Making Time to Write

If you've been checking this blog and wondering why it suddenly came to an end, I can finally tell you.

There's no big secret. I didn't win the lottery and jack it all in for a life of luxury in the Bahamas. I didn't meet a sugar daddy who whisked me off to Monte Carlo for some retail therapy. (I expect my husband's quite glad about that - though he might have been happy for me to win the lottery!) I didn't see the light and decide to spend the rest of my life meditating in a cave in the Himalayas.

No, I'm afraid my excuse for not writing is probably fairly similar to yours. I've just been too busy! Too many classes to prepare, too much work to mark, too many books to read for my PGCE. Throw in a touch of flu, give it all a good stir, and you end up with the perfect mix for sabotaging writing.

I must admit, I didn't realise I'd neglected my blogs for quite so long. I was shocked to log on today and realise that my last blog was posted on 7th October. I certainly didn't realise I'd been away for so long, and I'm suitably chastened by this discovery. I need to take myself in hand. Not so much a matter of 'Physician, heal thyself!' as 'Creative writing teacher - set a better example!'

So what have been the highlights of the last couple of months, writing-wise? I'd have to say the best thing about this time has been getting to know my new students and being very pleasantly surprised at the progress they've made in such a short time. I've been amazed at the fantastic work I have seen, even from students who claim they've never done any writing before. It's quite a humbling experience to come face to face with so much talent, and quite a privilege to be asked to nurture it.

The University of Huddersfield has been running a competition called 'Grist', and several of my students have entered it, from all three of my classes. It's been very exciting to see them polishing up their short stories, presenting them so beautifully, then sending them off - a bit like seeing your child go off to school for the first time, I expect. Good luck to everyone who has entered. All I can say is that I'm glad I don't have to judge the competition, as it will be a tough job to have to choose from so many excellent entries.

If you've missed the deadline for this one, don't worry - there will be plenty more competitions to enter in the New Year.

'You Shall Go to the Class!'

One of the most frustrating aspects of teaching in adult education is that for part-timers like me, who are paid by the hour for the classes we actually teach, our teaching hours and our income depend on getting enough students to enrol for our courses.

One of my courses had particularly low numbers this year, and we spent the last fortnight fearing that we might not be able to continue as the powers that be had told us our course would be cancelled unless we got more students. It was very frustrating both for me and for the students not knowing whether we would only last two lessons instead of twelve.

Fortunately, we have been given a reprieve and allowed to continue until the end of term, which is a great relief. We'll now be able to settle down and get on with the work we want to do without worrying about numbers and fretting over people who've not turned up to the class.

It's a bitter-sweet victory as we know that our survival probably means that another course will have been cancelled instead of ours and one of the other tutors will have lost some of her income. But we're glad the decision went our way.

Apparently, one of the factors which swayed the powers that be was the fact that the students were prepared to put an advert in the local paper at their own expense to try to attract more class members. It was regarded as proof of their commitment.

As far as I'm concerned, it's an indication that you should never say never - miracles do happen! Sometimes it does pay to take the initiative, even though you may feel like a small cog in a big wheel.

Free Writing Booklets in The Guardian and Observer

It's that time of year when the newspapers are giving away freebies to try to get people to buy them regularly. It's been particularly useful for me and my class this week because The Guardian and The Observer have been giving away booklets every day about creative writing. They contain many handy hints, food for thought and writing exercises.

On Saturday 27th, The Guardian is also giving away a 110-page guide to English - another very useful free gift for my students. From time to time we discuss grammar and punctuation. There are always a few things that catch a lot of them out, so it's useful to do some revision.

Let's hope that all this talk of creative writing will inspire more people to put pen to paper and try it for themselves - or sign up for creative writing courses and discover the joy of discovering writing in the company of other like-minded people.

So do buy The Guardian this week or if you know someone who's a regular Guardian reader, ask them to let you have the creative writing guides. Happy reading!

Expect the Unexpected!

First of all, to those readers who have been logging on this past week expecting to see my daily blog, an apology! I've had a really busy week with PGCE tests, my new writing classes beginning, and a job interview, all in the same three days! By the time it came to write my blog, I was either still preparing lessons or absolutely exhausted.

But things are now back on an even keel, I hope. I've met and settled in my new students and welcomed back my existing ones, so the classes are starting to gel and I'm getting back into the swing of teaching. I should know by the end of the week how numbers are shaping up and how many students I am going to have in each class.

We've already had some very enjoyable lessons and it's been interesting for me to put some of the new ideas from my teacher training into practice, like an icebreaker exercise that my tutor used with us. I've adapted it to suit creative writing students and made it lead into another activity in which my learners assess where they are so far in their quest to learn to write and where they would like to get to in the course of the year.

I really like my PGCE tutor, Fran Valentine, and she has already been very supportive to me when I was preparing for my job interview. My referee, Gabriele, who used to teach me German, has also been a great help. I also feel much more at home in the college now, and not so much the new girl on the block.

Other than that two things happened this week that were unexpected. The first was the arrival on my mat of a crime writing magazine, Crimewave. I had subscribed to it quite some time ago, received one or two editions and then nothing for ages. I resigned myself to the fact that it must have gone bust, as that is not unusual in the world of specialist publications.

But it has returned, even glossier than ever. I shall look forward to reading it and I am especially pleased because the very first story in it is an extremely short one that I can use with all my students.

The second surprise came today. We'd had a family trip to Holmfirth to enjoy the sunshine and have a latte in our favourite cafe there. Browsing in one of the charity shops, I found a very solid-looking mahogany CD rack, which seemed the perfect solution to our storage needs. My husband thought we didn't have enough room to fit it in, but I assured him that we would.

I was right. There was the perfect spot for it in our living room, between the fireplace and the existing, overstuffed and rather rickety CD rack. I proudly manouevred it into position and prepared to load it up with CDs only to find that they wouldn't fit on. It was actually a cassette rack! A very handsome cassette rack, but no good for CDs or DVDs.

So if you live in the Huddersfield area and you need a cassette rack, e-mail me on gale.barker@tesco.net and you can pick up a bargain. Otherwise, it will be going to another charity shop next weekend.

Confessions of a Creative Writing Teacher - Why I Love Marking

A lot of teachers regard marking as a necessary evil, something that goes with the job but which encroaches on their precious free time. But I love it!

Marking my students' writing is one of the best things about the job. Being with them at their classes and teaching them face-to-face is pretty terrific too, but as I can't teach seven days a week, marking is the next best thing.

I think creative writing must be one of the very best subjects to mark as every piece of work is unique and every student has their own unique set of strengths and weaknesses and their own unpredicable learning curve.

Even if I set everyone the same task with the same stimulus material, I end up with stories that are totally different from one another and all fascinating in their own right.

Of course, you get to know people through their writing, more than you would through their maths or their IT homework. You get to know their interests, their preoccupations, their attitudes to life, their past. And it's all fascinating.

I used to wonder how my friend used to always remember the names of all her creative writing class members, because when I'd been a member of a class or group I might still not know everybody's name even though I'd known them for years! But once you've read and marked a student's writing, you not only remember their name, but you build up your own unique understanding of them as a person.

That's why, when I begin teaching again next week, I can't wait to get on with some marking. Bring it on!

Writing for Profit or Writing for its own Sake?

Having begun to publish on the internet has made me focus on the financial rewards of writing. Of course, everyone needs to earn a living and the workman is worthy of his hire, but that isn't the only reason why I write.

In fact, it isn't even the reason why I've been so delighted at having my work accepted by Triond this past week.

I've been enjoying the buzz of writing what I feel like writing and seeing it accepted and put out into the ether for everyone to read. It makes me feel as if I have a sense of purpose. I'm doing what I love to do and there is a prospect of being paid for it too. How lucky is that!

That's more important than any amount of money, as far as I'm concerned. There are lots of jobs I could do that would guarantee more money in the short term, but enjoying what you do and feeling passionate about it is priceless.

This week I've had the satisfaction of seeing my work in print . I've also had the thrill of seeing my writing class reach the end of their certificate course, to great acclaim. Teaching them to write isn't just my bread and butter - it's my soul food. Verily my cup runneth over.

Yes, it's been a great week.

I hope you are as happy in your vocation as I am in mine.

By the way, if you would like to read my latest article, you can find it on www.telewatcher.com/Reality/Big-Brother/Why-I-No-Longer-Watch-Big-Brother.150309