Unidade formativa 2: sistemas hidráulicos

writing experiences

Your experiences of creative writing

Many thanks for your support in my studies into creative writing. I would like to have one last (brief) interview with each of you, but this time individually – before you go on study leave.

I would like to interview you about your experiences of creative writing and to explore what has contributed to the writing that you do today, both on the A Level course and in your own time.

At this point, I do wish to remind you that your anonymity is assured in my research, and that you have the right to decline participation in my research.

If you are willing to participate further, please consider in advance the following points that we could discuss, and feel free to add in any other points you may think are relevant.

Biographical

 How many schools have you attended?

 Do you speak another language – and if so, would you consider yourself a fluent speaker?

 What kinds of activities do you enjoy outside and inside school?

Early memories of creative writing

 What are your early memories of doing creative writing? Can you can picture yourself in a particular place writing? What do you see? With which places, people or activities do you associate these memories, and why?

 What or who, if anything, do you think might have prompted you to start writing creatively?

Creative writing today

 Would you classify yourself as a creative writer who writes frequently, quite a bit, only when the exam board demands it?

 Where does the majority of your creative writing take place? And do you think this place is significant for your writing? Why?

 How do you write? (e.g. Do you use a particular book/journal/pen or do you word- process your work?)

 How do you see yourself as a writer? What identity do you associate with your writing?

 What are you trying to achieve in your writing?

 Who or what do you think may have influenced your writer identity, and has this changed?

 Who do you share your writing with? In what ways? How, if at all, has this contributed to your development or influenced your work?

 Reading through your creative writing – and this does not need to be your coursework – what would you say are the major influences on your writing? (You might like to think of the content of what you write and the forms/genres you are attracted to, as well as your style, as there may be different influences on each of these...)

Extracts from Lien’s individual interview

The transcript is extracts from Lien’s responses. Most of the teacher’s voice is omitted and just the semi-structured prompts provided.

L Uh well I started doing creative writing when I was about 14 [.] before that I always enjoyed making up stories in my head but at some point I decided I really wanted it written down on paper where it felt actually real because in my head it wasn’t enough it had to be somewhere else where it could actually exist so I decided writing the first time I did it was hand pen and paper it didn’t work too well but the second one I did after that was much better just just carried on (…)

I use word Microsoft Word so I can actually read it properly then my handwriting is a bit difficult to read at times

T Do you think and write with word processing?

L Usually [.] well actually it’s sometimes 50 50 I normally get a vague idea of what happens first of all in my head and I get a beginning set up in my mind and then I start writing that after that the ideas tend to just come as I type but I’ve decided now after reading some fairly impressive books that I want it planned before I start writing

because I found that [.] planned stories were always extremely well crafted and I want

my work to be just as good so I have decided that I will start planning as well so I have

a nice big A4 book just full of plans for my stories [3] I have about 11 stories I want to write at the moment (…)

It was after I read ehm a series of books in the summer and [.] I was always saying how good they were because they were so well planned and then I think two months after that I decided it must be planned (…)

T Where do you write?

L Oh I well I write at home all the ideas come better at home because it is a lot quieter and calmer in school there is too much to think about

T What are your earliest memories of writing?

L At home

T Did you share your work?

L No – it was a bit too too young and naïve I guess a bit embarrassing the first work is always a bit embarrassing [.] not the very first one no the second one after that yes with a friend

[…] Yes she has read other works I have done and she likes them quite a lot yeah and my sister has also read them and she finds them impressive as well which is quite nice [.] she has also decided to start writing she kind of wants to follow in my footsteps T What schools did you go to?

L Uh I went to [.] two schools while I was still in two schools while I was still in Swansea and then here I’ve been to [.] two primary schools and then Astor and then here [.] we do a lot of [.] travelling when we can our travels usually involve going to Asia cause family is there uhm I can speak a bit of Chinese and Japanese I understand it better than I can speak it speaking Chinese in particular is difficult because of the tones it is a very tonal language Japanese on the other hand that is bit easier to speak very fluent as well

(…) No my mother is from China

(…) I like China and Japan very much Japan is a lot easier to study because it is small country short history unlike China which is as old as Egypt so 5,000 years history so quite a lot of room for error with that one but if I had more time I would do a lot of studying in china yeah I’m very proud of my heritage there and also all culture in Asia [.] South East Asia and such such as Thailand Japan Korea all their culture is originally from China so China is the root of It all which is also impressive

[In answer to a question about being a frequent writer]

L Definitely I write everyday if I can [.] sometimes it’s not much but sometimes I can write quite a lot such as 10 pages a day that’s what it used to be before A Level but A Level’s kind of [.] cut off the time

(…) I think accessibility is the main thing because all my work is at home [.] also I feel like I can think much better at home here I feel like my thoughts are a bit restricted whereas at home I can think as much and as far as I want it feels a lot more relaxed […]

I think it’s the amount of people that’s around it feels like on edge uhm [1] it just does not feel so comfortable thinking out of the [.] box in school whereas at home it’s a lot easier besides at school I don’t think there are many people who would understand [.] how much writing I do or what I write about as well whereas at home I have [.]

obviously the family that does understand very well what I write so I feel more comfortable there than here

T Do you see yourself as a novelist?

L I think [.] definitely the culture and (…) and fantasy is also another side of it as well the culture and the fantasy together they make a very beautiful piece of writing I think [Bell]

I hope I can get somewhere with my creative writing in the future because I feel my writing is the best part of me so I really want to achieve something with that [1] I feel with writing it is more with luck so there is not always a guarantee that I will get somewhere immediately so I think I’ll just I will still always write and then hopefully at some point I’ll get a book published and then as soon as that is done I’ll quit my other job and go into writing yeah

3.5

May, 2012: extract transcript from final group semi-structured

interview

Prompt sheet given to participants prior to the interview

Thank you for participating in the study. And thank you for the time at this busy time of the year with final exams approaching.

I would like you to look at the range of detail I have for my thesis – the data is here – your original and specific purposes coursework with analyses, your mind maps, writing dialogues, writing practices sheet and of course the recordings. They include the initial group interview where you looked over last year’s Original Writing; the class recordings about the mind maps; the second class recording where you peer and self-assess, and the individual interviews.

Now I would like you to review the creative writing coursework and how we approached the writing.

 As a group, to what extent do you feel the different approaches we have done in class have helped with the writing of your coursework? Have some been more successful than others? Why?

 Has this helped with your creative writing apart from coursework? In what ways?

 Do you write more / write more frequently now than you did before beginning the 2 year course? If there is a difference, what do you think is the reason / are the reasons behind this?

 Looking at your mind maps, there is a range of domains you have drawn on, in your writing. Do you employ a range of domains in your other creative writing, and has this changed over the 2 year course?

 Who are you when you write creatively? What is your writer identity, and has this shifted over the course? Do you think of yourself as a particular person/writer?

 Who do you write for?

 How do you start writing? Is it a topic discussed? Is it a character/ is it autobiographical?

 Would you describe your starting point as external or internal?

 What would help you find creative space within the school environment? Once I have analysed the domains and metaphors in your writing, I would like the

opportunity to ask you about my interpretations – and whether or not these were what you had in mind. Are you willing for me to contact you? This would happen no later than

October of this year. And if so, would you write down an email for me? Thanks again.

Final Group semi-structured interview extracts

The interview began with a visual reminder of the exercises and approaches used for creative writing. The students were asked which approaches worked for them and which ones did not. L I think discussion worked quite well cos maybe even if you are not even if you are

doing something different [2]various ideas across from people always tend to spark a different idea inside you

[…]

Seb definitely agree that when you get someone else’s opinion in the class on it it is very helpful because it is often different from the teacher and um yeah it helps you with your own ideas

Sam I would agree with that [.] to add to that I think when you sort of gain other people’s perspective on sort of your piece your ideas in a way you sort of find out ways to make it more accessible to others rather than just have your narrow view of it that might be the case originally after you have discussed it with others it might sort of make it a little bit wider sort of like widen the scope with regard to the style you might go for [On pointing to the mapping exercises]

L yes the pictures certainly helped put the ideas down in a different form [.] it also puts the ideas across in a different way and it does helps other people start to discuss your pictures and then your ideas in a different way and then advances from then on [The discussion continued about drafts]

Sam I think a lot of the time they [.] it is useful in the respect they will give a second point of view mistakes at the might spot mistakes same time while reading through you can pick up on points which they might be able to improve on (…) to some aspects that I thought might work quite well in mine

Seb I would agree with that actually (…) when you have someone else looking at your work when you look at your work you think it is finished you have like rose-tinted glasses towards it while somebody else would look at it [.] see all the errors you haven’t spotted like and help you refine it stuff so that it has more of an effect