Birkbeck Creative Writing Project Gill Sharp Specialist Institutions Careers Service The Careers Group University of London “Up through the lubber crust of Wales”

Foreword “No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money” To engage a number of hard to reach students To plug a gap in LMI and … …To focus on issues relevant to career changers / mature graduates To create a body of work that could be rolled out in other contexts To use technology creatively

Preface: “First catch your hare….” Engaged in one or more branches of writing Mature At least one previous or parallel career Witty, willing ……and warm

Dramatis Personae “What hempen homespuns have we swaggering here?” Mark J: Ex copywriter, now freelance journalist, part time playwright and would be novelist Michael H:TEFL teacher, trying to break in to film script writing Sarah C: Ex journalist, now a copywriter Jon M: Poet working in academia and researching a PhD. Co-runs a publishing company

Chapter 4: The Plot Thickens “Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted” “What’s my motivation?” How to get the students involved and engaged What did they want to know? What did they need to know?

Chapter 5: In Which We Add Some Dialogue “Them that asks no questions isn’t told a lie” “I haven’t done anything very exciting really” “I’m sure they won’t want to hear about me” “Do you think we’ll have enough to talk about?” “I’m only just starting out…”

Chapter 6: Denouement “Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone.” My mistake Dude, where’s my hardware? Upload, download, overload Moral: never mess with computers – they know more than you do.

Chapter 7: Epilogue “Sadder and wiser” I got by with a little help from my friends Time is on our side Hindsight is always 20/20 All’s well that ends well

The Answers “Up through the lubber crust of Wales” – Once Below A Time, Dylan Thomas (1914 – 1953) “No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money” – Boswell: A Life, Samuel Johnson (1709 – 1784) “First catch your hare….” - Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management, Isabella Beeton, (1836 – 1865) “What hempen homespuns have we swaggering here?” - William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’sDream (1564 – 1616) “Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted” - Notice: By Order Of The Author, Mark Twain (1835 – 1910) “Them that asks no questions isn’t told a lie” – A Smugglers’ Song, Rudyard Kipling (1865 – 1936) “Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone” – The Importance Of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900) “Sadder and wiser” – The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 – 1834) Bonus points: final slide 1. “I (get) by with a little help from my friends” – John Lennon (1940 – 1980) and Paul McCartney( 1942 – 2. “Time is on our side” – William Ewart Gladstone (1809 – 1898 ) and subsequently misquoted by Mick Jagger (1943 -) and Keith Richards (1943-), amongst many others 3. “Hindsight is always 20/20” - Billy Wilder (1906 – 2002) 4. “All’s well that ends well” - William Shakespeare (again)