Creative Writing Writing is a lonely business. Th…
Creative Writing
Writing is a lonely business. That�s why I like it. Recently, I went to an open meeting where academics, writers and students discussed Creative Writing courses. Afterwards, I said it felt like a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. �Hi, my name�s Steve. I write.� And yet, I also felt it had nothing to do with me. Here�s why:
There must be hundreds of online Creative Writing sites. I�ve seen only a couple. But let me tell you, if they are representative, you�re better off going down the pub and wrecking your liver. The Art of Writing ezine, in mitigation, has two novelty features: a Poetry Generator and Story Starter. The former provides a first line for inspiration. Here�s what popped up for me:
�In the brothel of flattery the pillars thrall�
Well, the only line I can think of that rhymes ends with �cod-Romantic doggerel�.
Alternatively, the Story Starter gives ideas for characters, locations and even symbols. All very innocent and fun, I suppose. A writer called Elspeth Lachlan has written a story using this feature. It�s called �The Glassblower and the Golem�. It starts with the obligatory �gripping� first line in which a �hideous� creature appears. Description is provided. Then the Glassblower is introduced:
�As Malcolm stood stooped and sweating in the cramped chamber of his annealing oven, the answer rippled across his consciousness like a pebble of truth thrown into a swamp of denial�.
Oh dear. Surely everyone knows a hero cannot be called Malcolm?
Other SpikeMagazine.com posts of interest:
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