Unthemely Illiterature

Question 1:

Look at the pictures above:

• How many of these emotions can you recognise?

(Please read on for answers)

After yet another longer-than-planned break, thanks for returning for our twentieth session. Today we are doing a follow-up to our topic from last time, looking at an aspect that we did not explore in enough detail then. In our tour of psychology, we are visiting Iran during the Abbasid Caliphate, to look at the psychological advice of one of the Middle Age’s most celebrated doctors. Before you lie down, please take a close look at the couch and see if you can see any faces in the creases in the leather. Please make a list of the emotions they are expressing and then we will begin.

In session nineteen, I laid out why I believe that theme is the keystone of storytelling. This was not the first (session 2) or even the most recent (session 11) time we have looked at theme, but I always seem to find something else I need to say about it, no matter how comprehensive I have tried to be. (This is evidence of how important theme is, and not evidence that I’m absent-minded). In this case, I have explained in previous sessions what theme is, how it works and why it is important, but I have realised since last time that I have never covered what makes theme work well, and – more importantly – badly. Today we are going to rectify this, beginning with the pictures in Question 1.

The Two-Legged Stool

Question 1:

Think about the last story you enjoyed:

• Were the plot or the characters more important?

(Please read on for answers)

Welcome back – at long last – to our nineteenth session. Apologies for what has been the longest break yet, much longer than I intended, or ever imagined I would take when I first started this project. Explaining all the reasons would take this entire session, so the short version is that I have begun not just a new job, but a new career, very different from any day job I have had before, and this has necessitated me not just moving to a new city, but beginning a whole new life. Falling behind so badly, though, is my only regret. I am now living in a place where I can do something new literally every weekend, and I have numerous new opportunities to pursue that I have never had before. I have also not been wasting my writing time and have completed two novels and multiple short stories since our last session, but it is only recently that I have finally found the time to get back here. Barring any disasters, I will be resuming our monthly sessions from now on, so thank you all for your patience.

In this session, we are returning to the fundamentals of storytelling to look at an ancient debate among students and theorists of fiction, that still worries many beginning writers. Our new stop on our tour of psychology is in the Middle East, in the early centuries of the Islamic empire, where we will meet the author of one of the earliest medical self-help guides. Please dust off the couch, remove the cobwebs and put this brick under the corner with the missing leg, and we will begin.

Drawing Leaves

Exercise 1:

Look at a tree:

• Draw a picture of it in as much detail as possible.
• Draw a picture of it using the fewest lines possible.

(Please read on for answers)

Hello and welcome to session eighteen. Apologies yet again that it is coming late, though this time, it is not because of Covid. The UK lockdown has finally lifted enough for me to return to my day job and, despite having reduced writing time, it is really good to be back. (While I love writing, having the time do nothing but write does suck some of the fun out of it, and the lack of other people and new experiences is not great for creativity).

Today, we are returning to the topic of description to explore another example of how lessons from another art form can apply to writing fiction. In our tour of psychology, we have reached our sixth stop in the Roman Empire and we will be studying the autobiography of one of the greatest Christian saints. Please grab a pen and paper, paints and canvas, an iPad, chalk, charcoal, pastels or any other preferred artistic medium, and we will begin.

Writing, Revising and Humans

Question 1:

Think about the most recent thing you have written.

• What was wrong with it?

(Please read on for answers)

Welcome to our seventeenth session, and apologies again that it is coming late. This is still due to the UK’s Covid-19 conditions, and my hopes and best wishes are with everyone who is reading this and their families and friends, and to everyone who has been affected by the terrible death of George Floyd.

In today’s session, rather than looking at a particularly fictional technique, we are going to explore the writing process in a more general sense, and particularly the revision process. In our journey through psychology, we are visiting Roman Syria to learn what another early Christian writer thought about human nature. Please come in and make yourself comfortable; I will be with you in a few minutes after I have tried out several alternate versions of this paragraph.

Info Dumps and Terrible Thoughts

Question 1:

For the story you are currently writing, what is the:

• Setting?
• Complete life stories of all the main characters
• Background to the premise?

(Please read on for answers)

Hello and welcome to session sixteen. I apologise that this is coming late due to Corvid-19 conditions. I am currently fine and none of my family are suffering from it, and I sincerely hope none of our readers are.

Today we are going to be examining a common mistake in fiction writing; dumping information on the audience. In our exploration of psychology, we are returning to our starting point of Egypt, but now in the Roman period, to learn from another early Christian thinker. Please make yourself comfortable and listen carefully, as I need to tell you all about my background, my experiences and my qualifications before we begin.

Characters, Souls and Stages

Question 1:

Think of a character you read about recently:

• If you were an actor, how would you play them?

(Please read on for answers)

Welcome to our fifteenth session. Please buy yourself a ticket at the box office and head to the auditorium.

In today’s session, we are revisiting the topic of character creation, which we last looked at in session two, and we will be exploring some methods from the world of theatre for creating and building characters. We are also making our third stop in the Roman Empire, where we will be learning some early Christian theories of psychology. Please find a seat close to the stage and we will begin as soon as the curtain goes up.

Twists and Passions

Question 1:

• What was the last story that surprised you?
• What was the last story that didn’t surprise you?
• Why?

(Please read on for answers)

Welcome to our fourteenth session. Please come in and make yourself uncomfortable (Surprise!)

Our topic today is plot twists and how they can be used to enhance your story. In our journey through psychology, we are at our second stop in the Roman empire, where we will be looking properly at the work of Aelius/Claudius Galenis, who we touched on in our last session. In keeping with todays’ theme, let’s finish there and I’ll see you next week.

Case Study #2: Thérèse Raquin

Welcome to the second of our additional sessions. I need to apologise first for my long absence from this blog. I have spent most of this year completing an MSc course in Scotland and essays, work placements and my dissertation have been taking up my time. My course is now finished and I will be posting our main sessions regularly again and it is very good to be back. Our case study for today is Émile Zola’s 1868 novel Thérèse Raquin.

Worlds in Grains of Sand

Question 1:

Look out of the nearest window:

• What can you see?

(Please read on for answers)

Welcome to session 13. Please come in.

Today, we are once again looking in depth at a topic I have mentioned before in our sessions, but have not covered properly, which is the use of description in fiction. We are also arriving at our fifth destination in our journey through the history of psychology in the Roman empire, where we will explore one of the oldest and most influential psychological theories. Please sit or lie down wherever you can find a good view and we will begin.

Dialogue (Part 1)

Question 1:

What was…

• The most interesting conversation you had or heard recently?
• The most boring one?
• Why?

(Please read on for answers)

Welcome to our twelth session and our first one of the new year. Please come in and make yourself comfortable.

In this session, we are finally getting to a topic which I should have covered earlier; the use of dialogue in fiction. On our journey through the history of psychology, we are coming to our final stop in ancient India to learn what one of the greatest Buddhist philosophers has to teach us about it. Please lie down and let’s talk.