Friday, August 23, 2013

Can I write ok? I think I can!


Hi. My name is Jayne and I am addicted to online classes.

Why?

Well, I am currently doing Hello Story, Grammer-Free journaling and iScrap at BPC and have Design Challenges and The Art + Science of Scrapbooking (sounds very academic right?) waiting in the wings. (Seriously, their classes are great).
I am subscribed for 6 months to Masterful Scrapbook Design and do Story Coach at Get It Scrapped which also has loads of great articles and challenges.
Then there is Kirstins online journaling class Find Your Voice which has just wrapped up (although if you head over there before August 31st, you can download the classes and join the great Facebook community for free or pay $5 for the class from Sept 1st) and 30 lists starts on Sept 1st, hosted by Kam and Amy.

Why am I doing all these classes?
Well, apart from needing a good bit of distraction at the moment, I really want to improve the way I talk on paper. I have a pretty good grasp of the English Language granted, but whenever I read back on my writing, I am never satisfied. I know I am a bit of a perfectionist...that will be the Virgo in me...but I am also not massively confident of my abilities.
What I want to be able to do is write without conscience. To not be looking at the story and thinking 'who'd want to hear that'. I want to remember that no matter how mundane the story may be, someone will want to hear it, whether it's you, my family or myself.

I need to remember that it is good to make mistakes. To write and write and write, then to cross out and rewrite over and over. But I also have to remember not to overthink everything. It doesn't have to be perfect. As long it is readable and I am happy with it.

I want to think outside the box. Write in different ways other than linear. Make a real life event read like a fantasy story. I want the story to be more than just facts.

The LO in the picture is an example of what I guess I am aiming for. It is in response to week 5 of Hello Story where Ali encouraged us to use mathematics in our LOs. Yep, I know that is a fairly daunting idea (especially for someone who took 3 goes to pass her GCSE Maths) but you can interpret it in many ways so I took the main examples and focussed on the plus and equals elements of the subject.

I opted to go for a double page LO as a single page bunched all the photos together too much and I wanted them to breath a little. I cropped the 2 top pictures on the left page as they were of 2 different orientations and since we are dots in the pictures, it helps emphasise us a bit. I don't tend to use many embellishments on my LOs and actually used less paper than I usually do.
I liked how the page turned out....I am finally realising that I am a simple scrapper who likes to edge her pages :-). I tried something different with the journaling as well.

It reads...Its a slow ride to the top and anticipation is high. On arrival, it is a short wait before the cart hurtles down the track. The thrill is high and the shrieks are loud. As the cart floats to the finish post, the dripping after effects of the rising water is felt.

Now, I wouldn't say that I am massively happy with it but I am pleased with how it turned out and now that I have broken through that wall, I am encouraged to keep writing and experimenting and practising....and crossing out.

Who knew addiction could be so much fun :-)

This post is tied in with FYC week 3 prompt.

2 comments:

  1. Wow, that's a lot of classes, but experimenting and practicing can be so rewarding.

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  2. That's a nice page! I've taken Grammar Free journal ling & really enjoyed it and I am doing 30 Days of Lists and LSNED this month or I'd sign up for Find Your Voice. i like online classes about writing.

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