Creative Writing: Track 1

Audio

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The tracks on this album offer an invaluable insight into a wide range of techniques and practices surrounding Creative Writing. Writers as diverse as Alan Ayckbourn, Ian McMillan and Tanika Gupta talk openly about their approaches and attitudes to all aspects of writing from original concept to final drafts and productions. Writing for stage, print, television and radio is discussed in engaging and articulate detail. This material forms part of The Open University course A363 Advanced creative writing.

By: The OpenLearn Team (The Open University)

  • Duration 2 hours 28 minutes
  • Updated Monday 10th November 2008

Track 1: Tanika Gupta on Voice

Prolific author Tanika Gupta talks about stagecraft, highlighting the importance of voice and comic idiom in her writing.



Tracks in this podcast:

Track Title Description
1 Tanika Gupta on Voice Prolific author Tanika Gupta talks about stagecraft, highlighting the importance of voice and comic idiom in her writing. Play now Tanika Gupta on Voice
2 Helen Blakeman and Setting Playwright Helen Blakeman sees setting as integral to a play’s success and highlights the supporting importance of factors such as structure and voice. Play now Helen Blakeman and Setting
3 Developing the Idea Playwriting master Alan Ayckbourn reveals how he develops and connects ideas for his plays, and the meticulous process of structuring and ‘building’ a script. Play now Developing the Idea
4 Alan Ayckbourn on Redrafting Ayckbourn's approach to redrafting and rewriting scripts, and how dramatic ideas and twists emerge. Play now Alan Ayckbourn on Redrafting
5 Alan Ayckbourn as Director Alan Ayckbourn's work as a director, and how this informs his writing. The economy of playwriting, and the writer’s awareness of the limitations of the stage. Play now Alan Ayckbourn as Director
6 Alan Ayckbourn and Staging Drawing on his intimate knowledge of the theatre, Alan Ayckbourn offers an insight into the varius methods of staging, drawing a link between his own work and theatre in the round. Play now Alan Ayckbourn and Staging
7 Adaptation and Breakdowns Renowned writer David Edgar discusses his ideas on Aristotle’s unities, linking this to ways of adapting existing works. Play now Adaptation and Breakdowns
8 Jane Rogers on Adapting for Television Novelist and playwright Jane Rogers talks about the transition of one of her novels, Mr. Wroe’s Virgins, into a four part television series. Play now Jane Rogers on Adapting for Television
9 Jane Rogers as Novelist Jane Rogers talks about her work as a novelist, and the methods of storytelling and voice she employs. She brings together various forms and approaches, such as the use of cinematic editing techniques, in her novels Play now Jane Rogers as Novelist
10 Approaches to Contemporary Fiction Jane Rogers talks about her work in terms of viewing herself as a contemporary novelist. She draws links to literary greats, and techniques like 'the unreliable narrator'. Play now Approaches to Contemporary Fiction
11 The Mass Observation Archive Dorothy Sheridan, director of the Mass Observation Archive at the University of Sussex, talks about the archive in terms of a research tool and a repository of unique material. Play now The Mass Observation Archive
12 Liz Jensen, Development and Decisions Author Liz Jensen talks about her novels and how they develop in terms of storyline, plot, character and voice, How she often rejects planning in favour of a more organic approach to her work. Play now Liz Jensen, Development and Decisions
13 Structure, Revision and Theme Novelist Liz Jensen talks about narrative viewpoints, and their benefits and shortcomings in terms of storytelling. Play now Structure, Revision and Theme
14 Ian McMillan and Repetition Poet and presenter Ian McMillan takes a light-hearted look at the use of repetition in his poems. Play now Ian McMillan and Repetition
15 Poetry and Surrealism Ian McMillan talks about the importance and use of surrealism in his poetry. Play now Poetry and Surrealism
16 Hilary Mantel on Film and Drama Hilary Mantel talks about the importance and influence television and film have had on her development as a writer. The paragraph as the basic building block of fiction, and how this can generate a successful narrative. Play now Hilary Mantel on Film and Drama
17 Rhetoric and Rhythm Hilary Mantel uses examples and a reading from her own novel Vacant Possession, to examine the use of rhetoric and rhythm, and how they can seed ideas in a reader and build up the relationship between reader and text. Play now Rhetoric and Rhythm

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The OpenLearn Team

The OpenLearn Team (The Open University)

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