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Post by ARENA on Mar 14, 2014 12:30:24 GMT
Friday afternoons ,we have a writing class at our house. A few of us budding and published writers meet ,to discuss writing in general. One of our circle is Susan Moody, a well known crime writer. If you haven't read any of her works, you should! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Moody |
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Post by goldelox on Mar 15, 2014 10:56:37 GMT
Never heard of her.
Going to check her out on Amazon.
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Post by jimshoo on Mar 15, 2014 11:07:10 GMT
Couldn't write to save my life but I enjoy a good read.
I like who dunn its
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2014 9:09:22 GMT
Couldn't write to save my life but I enjoy a good read. I like who dunn its Anybody can write Jim. However the key is if anyone wants to read it! I have tried in the past and gave up. Life got in the way. And the publishers were almost certainly good judges of what was crap. |
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Post by goldelox on Mar 17, 2014 10:11:23 GMT
Re Susan Moody, she has written a lot.
I find writing an e mail difficult Jonjel but I do love a good read.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2014 14:09:00 GMT
Re Susan Moody, she has written a lot. I find writing an e mail difficult Jonjel but I do love a good read. Writing is largely down to practice Goldilox. I used to tell staff that when they write a letter (if it does not come as second nature) then make a couple of one word notes as to what they are going to say, then write as if they are talking to the person the other side of the desk. I can tell you that I still receive e-mails from well qualified, sadly usually young people which are almost unintelligable. And these are people who have been through n years of school and at least 3 years of education. maybe the days of a piece of paper coming back covered in red ink was no bad thing.... |
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Post by goldelox on Mar 18, 2014 13:48:33 GMT
I tried. I even went to classes but I don't have the flare!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2014 15:17:04 GMT
I tried. I even went to classes but I don't have the flare! Keep trying. Just write a test piece and keep re-visiting it. It is what I used to do (and still sometimes try) with what I laughingly call peotry. If you read a lot, then you can write. But you will never be able to write if you don't read, and I don't mean Mills and Boone, I mean the stuff that puts the hairs up on the back of your neck, for example the opening passage from Under Milk Wood |
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Post by scorp on Mar 18, 2014 16:52:15 GMT
"... the cobblestreets silent and the hunched, courters'-and-rabbits' wood limping invisible down to the sloeblack, slow, black, crowblack, fishingboatbobbing sea..."
Pure magical use of words - straight into your brain! I've loved it ever since it was first broadcast - in the BBC Third Programme: none of yer 'Radio Three' nonsense.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2014 8:56:17 GMT
Absolutely Scorp. I had a recording of the original, with Thomas himself reading, but the one I have always loved is Richard Burton. That would be one of my records to take on a desert island.
Horses like anthracite status instantly summons up a picture of horses standing in the rain.
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Post by scorp on Mar 19, 2014 10:19:35 GMT
The original broadcast had two narrators, of which Burton was one. The later version had both parts read by Burton.
I thought the film version was a terrible mistake - somewhat perverse to take something self-described as 'A play for voices' and film it! Mind you I will always see Mog Edwards as played by Victor Spinetti in my mind's eye... As for Elizabeth Taylor as Rosie Probert -noooo! 'Come on up boys. I'm dead...'
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2014 11:46:53 GMT
I never saw the film Scorp and think I am grateful for that fact.
I am usually wrong but I think Thomas wrote the play on a commission from the BBC because he needed the money. I was told he did not get much for it, and drank most of that in the pub in very short time.
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Post by ARENA on Mar 29, 2014 10:05:11 GMT
I must take you to task there, JJ.
Writing ,like most talents ,requires apptitude. Certainly practice will hone a skill but first you need a skill to hone.
Your statement about DT bears this out. Most of his inspiration came when he wanted another six pints and had no money. A large part of his works belonged to the publican.Yet if you and I try to emulate these ,quickly dashed off masterpieces, they're not quite the same.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2014 7:54:49 GMT
You could be right Arena - probably are. I suppose that because I have had to write lots of technical stuff for so many years, and edit some as well I am out of touch with the real world. One of my guys here is pretty good, another is very poor, and he is the one who does all the work on or web site!
'Comprises of' gets my hackles up, and I see it in a lot of publicity received in the office.
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Post by ARENA on Mar 31, 2014 12:36:15 GMT
We had one woman, who joined our group, who was hopeless. Despite tuition from our pro members, she couldn't write an original line. We really tried with her but were most relieved when she gave up!
It's a little to do with observation, too. When Mrs A and I used to give art classes, a few years back, the first test, was to get them to draw a bycycle. Didn't have to be brilliant sketch, just remember what one looked like and draw it.
You'd be surprised how few people know what that, every-day object looked like....
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