The Portable Creative Writing Workshop [Paperback]

Pat Boran (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1897648510 | ISBN-13: 978-1897648513 | Publication Date: October 25, 1999

How do writers practice? What do they do to warm up? When they have no ideas, do they write at all? Whether you belong to a writing workshop running low on steam, or you're struggling to continue working on your own, The Portable Creative Writing Workshop offers a wide range of games and exercises to help stimulate you in your writing.

In three main sections covering The Raw Material, Poetry and Fiction, prize-winning poet and fiction writer Pat Boran takes a hands-on approach to the creative writing process, not only explaining many of the techniques and central concepts (from rhyme and rhythm, through scenes and dialogue to plot and resolution), but showing how these can be put to work in your writing.

In addition, for the fourth section, Pat Boran is joined by more than two dozen other Irish and international poets, fiction writers and playwrights - including Maeve Binchy, Eavan Boland, Roddy Doyle, Seamus Heaney and Marina Warner - who offer their own writing ideas and advice.

Creative writing can be a lonely activity. Sit down to it and, even in a crowded room, you're on your own. But if you'd welcome a supportive, encouraging and at times challenging companion, this is the book for you.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Pat Boran was born in Portlaoise, Ireland, in 1963 and presently lives in Dublin where he is Writer in Residence at Dublin City University. He has also conducted creative writing workshops throughout Ireland in schools, colleges, prisons and with groups of writers of all ages, backgrounds and levels. A previous editor of Poetry Ireland Review and presenter of the RTE television books programme Undercover, he was the recipient of the 1989 Patrick Kavanagh Award for poetry, and has published four collections of poems, the most recent of which is The Shape of Water (1996), a volume of short stories Strange Bedfellows (1991), a recent short fiction for children and four non-fiction books, including, as Daniel Hynes, A Short History of Dublin (1997).

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

"The very best advice I ever heard was that first you choose a topic you know something about and then tell yourself in a very stern voice you MUST write ten pages a week. Not just hope to write ten pages or that you'll think about writing ten pages but that you MUST do it or else you will be prosecuted. Then in 30 weeks you will have a book. It may not be a good book but it will be a finished book and that will put you streets ahead of ninety nine per cent of the world." Maeve Binchy

Product Details

• Paperback: 204 pages
• Publisher: Salmon Poetry (October 25, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1897648510
• ISBN-13: 978-1897648513
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,653,845 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, January 27, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Portable Creative Writing Workshop (Paperback)

As one of those people labouring under the illusion that I might have something worth writing, I attended one of Pat Boran's workshops and was awed by the simplicity of his creative machinery. His quirky and expressive character is reflected in this most pragmatic book, which describes essential ideas of plot progression, scene construction, and character development in a quizzical and imaginative way. Practising his exercises I found ideas and insights falling practically out of nowhere. Possibly one of his most impressive techniques is the way in which to get in touch with your inner muses and tap into the raw material of character that will give depth and contrast to the people who populate your stories. Not only that, but it also opens the doors to seeing everything around you in a new light; suddenly everything becomes vital and important!

A pleasure to read, easily digestible, practical, enjoyable, and drawing on a wide range of influences, this book should be in every aspiring writer or poet's armoury.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, April 30, 2000

By 

Heather Dune Macadam (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Portable Creative Writing Workshop (Paperback)

Pat has done what few writer's can--re-invent the process. His exercises not only reach deep into the muse of one's subconscious, but is an excellent tool for those who wish to emulate the prose style of Irish writers. I use this book with high school students as well as undergrad and grad--the results are awe-inspiring.