It was nice to join Peter Thomas' lecture about writing this afternoon. Writing was something that I was so nervous about before I started this course. I began full-time dance training at 16 years old, so I felt rather out of practice this time last year. I remember writing my first blog in Module 1 and feeling so worried that my writing wouldn't be interesting enough, or wouldn't be grammatically correct. But funnily enough, when I was reviewing my inquiry plan from Module 2, I reread my essay and was pleasantly surprised. I never thought that I would be able to use the type of language I was using. I am so grateful to have developed my confidence in writing during this course.
I attended Peter Thomas' writing lecture last year, and although todays was similar, it was great to be reminded of some simple writing tips which will hopefully help me when I get round to writing my inquiry report. We did a freewriting task where we had to write about writing for 5 minutes. We were a very small group, so it was great to discuss people’s ideas. We spoke about 'creativity' and how writing can be used as a way to communicate without speaking. This made me think about how dance can be a form of communication too. I suppose writing shares many characteristics with dance that I had never thought about before.
Peter shared a quote which I remember seeing last year…
'Writing is rewriting' - Paul Abbott
I remember not understanding this when I saw it last year, but it really resonated with me tonight. This whole inquiry project is rewriting. Rewriting other people’s stories, my own stories, literature. Rewriting all these pieces to create a bigger picture, to develop myself as a practitioner, and as a regular person. There is a lot of pressure when you are holding other people’s stories in your hands, and I don't want to change these stories. People's stories belong to them. I feel privileged that my research participants have shared some incredible stories with me so far, but these are not mine. So when I begin analysing and reporting my findings, I will be keeping this in mind.
What are your thoughts on this?
Hey Alice! I was on the morning call and I felt exactly the same. It was similar to the one we had last year but a real refresher into module 3 and some things definitely resonated differently. I really enjoy these style of calls, I feel like I am learning something but also focussing on myself and my project. That quote is perfect for what we are going to do :) look forward to reading more x
ReplyDeleteI agree Rhian, I really appreciate the calls that are similar to lectures where information is shared and we can interpret it ourselves. Thank you for your comment. Hope all is going well x
Delete