An MFA in Hong Kong

Want to do an MFA in Creative Writing?  There has been a dearth of courses in Asia, so writers from this part of the world usually look to the UK, the US and Australia - if they can even afford to consider it. Now the City University of Hong Kong has started up :

... the first low-residency MFA to be established in Asia, and the only programme in the world with a specific focus on Asian writing.

Full details of the 2 year course can be found here, and the schedule here. There are some very well-qualified people teaching and writers in residence are Xu Xi and Timothy Mo.

So much for the good news.  How much does it cost?  The course fees are HK$143,100 (or approximately US$18,465 or RM64,098). But:

The Department of English will award a ONE-YEAR FULL TUITION SCHOLARSHIP to a 2010 candidate for the MFA. The winner will be the applicant who submits the sample of creative writing that demonstrates the greatest potential for success as a professional literary author. Applicants in any genre are eligible, as long as they meet the acceptance criteria for the degree. There is no restriction as to country of residence, age or nationality. All applicants will be automatically considered for the scholarship; no further application is required.

Go for it, guys!

(Info comes from Bernice Chauly who has just returned from a workshop in Hong Kong.)

What We Did in Our Second Workshop

The second week of the British Council's City of Stories workshops was lead by author Ardashir Vakil, whose first novel Beach Boy won a Betty Trask Award in 1997 and was shortlisted for the Whitbread (now Costa).  His second novel One Day was shortlisted for the Encore Award. (Sadly, neither novel was available in the local bookshops.) Ardu teaches creative writing at Goldsmith's College, London.

We were worked pretty hard throughout, with plenty more tasks and readings to keep us busy in between.

We did more exercises to develop character : we took a character from our fiction and described them ravenous with hunger for a particualr food, and then wrote about the last time they had eaten it; we placed our character in a room and described it ,and then wrote about a place where they would like to be; we described their favourite object. We wrote about who we were (Me? A brit dispalced ... a neither here nor there person ... too big, too loud too messy.)

We put stories under the microscope to see how they worked : The Kiss by Chekhov, in which a man's life is changed by a single kiss a mistake in the darkness and Jumpha Lahiri's Sexy (from The Interpreter of Maladies).  We saw how economically character can be brought to life in one or two telling details, and at how so much meaning can be carried in just a few words. ("Less is More" was one of the mantras of the workshops.)

And we looked at a much more complex and skillfully handled story, Five Points by Alice Munro, we looked at shifts of time and how transitions were made. (And now I realise what a bad reader of Munro's work I have been.  You can't hurry them, need to read and reread, and tease them out.)

We spent all day Saturday workshopping pieces of our own writing. It was done kindly and everyone I think took something very useful away from from the experience.

And one of the most fun things we did on Sunday was to go down to Petaling Street, to watch the crowds and record the things our senses took in.

(We sat down to write wherever we could ... and of course a nice beer helped!)

We had to make notes on one particular character who we could use later for our fiction.  (I met this fascinating guy called Jack who was selling bamboo whistles from his motorcyle tricycle.)

We came back to the British Council to share pieces of writing that had inspired us and pieces of writing from our notebooks which we had written over the previous few days.

I'm sad that the whole thing is over - I've come away from the experience feeling re-enthused and validated, and I feel I know how to move forward with the pieces I shared.

My greatest wish is that we could have more workshops of this kind so that more local writers can benefit. My greatest thanks to Ardu and Sarah and to the British Council for providing us with this opportunity - I feel mighty privileged to have been part of it.

Postscript :

Do read Damyanti's excellent take on the two workshops too. She fills in the gaps and says all the things I forgot to say.

Daphne's Workshops

I told you the other day that I would put up something about Daphne Lee's workshops with Learning Works - here 'tis :

Creative Writing For Kids

Good writing begins with reading.

Successful writers all agree that reading avidly and widely is a vital key to writing well. This course, conducted by children’s literature columnist, writer and editor Daphne Lee, will immerse its participants in the stimulating world of literature through a wide range of fiction, poetry and plays.

Participants will:

• be encouraged to read more critically and analytically.

• learn to discover their authorial voice; how to develop interesting and convincing plots, create believeable characters and build atmosphere.

• be taught about the different narrative perspectives and how to choose the one that works best.

• be introduced to different genres and styles, as well as the use of imagery: metaphors, similes, personification etc

• work on one writing exercise per session, and at least one fully-supported major writing project a year.

New intake commences 6th March 2010

Classes are conducted every Saturday at

3.00-4.00 p.m. for 7-12 year olds

5.00-6.00pm for 13-17 year olds

Cost: RM130 per month

Registration: RM20

Deposit: One month

Venue: Learning Works, 74 Jln BU 11/6, Petaling Jaya

Call Daphne at 016-328 1513 or Eileen at 012-207 2845 or email mylearningworks AT gmail DOT com for more information or to reserve your space.
***

It’s Only Words?: Writing A Picture Book

The term “picture book” might give one the impression that the pictures are the most important part of such a piece of work, but words tell the story in a picture book as much as the pictures do.

So what makes good picture book text?

In this workshop, Daphne Lee explores and discusses the qualities of good picture book writing by drawing on reviews and criticism and by examining classic and contemporary picture book texts. Participants may email in one manuscript each to be evaluated during the workshop.

Suitable for aspiring children’s authors.

Date: 30 Jan 2010

Time: 10.00 a.m.-4.00 p.m. (1 hr break for lunch)

Venue: Learning Works @ 74, Jln BU 11/6, Petaling Jaya

Fee: RM199 per participant

Registration: RM20

Call Daphne at 016-328 1513 or Eileen at 012-207 2845 or email mylearningworks AT gmail DOT com for more information or to reserve your space.

****
Reading Picture Books With Children

By choosing to use picture books at home and in the classroom, parents, caregivers and teachers have the privilege and pleasure of introducing a thoroughly enjoyable and magical route to learning.

Picture books may be used in many ways and in every area of the curriculum, to meet a variety of goals and introduce a wide range of subjects and themes.

As caregivers and teachers, we are only limited in our use of these books by our imagination and the willingness of children to explore situations and worlds both familiar and new.

In this course, Daphne Lee will introduce participants to picture books, ways of turning children on to their magic, as well as how to avoid turning them off.

The course will include practical sessions on how to select books (picture books and others); how to read effectively both in one-on-one and group situations; how to link other activities to your chosen book; and how to conduct a literature circle for young children.

This workshop is suitable for early childhood educators, professional caregivers, volunteers, parents and just about anyone who wishes to share the magic of reading with children.

Date: 27 February 2010

Time: 2.30-5.30 p.m.

Venue: Learning Works @ 74, Jln BU 11/6, Petaling Jaya

Fee: RM150 per participant

Registration: RM20

Class size: 6-20 participants

Call Daphne at 016-328 1513 or Eileen at 012-207 2845 or email mylearningworks AT gmail DOT com for more information or to reserve your space.

****
So, You Want To Write A Children’s Book?

The Malaysian children’s publishing industry is still in its infancy and one of the things it lacks is authors who are passionate about writing children’s literature.

This course, conducted by Daphne Lee, will help aspiring writers of children’s books get started in their chosen field.

The course covers:

• an introduction to children’s literature, including types of books for children

• finding the right genre and subject to write about

• finding your own voice

• creating characters and plots that young readers will enjoy

• how to avoid dumbing down

• writing in vernacular English

• illustrations for children’s books

• what to do once you’ve written your story

This guide to writing and getting published in Malaysia is a six-session course. There will be six weekly two-hour sessions.

Session dates: 20 & 27 February; 6, 13, 20 & 27 March 2010

Time: 10.00 a.m.-12.00 noon

Venue: Learning Works @ 74, Jln BU 11/6, Petaling Jaya

Fee: RM380 per participant

Registration: RM20

Call Daphne at 016-328 1513 or Eileen at 012-207 2845 or email mylearningworks AT gmail DOT com for more information or to reserve your space.

Imagining The Nation

This from Jo Kukathas who urges you to sign up quickly if you are interested as places are very limited :

Imagining the Nation: A Play-writing Workshop with Sakate Yoji

Epitaph For The Whales/ Breathless/The Attic - the plays of Sakate Yoji

THE PLAYS OF SAKATE YOJI

Most of Mr. Sakate's works are based on real political history and events and social issues in Japan - the rise of garbage, the rise of Japanese cults, and the phenomenon of "hikikomori," or the "withdrawal" of people into their homes - young people who refuse to come out and engage with society. He focuses on how myths - national, traditional and social - lead people to believe in false realities. He writes plays that lay bare a more bizarre reality. He has created and directed several masterpieces in theatre by introducing his own particular method of documentary writing, myth-making.

At the same time, his plays are inspired by the dramaturgy of traditional Japanese Noh theatre, established by Zeeami. He structures social issues as well as mythological visions of Japanese people - these two strands run parallel in his plays and are based on his unique dramaturgy inspired by Noh.

THE WORKSHOP

This two day workshop will focus on Mr Sakate's play-writing technique and style. Participants are required to attend his talk on Jan 8 where Sakate will introduce his work and Matsui Kentaro will give a talk about Japanese theatre.

INTRODUCTION and TALK

Jan 8 830pm

IMAGINING THE NATION: A history of Japanese theatre - Continuity and Discontinuity

A talk by MATSUI KENTARO producer and dramaturg and Director of The Asia Centre for Creation and Research, Tokyo on the history of Japanese theatre from noh to the present day.

"Imagining the Nation is based on the idea that language is a means for the making the notion of the “nation state”. From the perspective of theatre as the art of language, the theatre has to have its own particular function to be able to develop the notion of “nation” and “nation state” through making and presenting plays. It doesn't only mean using languages for writing plays - rather theatre has its own theatrical language with spaces, acting, directing, musical elements and so on. These theatrical languages have been influential to people to get the images of 'nation'."

NARRATING THE NATION: The Plays of Sakate Yoji - Epitaph For The Whales/ Breathless/The Attic

A presentation by Sakate Yoji playwright/ director of theatre company RIN KO GUN and President of the Playwrights Association of Japan who shares his body of work and talks about the contemporary theatre movement in Japan.


PLAYWRIGHTS WORKSHOP PART 1 with SAKATE YOJI

Jan 9 1030am - 3pm

An introduction to the work of Sakate Yoji - political realism, documentary and mythology in a single play. The parallel worlds of Sakate Yoji's plays.


PLAYWRIGHTS WORKSHOP PART 1 with SAKATE YOJI

Jan 10 1030am - 3pm

A more in-depth look at the marriage of style, technique and content.


(Closed event. Participants must register first. Please e mail jokukathas@gmail.com to register)

WORKSHOP FEE:: RM80 inclusive of lunch


THIS EVENT HAS A SISTER EVENT: X CHANGE!

A MALAYSIAN JAPANESE THEATRE EXCHANGE

Is the NATION a FICTION or a REALITY? And who creates the NATION?

Who creates the fiction of a nation? Who dreams these things up? Who dreams up a One Malaysia or a Rising Sun? Of a Vision 2020 or A Malaysia Truly Asia?

Theatre is one place where alternative realities of a country are imagined and therefore created. It is a country of Gold Rain and Hailstones. A Country which dreams of Atomic Jaya. A Country where the Death of a Patriot is not the death of a Patriot and where you cannot **** Mr Birch. It is Brickfields, The Sandpit and Bolehwood, a place where Pak Dogol, Tok Perak, Athan and Ang Tau Mui live out their lives in the margins of the main narrative.

In this Exchange between Malaysian and Japanese speakers we ask how theatre can and should create strong alternative fictions to any fiction of One-ness.

CHECK OUT OUR EVENT PAGE ON THIS - COMING SOON.

PROFILES

SAKATE YOJI

Was born in 1962, in Okayama. He grew up in the region before went to Tokyo to study Japanese literature at Keio University. In 1981, he became a member of Transposition 21 Theatre Company while he was still a university student.

Transposition 21 was led by YAMAZAKI Tetsu, who was born in 1947, a playwright and director. YAMAZAKI is one of the leading figures of the second generation of the little theatre movement (shogekijo undo) or post-shingeki movement which began in 1960s. This is the theatre which SAKATE first came across and which influenced him.

In 1983, SAKATE formed a new theatre group, the Theatre Company RINKOGUN with himself as leader, playwright and director. He is politically active and his plays, like YAMAZAKI’s, have strong views on contemporary political and social issue in Japan. RINKOGUN’s productions are the result of an innovative collaboration among its residential artists including the stage and lighting designers.

SAKATE has achieved his first major breakthrough with two plays, The Tokyo Trial and A Dangerous Story, which he wrote in 1988. Both plays are about the injustices of the legal system. He wrote a play about lesbians, Come Out in 1989, and Breathless in 1991. Breathless, which discusses the problem of the garbage in Tokyo and the religious cult, Aum Shinrikyo (threatened the Japanese nation with their poison gas murder of Tokyo subway commuters in 1995), had received the Thirty-fifth Kishida Drama Award.

SAKATE wrote Epitaph of the Whales and The Capital of the Kingdom of the Gods in 1993. He continues his experiments in the use of noh in Capital of the Kingdom of the Gods. The play is about Lafcadio Hearn, a writer who came to Japan at the end of 19th century. The production toured in Europe and U.S.A in 1994, 1995 and 1998 to great acclaim. The Boiling Point of the Sea (Umi no futten) in 1997 discusses the situation of the land and the people of Okinawa, Japan’s most southern and newest prefecture.

In 2001, the group traveled to Berlin, Leipzig, Krakow, and Warsaw with their production of Breathless. The company has also created work in collaboration with theatre artists from abroad. Whalers in the South Seas, a work produced in 2000 is created with actors from Indonesia, Philippines and U.S.A.. The company's acclaimed production of The Attic was appeared in Pittsburgh, Miami, Los Angeles and New York in February 2005.

AWARDS
2000:
- Winner, 7th Yomiuri Theater Award for Best Direction - The Emperor and The Kiss (Tenno to Seppun)

- Nominee, 7th Yomiuri Theater Award for Best Production, RINKOGUN - The Emperor and The Kiss

2003:
- Winner, 10th Yomiuri Theater Award for Best Direction, Yoji Sakate - The Attic (Yaneura), Until the Last Person Standing (Saigo no Hitori Made ga Zentai de Aru), Charlie Victor Romeo, Abe Sada and Mutsuo (Abe Sada to Mutsuo)

- Winner, 54th Yomiuri Literature Prize (Drama), Yoji Sakate - The Attic (Yaneura) http://www.curtainup.com/attic.html

- Winner, 37th Kinokuniya Theater Award for Individual Achievement, Yoji Sakate - The Attic (Yaneura), Until the Last Person Standing and Blind Touch (produced by Theatre group EN)

- Nominee, 10th Yomiuri Theater Award for Best Production, RINKOGUN - Until the Last Person Standing (Saigo no Hitori Made ga Zentai de Aru)

MATSUI KENTARO

Mr Matsui set up the Asia Centre For Creation and Research to help develop Exchanges between Asian countries. His long-term goal is to facilitate intellectual and creative exchange between Asian producers, researchers and artists. He has worked extensively with Asian theatre people often in collaboration with the Japan Foundation. He was the producer of the Malaysian Japanese collaboration The Island In Between/Pulau Antara written by Jo Kukathas and Kam Raslan. He created and facilitated a 3 year Asian collaboration project with participants from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and the Philippines. The Malaysian participants, Jo Kukathas (Instant Café), Loh Kok Man (Pentas Projects) and Nam Ron (Rumah Anak Theatre RAT) continue to collaborate in Malaysia. Mr Matsui wants to build on the strong connections made in previous collaborations and deepen the exchanges on a intellectual and research level.

--
Jo Kukathas
Director
The Instant
CAFE HOUSE of ART and IDEAS
[CHAI]

No 6 Jalan 6/3
Petaling Jaya 46000
Selangor
Malaysia
(+6) 03- 77848792
(+6) 0163582035

City of Stories : The Workshops

Long awaited news from British Council :

City of Stories is a project under the British Council’s Creative Cities programme, with the aim of demonstrating through the arts how a city is inclusive of many different voices, with the city at the heart of the innovation and creative process. In February 2009 we ran a series of creative writing workshops in partnership with MPH and London based Spread the Word, and are back again with a second series of workshops and events to further bring out the best of new Malaysian writing.

SARAH BUTLER’S TALK on “SO YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER?”
- A TALK on BECOMING A WRITER
13 January 2010, 8:00pm – 9:30pm, MPH Bookstore One Utama

Ever wondered what it’s like to be a professional writer? Harbouring ambitions of being the next Booker prize winner? This talk by Sarah Butler will inform a curious audience on the process of creative writing and to inspire budding writers and expose them to the life of a professional writer.

Sarah will talk about her experience as a writer; from what inspired her to go down this path to how she got to where she now. She will be sharing some examples of various kinds of writing projects she’s involved with including residencies and public art commissions.

Deadline for application is 10 January 2010


SARAH BUTLER’S BEGINNERS WORKSHOP
15 January 2010, 10:00am – 4:00pm, MPH Bookstore One Utama

Get started, keep going…

A fun informal day for people new to creative writing, and those wanting to refresh their creative energy. We will look at how to generate ideas, how to silence our internal critics, and how to keep going once we’ve got started. Come prepared to write, experiment, meet other local writers and have fun; leave with a wealth of new ideas.

Sarah Butler writes novels and short fiction. She has been published in anthologies (Route, Tindal Street Press, Pen and Ink Press, Monsoon Press) and journals (including pulp.net and Litro), and has held various residencies, including writer-in-residence on the Central line, for Art on the Underground. Sarah lives in London and runs UrbanWords , a literature consultancy, which specialises in projects using creative writing as a way to explore and question our relationship to place.


ARDASHIR VAKIL’S BEGINNERS WORKSHOP
22 January 2010 , 10:00am – 4:00pm, MPH Bookstore One Utama

Come to this day with no expectations of who you are, what you will achieve or whether you have any talent as a writer. Expect only to participate strenuously in a range of stimulating activities that require you to write, talk, listen, read and think. We will be looking for where transformation might be possible. This course aims to send you away, full of yourself and full of new ideas about who you are in the world.

Ardashir Vakil was born in Bombay and now lives in London. He was educated at The Doon School in Dehradun, India and at Cambridge University. He has taught English at several London comprehensive schools and currently teaches Creative Writing at Goldsmiths, University of London. His short stories have been anthologised and broadcast on BBC Radio. His first novel, Beach Boy (1997), charts the adventures of 8-year old Cyrus Readymoney who lives in Bombay. It was translated into eight languages, won a Betty Trask Award and was shortlisted for the 1997 Whitbread First Novel Award. His second novel, One Day (2003), is set in North London and was shortlisted for the Encore Award.

Application criteria for both workshops:
 First time writers who are writing for pleasure or/and just starting
 Might be in a class or writing group
 Workshop fee is RM30 (including lunch)

Terms & conditions:
* Workshops are open to participants aged 18 years old and above
* All workshops are limited to 15 participants only

Deadline for application is 10 January 2010
ADVANCED WORKSHOP
MPH Bookstore One Utama

12 January from 7:00pm – 9:00pm with Sarah Butler
14 January from 7:00pm – 10:00pm with Sarah Butler
16 & 17 January from 10:00am – 4:00pm with Sarah Butler
20 January from 7:00pm – 9:00pm with Ardashir Vakil
21 January from 7:00pm – 10:00pm with Ardashir Vakil
23 & 24 January from 10:00am – 4:00pm with Ardashir Vakil

A two week course for people who have begun writing or who have been writing for some time. The course will start, both in week 1 and week 2, with looking at where you have got to with your writing and sharing what you have done so far with the group.

Please come prepared with a short extract (2-4 pgs) of your best work. You should be prepared to allow time to develop new ideas, experiment with form and voice, and be keen to gain skills in constructive criticism. We will look carefully at each other’s work, but we will also take a careful look at examples of other people’s writing to see how voice, structure and language can be used to maximum effect.

For week 2 we will require you to bring along a text that has been an inspiration to you as a writer (2-4 pages long), to introduce and share with the group. You will work alongside other motivated writers to push your writing to the next level. We aim to enrich your repertoire as a writer by generating new ideas, working on drafts and finding routes to your true voices and your strong subjects.

Application criteria for all both workshops:
 Published writers (short stories, articles, )
 Trying to improve specific aspects of their writing
 Trying to get to the next stage in their careers
 Workshop fee is RM200 ((including refreshments and lunch)

Terms & conditions:
* Workshops are open to participants aged 18 years old and above
* All workshops are limited to 15 participants only

Deadline for application is 10 January 2010


“SO YOU THINK YOU CAN WRITE?” - AN AVENUE FOR CREATIVE WRITERS…
22 January 2010, 8:00pm – 9:30pm, PJLA

From any background to showcase their work through a public “audition” process to help popularise writing and literature while providing a relaxed, informal platform to receive feedback.

It’s time to bring out your manuscripts or grab fresh pen and paper and give us your best work to see if the public and our panel of judges think you have what it takes. This is your chance to get honest feedback from those in the industry as well as your future readers.

Your work will be read on stage by professional actors –our friends from Instant Café Theatre– there’ll be drinks on hand, a relaxed and supportive atmosphere, and fame possibly waiting round the corner. If that isn’t enough, there’s even a prize for the best work…

Manuscripts are to be submitted in advance for the panel of judges to read.

Award for the Winner!
 Professional Development Planning with Spread the Word (UK) that gives you the space to step back, review your priorities and devise a route forward to get to where you want to be

Terms & conditions:
* All manuscripts must be submitted are limited to 1500 words only

Deadline for application is 10 January 2010

You will need the application form from British Council to apply for the workshops, so please drop an e-mail to Joanne.Low@britishcouncil.org.my to ask for it. (I also have a copy of it I can forward to you so contact sharonbakar@yahoo.com).

Kids - Make Your Own Book!

Daphne Lee sent me news of a workshop she's running for kids :

Create a story with words and pictures, and then turn your work into a book!

Daphne Lee, children's and YA literature columnist for The Star will conduct a picture book-making workshop for children age seven to 11.

In this three-day course participants will learn the basics of creative writing; story-illustration; and book-making.

This fun and interesting workshop will arm children with skills that they can use to ... turn their own stories into books; make scrapbooks and photo albums; present school reports in an interesting and eye-catching way.

The workshop costs RM199 per participant.

All materials will be provided.

Dates: Two sessions available:

7th-9th December, 2009

or

18th-20th December, 2009

Time: 10am-Noon

Venue: Learning Works, 74 Jln BU 11/6, Petaling Jaya

Course outline:

Day 1: Create a story
Learn how to create an original story with an interesting plot and characters.

Day 2: Illustrate your story
Learn how to create pictures using pencil, paint, collage and other media to complement and add to your story.

Day 3: Make your book
Turn your words and pictures into a book, and create an eye-catching cover for it.

To reserve a place, please contact Daphne at 016-328 1513 or Eileen at 012 207 2845

For more information email dramprojects@gmail.com or call 016-328 1513

Places are limited so sign up now!

*Sigh* Now why do these nice things always have to be for children?

Well, Dickens Didn't Do an MA in Creative Writing ...

Are writers born or do they emerge after a year of being 'workshopped' on a creative writing course? There is evidence either way Dickens didn't sit through an MA in the fens, yet the starry alumni graduating from Iowa's Writers' Worshop and the University of East Anglia's Creative Writing MA hint at the fact that writing fiction is not a given birthright, but a learned art.

Arifa Akbar in The Independent looks at the question of whether authors just need solitutde and to get on with it, or whether a formal course in creative writing actually helps. It is a debate that has come up several times before on this blog - and, as we have seen, there are one size fits all answers.

How Creative Writing Programmes Shaped the American Literary Landscape

For those interested in the debate about whether creative writing can be taught or not, and the effectiveness of such courses, there is a fascinating (but very lengthy) overview of the impact of such courses on the American writing landscape at The New Yorker. Lois Menand, himself the product of a creative writing course (an experience he says he would not trade for anything) draws on Mark McGurl's The Program Era : Postwar Writing and the Rise of Creative Fiction . This book is also reviewed at Conversational Reading where Andrew Seal finds it :

... a book that is very likely to matter, and a book that is very likely to lead to some very exciting and productive conversations about how American literature should be mapped and how it should be read—and written.

Our Not So Hidden Selves

(Cont. from yesterday)

The theme of the second workshop I attended was Our Hidden Selves. Author Jeremy Sheldon (above) started us off gently with an "I remember ..." freewriting exercise (where, as the ink got flowing, I found myself waist deep in muddy water in the convent fishpond while my the nuns and little kids stood gawping like goldfish at the sides.)

Then Jeremy put up a grid diagram on the whiteboard and marked the axes - high intensity/low intensity, positive/negative. We took turns to name an emotion (jealousy, anger, romantic longing, apathy ...) and talk about where we would situate it on the grid. This, of course, generated debate. And this lead Jeremy to make the point he'd been moving towards all along - no-one else pinpoints emotions in exactly the same way as you do and therefore when you write you need to argue your account of an emotion your way, and as precisely as you can.

We moved on did an exercise writing from the point of view of a child inhabiting a safe place - I wrote a piece about my place of safety - the English stockroom at school where I hid among books - a piece that actually belongs I think in a story I have been hovering on the brink of for some time ...

(Actually it was interesting how several of us in the group found an escape from unhappy situations in a place with books ... Or maybe it wasn't surprising given that writers are readers ...)

It was an emotionally demanding day with packets of tissues being passed around : we were writing from deep and dangerous places where the feelings were still raw.

In the afternoon as a warmer we freewrote about our names for a while (a great exercise this and I could have gone on and on).

Then we jumped into an exercise which took as a stating point the phrase "What I never said to you" ... and oh, I found myself in a very painful place where I still feel a whole mix of things ... hurt and anger. But as Jeremy said, unfortunately the things that are bad for us as human beings are good for us as writers.

Then we turned the pieces we had written around and jumped into fiction by putting ourselves in the shoes of the other person. I found it a tough thing to do ... but I want to come back to both of these exercises having opened a lot of unresolved issues up.

We talked about how short stories hinge on a moment of change, a moment of realisation that tips the balance ... or perhaps in a story that point is reached and nothing happens. And about how characters get what they need, not what they thought they wanted.

Again there was much good writing, a great deal of honesty, from the group as a whole. Jeremy was an excellent listener and able to feedback the strengths of our pieces of improvisation in a very useful way. There's something too about the energy that writing in a group creates ...

Writing and Place

Now I have to transmute scribbled jottings in notebooks, my souvenir from three straight days at the British Council's City of Stories creative writing workshops, into something coherent for my blog. I promised to share what I learned with other folks not lucky enough to get into my workshops, while other participants have said that they will be writing theirs. If you would like to write something and don't have a blog - well, I have this space you could use! If you do blog an entry, I will be happy to link to you. (Let's shaaaaare!)

Sarah Butler's Friday workshop Writing & Place began with a quick warmer. We interviewed a partner and found out about their favourite place. Then we had to write down 2 things we loved about KL, two things we hated. We read them back around the group, alternating between the positives and negatives and Sarah said that just from that she got a very good impression of the city and what it was like to live here.

We went on to think about our relationship to place. We wrote a description of a place that used to frighten us as a child. (For me it was a chance to revisit the carillon bell tower in Loughborough ... a place I still have nightmares about.)

We then looked at how other writers had described place and in groups looked at three extracts - Arundhati Roy's description of May in Ayemenen from The God of Small Things, Dicken's description of the fog from Bleak House, and an extract from The Hiding Place by Theresa Azzopardi. An interesting whole group discussion on the such factors as use of detail, style, rhythm followed, and the group was pretty much divided as to whether we preferred the richness and piled up images of Roy and Dickens, or the more pared down directness of Azzopardi.

We moved on to an exercise I liked so much I must definitely steal it for my own classes. Everyone wrote down the name of a (fairly specific) place on a piece of paper, and on another the name of an emotion. The papers were then redistributed randomly so that everyone had a new place and emotion and then we freewrote about it. (I got a toughie - nostalgia and a KL rapid bus and was glad I didn't have to read it out!)


In the afternoon we concentrated on a specific building in the city and thought about it in various ways. What can it see, and what can't it? What affects it? What is it made of? What associations do you have with it? We then did the same kind of thing with an open space, before writing a piece which was a conversation between buildings. (I had a rather supercilious Petronas Twin Towers talking down to Wisma Selangor Dredging who was fretting over its lost reflection of Bok House!)

Then another very nice exercise which I shall nick for my own use. Sarah showed us some "maps of the imagination" (I think they were taken from this book) which showed different kinds of personal journeys - some through place, others through life.

We then drew a journey of our own through part of the city and marked it with all kinds of personal details. (I drew the area round central market and marked on it such landmarks as the spot where I saw Bandaraya guys fish a crocodile out of the Klang River; the place where I saw Jackie Chan hanging from a helicopter; the beggar outside the LRT station who I always feel like screaming at because I don't want to be confronted by his ugliness; the Dayabumi building which David Copperfield was supposed to make disappear on the day I was sitting a diploma exam etc etc.)


Then we exchanged maps and with someone else's in hand, wrote a piece of fiction. I got a map which had Taman Connaught in the corner and my mind went leaping off to the days when I used to go for extended dim sun breakfasts with my colleagues which got turned into fiction.

It was a great day. I could feel my flabby writing muscles tauten again, and I really enjoyed the pieces written by the other members of the group. It was also great to experience being the other side of the workshop facilitator's desk for a while and see how it felt ....

(More to come!)

Photos of miscellaneous course participants working hard. How many can you name?

City of Stories

The British Council, MPH, and London based Spread the Word are organising a series of creative writing workshops for aspiring and developing local writers from 11 – 20 Feb 2009. Here's the blurb :

Everyone loves a good story and these sessions will help writers hone their storytelling skills inspired by real lives and our urban setting. Whether you’re a first time writer or a published author, there’ll be a workshop for you!

Check out the workshop descriptions, timetable and registration details here.

Limited spaces so register early to avoid disappointment!

Everyone has a story to tell and our experienced writer-facilitators from the UK will help unearth the stories from amongst the everyday.

City of Stories will encourage participants to derive inspiration from their surroundings for the production of written work. The writers’ skills will be developed through innovative activities that creatively and sensitively engage the writers with their cities and with the people who inhabit these spaces.

Jeremy Sheldon and Sarah Butler from Spread The Word are the workshop facilitators.

Check out the workshop descriptions here.

Registering for workshops

The creative writing workshops are divided into two categories: beginner writers and advanced writers.

Beginner writers are first time writers who are writing for pleasure, just starting out, who might be in a class or writing group.

Advanced writers are published writers (short stories, articles, non-fiction, etc.) who are either trying to improve specific aspects of their writing, or are trying to get to the next stage in their careers.

Also note that workshops are open to participants aged 18 years old and above and limited to 12 participants a session.

Participation fee:

Half day workshops – no fee
One day workshops – RM 30 (includes lunch)
Two days workshop – RM 50 (includes lunch)

To register, download and complete the registration form and email it to: arts@britishcouncil.org.my

Advice Surgery :

Jeremy and Sarah will be in store at MPH 1 Utama and Mid Valley on 12, 17 and 19 Feb for 1:1 sessions with writers to give their work a full diagnostics. Each session is an hour long and starts from 2.30pm up to 9.30pm and no fee is charged.

If you wish to book an advice surgery session, contact us directly with your preferred date and also include your contact details, a summary of your writing experience and the work you wish you discuss during the session. Work submitted should not be more than 4,500 words.

About the workshop facilitators :

Jeremy Sheldon is the author of two works of fiction, The Comfort Zone and The Smiling Affair, as well as a number of anthologised short stories. He is a tutor on the MA in Creative Writing Programme at Birkbeck, University of London, and at Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine. He has led fiction workshops for the Arvon Foundation and Spread the Word in the UK and has taught internationally for organisations such as the Geneva Writers Conference and the British Council. In addition to this, Jeremy continues to work as a script editor and development consultant for script writers and film production companies. He graduated from the MA in Creative Writing at UEA in 1996.

Sarah Butler is a writer and freelance project manager with a particular interest in the relationship between writing and place. In 2006 she set up her consultancy, UrbanWords , to explore the area of creative writing and regeneration. Sarah’s background is in community and participatory literature development and has an MA in creative writing from University of East Anglia. She is currently writer-in-residence for a project called Almost an Island? based on the Greenwich Peninsula.

Spread the Word is a London based organisation dedicated to developing writers of all ages and at varying stages of their careers, leading workshops and support groups for writers, and working with writers who offer a tailored approach to education and outreach.

The programme falls under the British Council Inclusive Cities project, which aims to promote that the channels of artistic and cultural expression in a city are inclusive of and accessible to a diverse range of community groups.

Telling Your Life Story Workshop

Message from Eric :

In Conjunction with the MPH-Alliance Bank National Short Story Prize 2009, the MPH Group of Companies is proud to present a creative writing workshop entitled Telling Your Life Story conducted by Jim Plouffe, the engaging and personable editor-in-chief of Reader’s Digest Asia and Discovery Channel Magazine.

To register for the workshop, please contact: Customer Service MPH Mid Valley at 03-2938-3818 or email customerservice@mph.com.my or Customer Service MPH Megastore 1Utama at 03-7726-9003 or email csoneutama@mph.com.my or kylieyow@mph.com.my.

More details on Eric's blog.

What David's Been Doing

I hadn't heard from It's a Long Way to the Floor Author David Byck in quite a while, and the fatwa ruling nudged me into getting in touch with him again, as his book is the most powerful account of the benefits physical and mental of yoga you could hope to find. Not that he managed to tempt me to take it up (despite the gift of the yoga mat still hanging on a peg in my bedroom) - my toes still have to send an email to my fingers when they want to meet, and the only position I've really mastered is the corpse pose!

You may remember that David turned his energies to writing fiction, and read an extract for us from a novel in progress at Seksan's last year.

As anyone who's read Long Way can attest, David's enthusiasm and energy is catching, and I loved the Facebook message he sent me in reply to What are you up to? so much that I decided to post it here, with David's permission, to inspire those of you (make that, those of us!) who are less than fully committed to our writing. (Links added by me.)

Dear Sharon,

Thanks for asking what I’m up to. I know I’ve been quiet lately; not attending local readings and so on. Maybe when I tell you how I’ve been spending my time you’ll understand.

First off, I’ve decided I want to write for a living. Actually, I want to write novels. Yeah, I know, having these thoughts is one thing but seeing the words on my screen does give me pause.

Of course I’ve outlined a path that will hopefully lead to my attaining this lofty goal of novelist. Firstly, I’ve taken several creative writing courses here in Malaysia. They were very good and covered the basics of writing structure and storytelling but as I continued to write I realized I needed to master the finer details of the craft.

I picked up several books on the topic and digested as much of what the international experts had to say on the subject. Again, good, but it lacked the human factor. I think for some subjects one must participate in open discussions and debates and be able to ask questions and receive feedback. Reading, How To books can only go so far.

By chance, I heard of a New York literary agent, Donald Maass, who, in addition to his normal duties, also assists his clients in becoming better writers. Donald, a writer himself, has authored several books on writing and holds intensive workshops throughout the year.

In 2007 I flew to Oregon to attend his workshop, Writing the Breakout Novel. It was a lot of work but I enjoyed every minute of it. We began in the early morning, essentially worked through lunch and finished before dinner. The evening was spent on assignments that were due the following day.

One of the topics he covered was how to weave tension into our manuscripts. I thought the hour or so he spent on this subject was not enough. Several likeminded students approached him afterward and he promised to develop a workshop specifically on adding tension to every page. True to his word he did just that.

This past May I flew back to America specifically for this four-day workshop. On the way home I stopped by Gotham Writers’ in New York and had a one-on-one evaluation of my writing style - a reality check, I guess. It was a good way to end the trip. In addition to pointing out my weaknesses they suggested ways for improvement.

Another step I’ve taken is to increase the amount of time I spend reading. Although I read as much as the next person, I was reminded by you, Sharon, that writers need to read as much as they write. Maybe even more.

Once I admitted you were correct, I rearranged my schedule, cut out all or most of the unnecessary activities I did and diverted that extra time to additional reading. To what extreme have I gone? Well, in addition to reading instead of vegging out in front of the television at night, as often as I can I take the KTM or LRT to my office or meetings and use the time I would normally spend driving, reading. Okay, okay, the other reason I take public transport is an attempt to reduce my carbon footprint.

Of course I’ve been writing on a daily basis. I’ve just completed a political thriller and am beginning the first, self edit. As you know, writing is the easy part. Also, I now have a column in YogaLife Magazine. The column is actually the sequel to my book, It’s A Long Way To The Floor. Since each chapter is a stand-alone essay, I’m releasing the entire book, one chapter at a time. It’s an interesting project.

As for my goal of becoming a novelist, I’ll share with you why my confidence level is so high. I believe writing talent, along with most things in life is not something we necessarily have to be born with. I believe the key to success is to practice, practice, practice.

Gary Player, the South African PGA golfer once chipped the ball in the hole from quite a distance off the green. As he approached the flag he heard someone in the gallery shout out, “Lucky stroke.” Mr. Player turned around and replied, “It’s amazing, the more I practice the luckier I get.”

I have adopted and applied this same theory to many things in my life … my writing being one of them. My recently completed manuscript is my fourth. Holding it up against my first I believe the quality of writing and storytelling has vastly improved. Well enough to hit the New York Best Sellers List? I’m not sure about that. But I do believe if it is not this one it will be the next.

Or maybe the one after that.

Thanks again for asking about me Sharon. Take care and great job you’re doing with the blog.

Spread the peace,

david byck

Creative Craving

There's a hunger out there ... People don't feel satisfied in their day jobs, they feel spiritually impoverished and they want to do something creative. Not everybody wants to publish a book but they want to make a change in their lives, make a break with the past.

Lecturer Antoni Jach talks to Jane Sullivan in the Age about the huge increase in the number of creative writing courses in Australia and the number of students taking them. The TAFE courses have been particularly successful and Jach reckons its students have produced about 100 published books. The impressive list of alumni includes Miles Franklin winner Alexis Wright.

And next year RMIT is launching its bachelor in creative writing.

Telling the Raven

Traditionally, school teachers have been the primary audience for student writing. But now, Web publishing software offers us a platform from which we can tell our stories to anyone who cares to pay attention.

Writing teacher Doug Noon posts an inspiring story in the New York Times how he gets his teenage students in a school near the arctic circle to share their writing with the world via a website, Tell the Raven.

Are there any schools here in Malaysia with similar projects going on, I wonder?

Writers for Women's Rights Wanted!

Su-Lyn sent me news of an exciting upcoming writing workshop run by the Writers for Women's rights (WWRP) to be held between Nov 13th and 16th, 2008. The workshop basically empowers young women to speak out about their personal experiences. It also develops their understanding on gender and social justice issues, as well as sharpening their writing and analytical skills :

The Writers for Women's Rights Programme Call for Applications

Are you a young woman between the ages of 18 to 32? Are you interested in what's happening around you? Do you have a passion for writing? Do you want your voice heard in the mass media? Have you been thinking of getting involved in activism but not sure where to start?

If you are, then the Writers for Women's Rights Programme may be just what you have been looking for.

Organised by the All Women's Action Society (AWAM), the programme will help develop your understanding of gender and social justice issues, writing and analytical skills, and media relations.

If selected, you will attend a live-in workshop from the 13–16 November 2008, where you will receive training from experienced AWAM writers and trainers on those areas. You can look forward to connecting with a motley crew of inquisitive young women who are passionate about social justice and social transformation!

KEEN? Apply now!

Write or email a short statement (500 words) explaining why you are interested in the programme and what you hope to gain from it. Include a brief biodata or CV, write 'WWRP' as your subject heading and send it before 30th September to:
Snail mail: AWAM, 85 Jalan 21/1, 46300 Petaling Jaya (fax: 03-7874 3312)Email: advocacy-programs@awam.org.my

Applicants may be asked to attend an interview. Selected applicants will be notified by 15 October 2008.

Selected participants are required to pay a workshop registration fee: Students or unemployed: RM 50 Others: RM 100

If you need a waiver or a reduction of the fee, please write to us explaining your circumstances with your application. Waivers or reductions may be granted based on the discretion of the organizers.

Faisal Tehrani's Workshop

Award-winning Malay-language author Faisal Tehrani will be running a creative writing workshop at MPH Megastore 1 Utama 17 Aug (Sun) 2.00 – 5.30pm.

For more details, click up this poster :

Writing from the Asylum?

Of course, it's the controversial soundbite, the caustic comment, that grabs the headlines at a literary festival, and author Hanif Kureishi speaking at the Hay Festival provides a particularly juicy one, calling university creative writing courses :

... the new mental hospitals.

and implying that such courses for create serial killers.

Kureishi, who is now a research associate on the creative writing course at Kingston University in London adds :

But the people are very nice. ... When I teach them, they are always better at the end - and more unhappy.

His concern seems the be that such courses set up false expectations among students that a literary career will inevitably follow:

The fantasy is that all the students will become successful writers - and no one will disabuse them of that.

Collective Graphomania

Rachel Donadio in the New York Times finds that while readership is shrinking alarmingly, the US is suffering from a "collective graphomania".

Everyone wants to write! :

In 2007, a whopping 400,000 books were published or distributed in the United States, up from 300,000 in 2006, according to the industry tracker Bowker, which attributed the sharp rise to the number of print-on-demand books and reprints of out-of-print titles. University writing programs are thriving, while writers’ conferences abound, offering aspiring authors a chance to network and “workshop” their work. The blog tracker Technorati estimates that 175,000 new blogs are created worldwide each day (with a lucky few bloggers getting book deals). And the same N.E.A. study found that 7 percent of adults polled, or 15 million people, did creative writing, mostly “for personal fulfillment.”

Print-on demand has really exploded :

IUniverse, a self-publishing company founded in 1999, has grown 30 percent a year in recent years; it now produces 500 titles a month and has 36,000 titles in print ... Other self-publishing outfits report similar growth. Xlibris, a print-on-demand operation, has 20,000 titles in print, by more than 18,000 authors ...

Then there's also the exponential growth of creative writing courses :

The Association of Writers and Writing Programs represented 13 programs when it was founded in 1967. Now it includes 465 full-fledged courses of study, and creative writing classes are offered at most of the 2,400 college English departments in North America.

It's never been easier to be an author, in the US, it seems. As long as you're not too bothered about readers!

A Yale Course for Free

Thought you might like to know that Yale University is offering some of its courses online - for free! Among the modules on offer is a course in Modern Poetry taught by Professor Langdon Hammer (left) which covers :

... the body of modern poetry, its characteristic techniques, concerns, and major practitioners. The authors discussed range from Yeats, Eliot, and Pound, to Stevens, Moore, Bishop, and Frost with additional lectures on the poetry of World War One, Imagism, and the Harlem Renaissance. Diverse methods of literary criticism are employed, such as historical, biographical, and gender criticism.

The lecturers are on video and archived so you can progress through them at your own pace. (Initially the lectures went out live, twice a week.) Much of the course material is downloadable and you can buy the recommended text, The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry. Vol. 1, Modern Poetry second-hand at Abebooks.com.

Update :

Chet alerted me to MIT's courses online. I like the sound of the ones on reading and writing the short story, and on writing and reading the poem.

Heaven's ... now I start looking there's even more out there! About.com lists some free writing and journalism courses, among them Steve Barnes Lifewriting class which he teaches at UCLA.

Then there's F2K, Bob Hembree's free fiction writing course which is offered 6 times a year.

Any more free literature or writing classes that anyone knows about?

Update 2:

Chet found another amazing source of free courses - the UK Open University's Learning Space. Among the courses on offer What is Poetry?, Start Writing Fiction, Approaching Poetry, Approaching Prose Fiction.