I’ve been writing speculative fiction for about six months now, and very much focusing on the short story. The length of these new stories varies, but on the whole they’re between 4,000 to 6,000 words, the perfect length for submitting to magazines. But I have one that I keep returning to, and it keeps growingContinue reading “Self-doubt and the short story”
Category Archives: Teaching Creative Writing
Feeling the fear of reinvention
‘…if you are writing without zest, without gusto, without love, without fun, you are only half a writer.’ Ray Bradbury I’ve had to reinvent myself many times over the years, sometimes in a way of my own choosing, sometimes it was forced upon me. However it happened, these transitions have always evolved into positive change,Continue reading “Feeling the fear of reinvention”
…a history of classrooms
66.The first classroom you remember has a high ceiling, high windows, a plastic trough where you play with water. There are books that are read to you while you sit cross-legged on the floor, your feet tingling with pins and needles. You sit at your desk pondering over workbooks that have puzzles and questions, theContinue reading “…a history of classrooms”
…trains of thought
65.Today you catch the train from Bath to Oxford, transferring your teaching self from one beautiful city to another. You haven’t done this journey for several years and you feel the anticipation of the bicycled streets and the lofty quads of University College. On your way to surprisingly ordinary classrooms, you hope to walk pastContinue reading “…trains of thought”
…things that make you smile
42. Children when they’re far away. The smell of a vinyl record as you slide it out of its sleeve, placing it on the turntable to watch the undulating grooves, the crackling moment when the needle touches down. Worms (the earth variety, not tape or thread). Beginning a new teaching semester, the promise of newContinue reading “…things that make you smile”
…teaching in the age of Covid
25.You return to teaching after many months away. But this is not teaching as you know it, sitting around a table with your students to debate, discuss and enquire. Instead you are in your living room, meeting your students on a laptop screen. This is teaching in the age of Covid, and this is whatContinue reading “…teaching in the age of Covid”
The future is built on the dreams of today – Part 1.
Yesterday I caught the end of an old episode of The South Bank Show, where Melvyn Bragg interviewed Steven Spielberg in 1982, the year ET: the Extra-Terrestrial was released. I tuned in at the right moment, when Spielberg looked at him with a childlike smile and said, “Movies are dreams. They’re the daydreams you haveContinue reading “The future is built on the dreams of today – Part 1.”
Embracing Newness
With the crisp autumnal air comes the start of a new semester, and I’ve been back teaching undergraduates at Bath Spa University for two weeks now. In many ways things are much the same as last year, what with dusting off the old lesson plans and lecture notes, desperately trying to remember names, getting swampedContinue reading “Embracing Newness”
If you don’t know the answer, still ask the question.
This week has seen a hiatus in my own writing while I mark my students’ work. This is for the Teaching Writing module, and the work they’ve produced is in the form of a blog, charting their progress over the past few months and reflecting on how the theories and ideas about teaching have fedContinue reading “If you don’t know the answer, still ask the question.”
The Glitter of the Grade
It’s that time of year again. The shops are full, the fairy lights are going up, and my students are handing in their submissions before going home for the holidays. For the next couple of weeks writing may be low on the list of priorities, but when we come back in January, thoughts often turnContinue reading “The Glitter of the Grade”
Sally Gander 