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Writing workshop with Peter Thomas

6pm Writing workshop with guest speaker Peter Thomas


For anyone who was unable to attend this lecture, this blog’s purpose is to record the main outcomes that I took away from the talk.


I haven’t academically written an essay since I did my A-Levels back in 2011 ( a scary 9 years ago! ) So to say I feel slightly apprehensive and find this whole process daunting, is an understatement! However, listening to Peter and understanding his methods of breaking down the writing process, has left me with hope!



A quote Peter shared on the screen was ‘Writing Is like prostitution. First you do it for love, and then for a few close friends, and then for money.’ (Moliere)


I found my own quote which is ‘Either write something worth reading, or do something worth writing’ - Benjamin Franklin. This resonated with me more, as we are writing about our experiences and reflecting on our practise.


He spoke about ways to break down the process of writing


Step 1- Generate your thoughts

Step 2- Organise your thoughts 

Step 3- Present your thoughts


Writing can be a chaotic process and If your anything like me it can be overwhelming. I always get stressed and think about the end product, instead of breaking it down and figuring out the steps to get there.


Ways to generate and organise thoughts…


-Lists

-Mind mapping

-Free writing

-Dictating and recording your thoughts to then play them back


The next steps would be to…


-Group your ideas

-Find themes

-Map relationships between the thoughts 


Then finally, the last process would be to…


-Start to think about your reader. Who is the text aimed at? Target reader?

-Proof read your work

-Think about grammar and the overall presentation


I found this break down great, because I can now envisage the process I will take when writing my essay. I always need to remind myself that things take time and I will have many drafts before I have achieved my end goal! 


I leave you with this famous quote! Sometimes we need to remember...

‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ - John Heywood



Comments

  1. Alice PettiniOctober 17, 2020 at 5:55 AM

    Hi Emily, you are absolutely right, 'Rome wasn't built in a day'. This quote is so reassuring! I also feel very 'out of practice' when it comes to writing - it feels like a long time since I last wrote an essay. But the workshop was so helpful and has also given me hope. I took so many notes during the workshop, and when I gaze over them, it looks a mess on the page (a creative mess I hope). But you have summarised these notes so well. Thank you for sharing x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Emily SmithOctober 17, 2020 at 8:20 AM

    Aww I'm glad they helped! I certainly had to simplify my notes as I think I could have rewritten his whole PowerPoint again!

    ReplyDelete

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