Experiencing the role of a Creative Writing  student in an undergraduate level –  where everything begins to fly your way at the speed of light. You take in the information  that has been given to you, but has it really sunk in? You experiment with things outside of your comfort zone, but have you continued this?

You’re still absorbing the environment. You feel new. But everybody’s new. Scanning the room to see what others are doing, gathering influence as you feel the atmosphere beginning to buzz with excitement, amongst your peers, your tutors and secretly yourself. Why? Because you are free to write whatever you want to write, your pen is at the ready. This is your chance to be expressive. But somehow this adds the pressure that what you want to write has to be…right?

Wrong! – There is no ‘right’ when you write. When writing the topic of ‘originality’ cannot be emphasised enough. Not at University anyway. No limitations. No boundaries. We begin our reflections by reflecting on our own writings. The thought of somebody else having to read your creative work slips away gradually. As confidence evolves, so does your writing.

Then there are other writers, perhaps better writers? Maybe not, but they are ‘professional’ writers. The work of these writers we analyse thoroughly. Become influenced, and then incorporate their ideas to our own work. Every word written on a page is thought about, then re-thought about. We interpret meanings, expand onto asking further questions and even link texts together in comparison. Is what the ‘professional’ writer has written a perfect piece. We will never know, only the writer can answer that. What we do know is that the end result is a beautiful one. Why? Because the words just fit together, drawn together and meant to be together like the pieces of a jigsaw. It may take a while to get there, but you do get there.

I.A.