hello everyone,

I am new to the site and have a couple questions but please allow me to explain my situation.

I did not pay attention at school, particuarily in english and have not had any formal training in writing or any other means of expression. Over the last few years i have become interested in writing; not only in my journel, and have many ideas for articles and stories. it seems i have alot more to say these days. i have recently moved to london and figure this is a good place to learn.

my problem is where to start?

can anyone recomend courses or exercises that may help me get started structuring and developing ideas properly . or courses that will help me use punctuation and english properly.

i know that this is all very vague but i suppose that is the problem. where do i start to find out what i like/dislike and whether i am any good at it. maybe a basic writing course would be great. although there are millions of courses advertised online which are worthwhile.

any suggestions welcome,

Job

Hi Job, and welcome to WriteWords.

It is a common fear amongst writers that their lack of formal training will hold them back in some way, but there are a lot of simple things you can do to help yourself - not least, typing your work in MSWord (or similiar, if you have an Apple Mac). Word has a spell checker (although it can't be trusted completely), and a grammar/syntax checker (ditto), but it is a very good start, and the more you write, the more corrections you will have to do, and the more practice you will get in doing them.

Secondly, there are online dictionaries and teasaurii to dip into when ever necessary - like now, as I have no idea how to spell theasaurii
eg:
http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/archive/2002/10/28.html

And, thirdly, if you have the time to spare, you will probably find there are Adult Education evening classes held at your local secondary school or 6th form College, to brush up on your English.


- NaomiM

Hi Job, and welcome to WriteWords

Naomi's advice is very good. Another thing which helps is to start trying to notice what you're reading as you read. When something's really effective, why? How are they telling the story? (because articles are stories too, of course) What's the writer doing with his or her words and sentences? Look for the real detail of how they do it: it gets your eye in for grammar, punctuation and syntax (how words are arranged in a sentence) as well as stretching your writer's mind with more different ways of expressing yourself.

If you want to try out a range of different kinds of writing, and begin to learn how writers think, and how they then turn what they're thinking into coherent words, you could have a look at The Creative Writing Coursebook. You can either work your way through it, or pick and choose what interests you.

If you're in London particularly good places to look for courses would be Morley College or City Lit, both of which are very central, and have a wide range of courses for different levels and experience.

Emma

Hi guys,

Reading over things I have written I see what you mean about fear Naomi. I dont think it is bad. I will have to step over the edge soon enough and have other people read and critisise my work!!

I have checked out some courses at City Lit and will hopefully get started as soon as im settled here. In the mean time though I am going to try and pay attention to things that I am reading. That will be interesting. Thanks Emma.

Thanks for the advice guys, take care

Job