The Imaginings of a Creative Writer: CreativeNonFiction

I recently received my grades for last semester and while they are good I am disappointed with the comments I got. None of them were particularly constructive. They were like 'Good story, but I would have written it with this person as the protagonist'. Well, I didn't, so please mark my work by what I've written not how you would have written it.
This was especially annoying for my Margaret Jones and the Weedy Dealer piece as the marker wrote: 'What occurred to me on reading it again was it could make a great teen (young) book if only Margaret was at home/base camp and Andrew (something I can't read) was the protagonist - doing his mother's bidding because she was (something else I can't read)'.
It's annoying because he's missed the point of my piece entirely! Margaret is this eccentric botanist on the run from a drug lord, it's weird and funny. Having a teenage boy do it is so mundane.
I always used to think I was better at the creative pieces but strangely it appears I am actually better at the essays. I only have one semester left and I am going to try my hardest to get a First again. Hopefully in my ECP.

Thursday, 10 May 2012

Pottermore

As my course is finished for the year, but everyone else is still revising/working, I have become quite bored. So, I decided to finally join Pottermore. I had been really excited when the concept was first announced and eagerly awaited October, when the beta was opened to a select few. I did try to join but I never received my welcoming email and so was unable. I hear this happened to a lot of people, how unfair! But now it's open to everybody so I tried again, and I am now a member of Pottermore, yippee! My name is HexOak29860 if you really fancy adding me.

I mainly joined Pottermore so I could find out all the new things that J.K has added, like back stories of characters and extra facts. I admit some of them are very interesting, I liked how Petunia and Vernon met, and learning about McGonagall's childhood. But really, the interesting facts are few and far between. Lots of them can be found on the Harry Potter Lexicon.

I love the Harry Potter stories but I've read them so many times before that I don't need to read them again on the computer. I skipped over those parts of Pottermore. The drawings that accompanied the story were good though, but you never saw an of the character's faces, which is a bit eerie, especially when Hagrid is looming in dark corners.

The tasks you have to do can be a bit tedious too, like opening your Gringotts account or buying spell books. Buying school books isn't fun in real life and isn't fun in a fake wizard world, either. You can buy an animal too, in fact you have to, as it will become your profile picture. I went for a cat because some of the owls look a bit creepy. Also, you don't need an owl as you don't send any owl post. Sometimes I do wish there were magical dogs, and not just three-headed ones.

While in Diagon Alley there is one exciting bit that comes up - getting your wand. Obviously it doesn't happen the same way it does in the book. Instead you have to answer questions. And these are some pretty random and obscure questions. Luckily there aren't that many to answer, and they have some funky drawings too. Then ta-da! You have your wand. My wand is Rowan wood with a Unicorn core. Here more facts from J.K are made available, you get to learn some new things about the woods used and wand cores. There's some bits about Ollivander, too. I don't want to ruin reading about it for yourself though.

So, you have all your school equipment and wand, what next? Hogwarts! This is the bit everyone's really excited about - getting sorted. Now, my boyfriend and sister had already done this back in October, and they got sorted into Hufflepuff and Slytherin, so I knew what to expect. These questions are equally random as the wand ones are. I don't really understand how some of them would affect what house you would be put in, black or white? Dawn or dusk? Bit weird. Some questions are interesting, like what superpower would you have? I chose talking to animals because then you could get animals to listen in on other people's conversations. Maybe that's a bit Slytherin of me after all. I was a bit nervous as I'll be honest, I didn't want to be in Hufflepuff, house-ist I know! But luckily for me I was put into RAVENCLAW! Woo hoo! It's the one I wanted to be in really. I'm not brave enough for Gryffindor, or cunning enough for Slytherin, and I suppose I could have been in Hufflepuff to be fair. But I much prefer Ravenclaw.

Now you can start earning house points. So far I have only earned 36, but some people have earned 230,766. You do this by finding books and chocolate frog cards. You can also get them for winning at duels but I'm pretty bad at casting spells. That's actually quite a fun part of Pottermore, spells and potion making. They're both quite tricky and awkward but strangely addictive. I am determined to win at a wizard's duel eventually!

Anyway, after that I really skimmed through the rest of the book. You can comment on each section and chapter. You get a lot of comments, mainly things like: LOVED IT!!!!! DUMBLEDORE IS MY FAVOURITE!!!! I LOVE HARRY!!! It can be a bit overwhelming. I love Harry Potter as much as the next person but I don't fancy screaming about it caps lock.

In the end, going through the whole book was more of a chore than anything. I wanted to really like Pottermore but it was more like Potterbore. Only the first book is available at the moment and I'm not sure I'll be fussed when the other six are put up. I think I'll just stick to reading the books and watching the films. They're enough for me.

Friday, 27 April 2012

Jacqueline Wilson's Lola Rose

This is somewhat of a rant, so apologies. I recently reread Jacqueline Wilson's Lola Rose, which was one of my favourite books as a young teenager. It's about a young girl, Jayni, and her family. After her mum wins the lottery (£10,000) Jayni, her younger brother Kenny, and her mum run away from the abusive dad who beats up Jayni's mum regularly. Once they run away they start a new life and Jayni chooses a new name, Lola Rose. Sadly, it's not as easy as they expected and many bad things befall them, especially when the lottery money runs out. Anyway, you can read it if you really want.

Here comes the ranty bit.

So, I thought I would reread it as I have read quite a few adult books recently, not necessarily hard but ones that can be a bit wearing, basically Dan Brown. It's nice to take a break and read something easy, and you don't get any easier than children's books. I have only kept a few of my Jacqueline Wilson books, mainly the more young adult ones. As Lola Rose was one of my favourites I was excited to read it again. When I was younger I always thought that Lola Rose was about 12 - 13 years old. I was surprised when halfway through the book it is said that she was going to primary school with her brother. Primary school? She's only in year six? That makes her 10 going on 11. No way. Her voice sounds like she is at least a teenager. I thought Wilson always had a child's voice to a T but I'm starting to doubt it now.

When Lola Rose arrives at her new year six class her first thoughts are 'I thought I was quite tall but lots of the girls were much bigger than me, and so grown-up! They wore tight designer tops that showed their figures, and they had elaborate plaited hairstyles and nose rings and fantastic fingernails.' Now, this may be a reflection of where the school is located; I imagine London children might be more grown-up than the kids are where I live in Devon. If not, then why are these ten year old girls wearing figure showing clothes and have piercings? That's a bit worrying to me.

In the first chapter her mum wins the lottery. Lola Rose, or Jayni as she's called then, says that they shouldn't tell dad as he'll just spend it or ruin it. She then says she always has to be the sensible one in the family. It seems weird that a ten year old is more mature than a mother.

Lola Rose is also already obsessed with her weight. What kind of ten year old is worried about their weight? She talks about how good looking her ex-model mum is, she then goes on to say 'I've tried locking the bathroom door and stripping down to my knickers and trying out some of those poses myself. I look ridiculous. I'm as tall as my mum but I haven't got a proper figure. It doesn't go in and out in the right places.' Does that really sound like something a ten year old says? I don't think I even considered those types of things at that age. After her dad hits her, spurring them to finally run away, Jayni says 'My teeth felt funny too. I hoped they weren't going to fall out. Still, it might make my cheeks look hollow.' Why would a child care about their fat face? It's crazy.

Another passage says that she is getting too big for children's clothes and they buy her a new jackets from the women's section, which implies that she is not a child any more. She also buys a pair of new shoes. 'Oh, those new shoes - wonderful, strappy sling-back stilettos for Mum and my first pair of proper grown-up heels too. They were only little heels but I still couldn't cross the room in them without twisting my ankles.' Do children care much about shoes, it seems more like a teenager obsession.

Lola Rose knows a lot about sex and relationships too. A bit too much. When her mum has a fling with a footballer Lola Rose knows it is wrong and has to tell her mum to stop before her dad finds out and does something bad. Once her mum gets a job at a pub she seems to get chummy with the pub owner. Lola Rose doesn't like this and says 'It sounds like this Barry guy is more interested in your nice bum.' A bit of an adult comment. Then her mum gets a new boyfriend Jake. Lola Rose states 'I wasn't in any hurry to meet him. I was very glad that we only had one bedroom , and Kendell and I were sprawled right across the only bed.' It would never have crossed my ten year old mind that adults did naughty things on a bed. Lola Rose even puts on a lot of make-up, she knows how to apply it better than I do now, and goes out in her mum's clothes to meet boys. She even wants to snog. I'm pretty sure at that age boys are still icky.

I'm not sure if this is a statement on what a bad parent the mum is or what, but she often leaves Lola Rose on her own for long periods of time. Is this a usual thing for mums to do? My mum never left me alone at night when I was ten but then some others might have. I may just have a nice mum.

Now you tell me, does this sound like something a ten year old would say; 'You've been down the pub drinking while I've been worrying myself sick wondering where you are!' Is this just Wilson trying to get across that Lola Rose is very grown-up, because she's made her point heavily. Obviously, Lola Rose had to grow up quickly because her mum wasn't being very grown up but it seems to be getting a bit ridiculous now.

The worst thing to happen in the book is Lola Rose's mum gets breast cancer. I don't think I knew what cancer was at her age. I mean, I probably heard of it before but Lola Rose seems to know everything about it, like how bad it is and what could happen. It surprised me a bit.

There are so many examples of a much older voice in this book and I can't mention them all. I'm planning on doing a young adult novel for my Extended Creative Piece (the Creative Writing version of a dissertation) and I always thought Wilson's work was a good example of how to write a child's voice. I not so sure any more. Or maybe being a ten year old is a lot different to how I remembered it. I will have to read more of Wilson's work again to gage if all of them have off-putting voices.

Friday, 9 March 2012

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!

Monday, 5 December 2011

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

Sunday, 22 May 2011

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!

The Imaginings of a Creative Writer

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Saturday, 19 January 2013

University Grades - The Final Semester