The closing keynote from @davidjalmond at @The_UKLA Writing for Pleasure conference was just so wonderful. I feel like i'm going to explode with inspiration and excitement. I was too hooked to tweet at the time but some key thoughts that stood out to me...

On ideas: 'Stories are everywhere, they are ordinary human things that happen to each one of us. Within the boringness are the most extraordinary tales.' Also, 'We are an imaginative species, even deciding what you are having for dinner is an act of imagination.'
On the writing mind: 'The terrifying thing about a book is that it doesn't look like a mind. They look at the book and think it's perfect but they don't see what comes before [the notebooks]. People think writers must have a special type of mind but we all have the same minds.'
On bringing writing out of the head: 'Stationery, notebooks and pencil cases make writing physical. Thinking through a problem in a story can make it harder. Doodling and playing [in a notebook] can help to release the imagination.'
'It's important to remember how close the written word is to the voice. If you can speak a sentence without stumbling it's probably okay, if you can sing it without stumbling it's probably really good. It accentuates that words are not just beautiful black marks, they are sounds'
On what makes children's writers children's writers: 'We don't go to children to say look what I've done and how clever I am, we go to them and say look what I've done, you could do it too.'
On children not needing to write in a 'literary voice' and on owning their authentic voices: 'The voice is in their bones, their blood, their experiences, their families, that is their language.'
On discovering your story and allowing unknowns: 'It's important to write with a sense of uncertainty. You have to work in the space between security and insecurity. Not knowing is really important. That's what the world is like, that's what we are like, mysteries.'
On not overthinking writing: 'For anybody to write anything, you have to get out of the way to let the language and story to do itself. Trust the language, trust the story, trust your imagination.'
On keeping up motivation when writing seems tough: 'When I get stuck, I put bigger spaces between the lines so I fill the pages faster and feel like the story is rolling along.'
On not hovering over children when writing: 'We demand of children that they show us everything and allow us to comment on it. It's important we allow children to be confidential and secretive about what they are writing.'

More from Writing

SHORT THREAD!

Simple Writing Trick to Avoid Plagiarism when using Templates

This may be useful for anyone but the examples here are more relevant to scholarship applicants

In other words, how to avoid the copy & paste syndrome.

Kindly RT to help others.

The past week brought some concerns about plagiarism in scholarship documents. For example:


Plagiarism is unacceptable at any level in academia and may lead to several undesirable outcomes, including revocation of admission offers or conferred degrees. So here is how you can prevent or rid yourself of the copy&paste syndrome


1. Don't use any template at all.
Just follow the darn instructions, or use helpful tips scattered all over the internet. Worry less about perfection.

I understand this may be hard for less experienced scholars. So if you must use a template, continue with the thread.

2. If possible, find more than one template.

This helps you identify the flow of ideas and the commonalities in the template. You can then develop your own unique document from this knowledge.

If you are still confused and must use a template, continue with the thread

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