Creative Writing Workshop Instructors: Alisha Patel and Fatheha Rahman

Email: creativewritingworkshop@oulook.com Twitter: @cwworkshop

Case Study: Participant IDates: 16th April – 18th June 2016Place: Yellow Pavilion, Olympic Way, Wembley, HA9 0XJ

BackgroundIn the programme of April-June 2016, Participant I was our most consistent student. Participant I, as compared to the other students in our sessions, was unfamiliar with the idea of writing for pleasure or as a hobby, and so had never written a creative piece before. Despite being something of a novice, Participant I has shown understanding in the art of creating settings, characters, relationships and conflict; as well as skill and enthusiasm when asked to undertake tasks to write scenes and create various types of poetry. This case study will cover just a few of the contributions Participant I has made to the sessions.

Creating CharactersWhen presented with an activity sheet that incited the students to describe a character, Participant I came up with the idea of the “Kicker”. Initially, the Kicker was his idea of a joke – since the genre of story he wished to explore was realism and mystery-solving with elements of humour – but the more he talked about the Kicker, the more the idea formed. Participant I intended the Kicker to be a vigilante that used “moral violence” to right the wrongs in people's general character. Participant I said that he was not supposed to be like other superheroes that fight crime, but a vigilante that gave someone a good kicking when they were to attempt something detrimental to their own lives e.g. he made a reference to Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles: “If someone had given Tess a good kick when she met Angel after she had agreed to stay with Alec, it would have saved a good relationship and Alec's life.” Ideas such as giving the Kicker larger feet or superpowers to the same effect were considered, but then dismissed – Participant I liked to keep his characters and stories close to reality.

30 Minute Story-Writing ChallengeParticipant I showed aptitude and skill when surprised with a challenge to write a story in 30 minutes. He asked whether he could write a screenplay – which was granted to him, so long as it told a story. He wrote – and completed – a short screenplay which described a comic skit between a man and his girlfriend. He also presented it well, causing laughter and giggles around him. In addition to this, his idea was very light-hearted and different compared to the work of the other participants who were taking part in the challenge. Most of the pieces were very serious and they began stories. Participant I’s piece was complete, and comparatively light and funny. He also discussed his inspiration – so it’s easy to understand where his ideas and thoughts echo from.

Creating SonnetsParticipant I surprised and impressed us by showing determination and enthusiasm in composing a sonnet in the Petrarchan form. We were astonished by the way he followed the rhyme scheme, the beat, the thematic structure, etc. He spent such a long while counting out the beats in each line to make sure he’d gotten it just right! He presented the sonnet very well also – it was a poem that focused on loss and, as stated above, it followed the thematic structure in that the loss was resolved in the last half of the poem! Participant I displays true talent for creative writing in all forms, but lacks the drive to pursue it as a more than a hobby.

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