Talks on creative writing and opening the creative mind
I provide talks or workshops to older children / younger adults followed by questions and answers session. Rates and session times:
£15 per hour plus travel expenses.
Workshops can be a half or full day.
Maximum number of groups 3.
Plan for workshops
Three stages of building an idea (Imagination, Creation, Evaluation)
Imagination and finding the idea
Discuss where ideas come from and how the students might go about planning and searching for ideas for a story or poem.
Creating a story
How to expand
your ideas into a story by identifying the most important areas of your
work (e.g. characters, places and storyline).
Practical:
The door to your dreams. Write a short story where you are walking
through a garden, you go through a door and whatever is on the other
side is a world which is made up of all the things that inspire or
interest you.
Evaluating your work
The importance of editing your work and looking for improvements for future ideas.
Understanding the theories
Understanding the structure of writing.
Explain the
five act process which is used in many books, films and scripts.
Provide examples for these in several different genres.
Then go on further to explain books or films where changes have been
made or written in a different format to the one above. What are the
advantages and disadvantages of doing this?
Also explain the various forms of narratives that can be found within
books and mention other forms of narratives used by authors and how
they can change the flow of the storyline.
Developing characters
Pinpointing what defines a character 1) what they look like 2) how they react to the other character around them.
Practical: Have them describe themselves as though they were a character in a book.
The art of atmosphere and suspense
Explain how suspense and tension is used in books to draw the reader in.
Exercise:
Read excerpt from a book and explain how the writer has used suspense
and atmosphere to create a page turner and keep the interest of the
reader.
Freedom of the creative mind
Music within writing.
Show how you can build a scene by listening to music. Provide examples in several styles and how you built a scene around them.
Practical: Allow them to have a go at building a scene around a piece of music themselves.
Workshops for Schools
I have attended schools and colleges across three counties. Below is a list of workshops/talks I have held that provide an overview for the different topics I have taught in schools:
At Mount Grace I performed a half-day workshop covering topics including: how to form the structure of a book; character developments; the art of atmosphere and suspense; how you can link music with writing.
“Hi Ross, I go to Mount Grace High School, and I was at the Creative Writing Workshop you did. I really loved it and would like to thank you for taking time to come and talk to us. I've read the first few pages of your book and I think it was amazing, I can't wait to read the rest.
Thanks again, Billy Morton”
King Edward VII School, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. www.ke7.org.uk
I provided two
lessons, mixing theory and practical, showing how to form a a book and
ways to improve the impact it has on the reader. I also provided
exercises to help boost the creative mind.
I made my second visit to
King Edward VII school later in the year. This time I provided a talk to the sixth form about why
creativity is so important and how there are no limits to what the
creative mind can achieve. 15th May 2009: Manor Community College, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. www.manorcc.org.uk
I provided two talks to a young group about my experiences in being a writer and gave them tips on how to write either a book or short story for themselves.
This was my first workshop. In this I explained what influenced me to take up writing and where my ideas came from. From this I explained how they could come up with ideas for a book of there own.
Borders Book Stores workshops
Over the past year I had worked closely with the BORDERS book stores. As well as holding numerous signings across the country, I also held writing workshops within their various outlets. Below is a list of all the stores I had been in touch with:
Birmingham: Workshop/Signing
I held a talk with the Boldmere Junior Book Club Parent, teaching young readers the importance of the creative mind.
Review:
The Fable of Mythrian book 1 Ross Baker
ISBN 978-1-906050-92-4
Fiction
“ The Book is about a Young man, Mythrian, who's body is covered in "tattoos" He is brought up as an "apprentice" and tutored in the ways of magic and to be the defender of good. The book is about Good Vs Evil, Good having prevailed in the last "great battle" but Evil is coming back and winning ! Legend has it that one special person will be able to help the balance, and Mythrian appears to be that person.
I felt that the book had a bit of a slow start as the scene setting was a very similar to Lord of the Rings, which as a classic, made it a very hard start for a new author. It did though, very soon afterwards, start to get interesting, as it was disclosed the special powers that Mythrian possessed. I did like the way nature was heavily involved in the book as it gave it a bit of a twist that I have not seen before, and how Mythrian "linked" with nature to start to unleash his potential powers.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good, Good Vs Evil tale that you can pick up at any time. I look forward to reading the next book in the series as I envisage it should be all action from the start as the scene has already been set in this first book".
