29.01.2008

Oh dear, I have just wasted an hour of my life watching Ladett to Lady on ITV 1. I am still surprised that people go so far to make themselves drunk and physically sick. Why do people do this? It isn't attractive, clever or natural to poison your self. It seems to me we have become a generation with low self esteem and self worth, and getting hammered is the only way to relieve this stress. I guess it's a bit like self harm. You know you will regret it in the morning, but anything to heal negative emotions is a turn on.

I have had a fantastic evening. My friend Nicola and I went to the Trafalgar pub in Greenwich after a lecture and caught up with each other. Spending time with friends is a way for me unwind and, depending on the company, to analise people and conversations around me. Tonight we heard a group of students talking about writing and the the art of characteristics in a family setting. Mmmm, very interesting indeed, but surely if you are a writer you also need to discuss every day situations and your life to come up with ideas for your writing. If there is one thing studying at University has taught me is that many people are incapable of thinking outside the box, and instead follow a structure or a routine that has been laid out in front of them. Students seem to be so bogged down with structure and "right" ways of writing that they forget what their craft is really all about; writing. Of course the technical side of things are important to enhance your work and in my spare time I study this, but outside of class I make an effort to live and experience things that contribute to my creativity.

So yes, study structure and theories, but make up your own mind what works for you, and for goodness sake get out there, talk to people and experience conversations and company that you have never indulged in before.

I was listening to an interview with a new, exiting up and coming band called Royworld on BBC Radio 2. Three of them studied music at Goldsmiths and said that the theory side of it was,although interesting, a block of creativity for them. Being taught structures in theory is helpful if you are stuck on a piece of composition, but too much is a block from experimentation. I agree with this, and also point this out when talking about writing structure. pick up your guitar, play the piano and experiment. You have nothing to lose.