Friday, January 19, 2007

Weekend, blessed weekend

We are nearly all planning on writing this weekend but critting is going to take up a lot of time too with three stories, one over eight thousand words, to work through. Given how exhausted we are I wonder just how successful we will be at carrying out these plans. I suspect sleeping may win out.

On critting, I find it takes a minimum of half an hour, often more, to crit a story and do it justice, and that's after the initial reading. They are all so different and have such potential. I'll be surprised if they are all not published in the near future.

We are following the tradition of having a group meal with the convenors on Sunday evening. Gives us a chance to socialise outside our own apartments though, since our swipe card lets us into all three apartments, there is much dropping in anyway. There's usually a dinner with the tutor midweek too, with each floor hosting a course. It gives everyone a chance to have a informal chat with the tutor away from the formal sessions. We were spoiled this week because the tutor entertained us instead. Nice switch.

In another vein I've finally found the right music to crit by - the Long Way to the Top album from the Australian tour a couple of years ago. Forget classical, soothing, pop or traditional. Rock'n'roll so goes with writing critiques.

2 comments:

Satima Flavell said...

You are clever, critting to R&R! The only music I can tolerate when I'm working is soft, wafty, go-nowhere New Age junk music. Almost anything else demands to be Listened To and I can't work and listen at the same time.

OTOH, music can be inspirational. Listening to music sometimes fires up an idea that I can use. Maybe I should listen more often because I don't get many of those!

Helen V. said...

Surprised me too, Satima. Usually I work to music, no lyrics, but it's the driving energy of R&R I think. That great underpinning of pulsing rhythm. I'm very eclectic in my musical taste and what I've brought with me ranges from Gregorian chants through to classics, folk, country and rock'n'roll