience really brings out the nine-year-old in you whether you are nineteen or ninety. The Doctor tells each person when to pull their control stick and the floor rises and falls like we’re really moving; I couldn’t believe it, I was actually flying the TARDIS!

After we land the Doctor says we are in enemy territory and that we need to take the back door despite there not really being one, but you never know what you could find inside the TARDIS. You walk down a corridor, something that hasn’t been seen in the TARDIS for many, many years until The Doctor’s Wife, wondering what’s going on, when you hear the scariest thing possible in the Doctor Who universe: EXTERMINATE! At this point my heart’s beating with trepidation and I am little bit scared, though I know I’m old enough not to be. But I can hear all the little children give yelps of fright; I don’t think there has been a generation since the beginning of Doctor Who that isn’t scared of the Daleks.  Terrifyingly, we have ended up in the cockpit of the Dalek’s spaceship and the Supreme Dalek declares that you must be EXTERMINATED! A Dalek chorus begins: EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! But before they can they become distracted as another Dalek ship attacks as part of a civil war. Once the Daleks are distracted by gunfire the Doctor comes on the screen and tells you to run. Word of advice: if you’re not up for running do not become the Doctor’s companion.

This time you’re in a spooky graveyard and I can’t help but think of the Weeping Angels from Blink, The Time of Angels, and Flesh and Stone. This eerie graveyard is the perfect hiding place for them. I keep my eyes open the whole time, never daring to blink just in case the Angels take advantage and send me back to the past; letting me live to death.

Luckily, you make it out unscratched and there are people handing out 3D glasses, which does somewhat ruin the spooky atmosphere. Again we’re in a room with a large screen, and as I put my 3D glasses on I’m eager about what I’m going to see. The Doctor has managed to escape and is now safely in his TARDIS but the Pandorica explodes and all the evil creatures are out in the vortex, which is on the big 3D screen. First the Cybermen, fatal and precise, fly out at you, shooting lasers, more horrifying than ever in 3D.  Then the Daleks back again, ready to EXTERMINATE for the last time; it is impossible not to move out of the way of their deadly plungers despite knowing it is only 3D. Then lastly, but the most terrifying, the Weeping Angels leap out at you. You strain to keep your eyes open, but it doesn’t matter, the lights start to flash on and off. With every flash they get closer and closer until they’re about to grab you; this time I’m not the only one ducking and diving, I can hear the girl next to me letting out startled screams and the children whimpering.  Fortunately, the Doctor presses buttons, pulls leavers, twists knob, and uses his sonic screwdriver to finish the whole thing off and the Cybermen, Daleks, and Weeping Angels are all sucked back into the vortex once more. You can breathe a sigh of relief; the Doctor has saved the day yet again.

In an interview Simon Clarke said that this was the best bit of the Experience; ‘"This was an opportunity for us to have fun and an example was when we maximised the 3D effect for the 'Vortex sequence' in the Pandorica chamber. Of course, the ultimate test of our work is to see and hear the reaction from the audience as the images appear to pop out of the screen and grab you."’ And believe me; I think this was very effective!

That’s the end of the walk-through, but the Doctor Who Experience is by no means finished. Once you leave the room there is an opportunity to have a photo taken with Matt Smith’s Doctor; it’s only a picture on the wall but people were still queuing for it, and I was one of them. From here on there are rooms filled with extraordinary Doctor Who things; anything you could wish to see, touch, learn, wear, hear, do, and know about Doctor Who is under this one roof. Olympia Two is surely like the TARDIS; much bigger on the inside and filled with wondrous stuff!

One of the best things to do is to have your photo taken using a green screen. This means that you can have your photo taken with a range of backgrounds. I had mine taken with the TARDIS, but there are other possibilities to have it inside the TARDIS, or even being trapped inside the Pandorica. While these photos may be expensive at £12 a photo, they are well worth buying; how many times will you be flying in the TARDIS?

Another great opportunity is learning how to walk like a monster. This is exactly what it sounds like and a great amount of fun; even as an adult I couldn’t resist learning how to walk like a Scarecrow, a Cyberman, or a Clockwork Person. This was brilliant fun; I didn’t even feel embarrassed when people stood around to watch, they even applauded us at the end!

The Doctor Who Experience is always adding new and relevant things to its exhibition, keeping it up to date. Only this makes me want to go back again and again! Since the opening date they have added the Vashta Nerada, who live in shadows; the Sycorax, the aliens who attacked on Christmas Day in David Tennant’s first episode; and the Silence… Sorry, what was I saying? I’ve forgotten.

After all these exciting things there is even a little shop; the Doctor would love it! This shop sells everything Doctor Who, from the old series and the new. It also sells things exclusive to the Doctor Who Experience, so buy it while you’re there or you’ll regret it later!

Overall, I would say if you were a fan of Doctor Who you should visit this exhibition; no matter what age you are, this will transform you into an excited child. And if you’re not a fan you should visit it anyway; I guarantee you’ll be a fan by the end. And a little tip: definitely dress up!

Past Pieces

The next few posts will be the creative pieces from my college years. My English classes were some of my favourite and my teachers were very supportive. I was one of those people that I always did my homework so now I have many random pieces of writing, some of which I am proud of and some that I silently cringe at. Anyway, enjoy and comment!

The New Blog

To help with my Creative Writing course at university I have decided to start a blog and showcase to the world what I have to offer. I love to write and I like to think I'm quite good. Of course, family and friends are always full of praise but I want to know about what everybody else thinks too. So, as I write I shall also be posting here and I would like to know what you think. But, please, don't be too harsh!