This blog post is all about the National Gallery in London and the inspiration it can provide. It will also focus on the Gallery’s website, which is an excellent place from which to draw resources. I was in London this weekend with my partner. It had been my responsibility to plan a day out but… Continue reading Art Resources – The National Gallery
Category: Resources
The Resources section will provide a series of writing and art group activities to help people learn about, as well as experiment within their preferred creative medium.
Writing Resources – Character
Character is a key element of prose writing, whichever form – short story, play, novel – that might take. Characters are often at the heart of a story. They drive it forward. For readers, they are often the reason we keep reading something. We want to find out more about a character’s motivations or thoughts.… Continue reading Writing Resources – Character
Openings
Sometimes, starting a piece of fiction can be one of the most daunting and difficult elements of the whole process. This post will suggest some ways in which you might wish to begin a story or piece of flash fiction, and hopefully serve as an aid if you are struggling to do so. These are… Continue reading Openings
Writing Routes
The literary arts is a very broad field which this post will attempt to navigate. This is designed to encourage you to experiment with different forms and submit work to our magazine that does not fall into the more common categories of the short story and the poem, although we love receiving these too! Poetry… Continue reading Writing Routes
Visual Art Communities
This post will share a few of my ideas for getting the most out of visual art communities and suggest some activities which may be useful in this sort of setting. If you are part of an art club, it is always enjoyable to produce something collaboratively. This works most effectively when you utilize the… Continue reading Visual Art Communities
Halloween and Valentine’s combo
Writing for a particular occasion is always fun and provides a useful cultural touchpoint to get your imagination flowing. In this post, I will suggest a number of activities which groups can do near to Halloween and Valentine’s day. First we will look at the genre of horror which is apt for Halloween-inspired writing. Thinking… Continue reading Halloween and Valentine’s combo
Convictions and intoxications
This post will be a fun resource combining the themes of politics and intoxication in relation to writing and artwork. First we will begin with politics… Some opening thoughts A commitment to politics requires a strong dedication to the use of words to craft engaging and informed arguments. Creative writing is a great place to… Continue reading Convictions and intoxications
People in Plots
Let’s begin by thinking about character… Warm up: Think about what constitutes effective character creation. Are these characters relatable? Are they consistent? Do they have recognisable qualities? Think about your favourite fictional character and consider why you like them so much. Think about the importance of names within fiction and how you might go about… Continue reading People in Plots
Spaces and Places
Read on if you are interested in activities relating to the construction of settings in fiction works or the production of travel writing as a nonfiction genre. The setting of any piece of fiction is extremely important and will make a huge difference to the type of work you end up writing. To practice the… Continue reading Spaces and Places
Influenced and Inspired
Originality is a weighty term that is often overstated as the hallmark of a great artist. However, everyone is influenced and inspired by their predecessors. In fact, learning from those who have gone before you is an essential part of any artistic process. The trick of innovation is not just conjuring something up out of… Continue reading Influenced and Inspired