Sara Donaldson | Copyeditor | Copywriter
This week has been a momentous one for me.
Work has been plodding along nicely, but on Thursday I submitted my creative writing course end of module assignment.
When I enrolled on the OU Creative Writing course A215 I really didn’t know what I was letting myself in for. It’s something I had wanted to do for years. Really, years. For many reasons I never found the time (or the guts) to enrol. I told myself I wasn’t a writer. I told myself that writing for work doesn’t count as I write non-fiction. The thought of writing something made up, and actually showing someone, scared me. The thought of being rubbish scared me. Let’s just admit it – I was a scaredy cat.
In May 2014 I dived into Futurelearn and took the Start Writing Fiction Course run by the Open University. And I loved it. I wrote some rubbish and I wrote some not bad stuff. I enjoyed the fact that I could follow the modules and write, but also not get to know the people who would see my writing. I could write while being anonymous. When the course finished I missed it.
I did other courses and I especially loved the forensic studies ones, but I really missed writing. Writing for work just isn’t the same. It pays the bills, but fiction is fun.
So in May 2015 I bit the bullet. I signed up to the OU Creative Writing course, which started in October. I spent the summer not thinking about it much, I was too busy to worry, but when October came around I was excited and scared in equal measure.
Once the course started I realised that I should have done it a long time ago. I found myself consumed with writing, trying to keep a notebook, and looking for inspiration. When I wasn’t working I was writing. It has been non-stop for the last eight months.
I have learned to write with some degree of competence, I know this because my marks were good (please God my EMA is good too), but I also know I have a long way to go. I’ve dipped into poetry, fiction and life-writing and along the way I’ve made some lovely, talented friends.
My only regret is that I didn’t tell anyone I was an editor. It was a decision I didn’t take lightly, but I wanted to do this for me, as an escape from work. Writing is so different from editing that I also didn’t want any undue pressure put on me to perform. For that, if any of my writing pals see this, I apologise. I hope they understand.
So, we come back to Thursday. The EMA was posted – three times … the first on Monday through fear of dodgy internet connections, the second on Wednesday when I spotted a few typos, and the third and final time on Thursday morning when I decided to add a new reference to my bibliography.
With my heart in my mouth I realised that eight months worth of work was over, my final marks depend on this one piece of writing and I can, perhaps, call myself a writer.
If anyone is considering this course this is what I gained from doing it:
I also know now, more than ever, that writing is bloody hard work.
So what next?
I’m about to embark on an editing course I actually put aside to concentrate on writing (thankfully it’s a refresher course so it shouldn’t be too taxing).
I’m going to carry on writing. Including poetry. I was so impressed with the other students’ poetry I’m going to keep at it.
And I’m enrolling for A363, the Advanced Creative Writing Course.
Here’s to another mad year
Well done you!!! ❤
Ta me dear. Fingers crossed for the results mid-July!
Yes, well done for taking the plunge! (I haven’t yet).
Do it! 🙂
Fair play to you! Congratulations on overcoming some pretty nasty fears — and for being inspired by others’ work, instead of intimidated by it. Something tells me you’re going to have a mad (and wonderful) year ahead indeed.
Thanks 😄
They are a pretty talented bunch to live up to, that’s for sure!