CREATING A SENSE OF PLACE
How do good writers do it?
A Poem
- How do you think Thomas manages to create such a powerful sense of place?
- What are the visual images he uses to do this?
- What other senses does he bring into the poem,apart from sight?
- How do you think Junger manages to create such a powerful sense of place?
- What are the visual images he uses to do this?
- What other senses does he bring into the story, apart from sight?
Place & Time
Place & Memory
Place & the Emotional state
Writing like a child
And finally: travel writer &novelist Colin Thubron on evoking a sense a place (what he calls the spirit of a place):
The dreaded cliché!
- Land of contrasts
- Azure seas
- Turquoise waters
- Golden sands
- Palm-fringed beaches
- Rugged mountains
- Nestling villages
- Vibrant nightlife
Writing Exercise
Think back to your childhood, and a place that had great significance for you (ether at home or abroad – it doesn’t matter). Write about it through the prism of memory, trying to remember the feeling of the place at that moment in time: the sights, sounds, smells etc, just like Laurie Lee did in Cider with Rosie.
15 mins
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CREATING CONVINCING CHARACTERS
Cleopatra’s Wedding Present book cover
Cleopatra’s Wedding Present audio
Writing Exercises
Write a pen-portrait of a character you have met when travelling (either at home or abroad). What does that character reveal about the place you encountered them (think of the old man in Aleppo, or the twin in On the Black Hill)?
15 mins
(If time): Write about someone else you know, from your everyday life. If possible, try to incorporate pieces of dialogue, to bring your writing to life. NB: it can be an animal if you prefer!
15 mins