Week One: Writers write, but writers also read

For our first week, we were discussing transformations. I’d never really thought about it before, but actually, in probably every book you can ever think of, the characters undergo some kind of transformation. Whether that is a physical transformation or a mental/emotional transformation, there always is one.

I set off with the idea of a metaphorical transformation, with the character transforming internally. I then began to play around with using the wolf metaphor as a kind of shadow self. We were encouraged to think along the lines of animals, and embodying the animals we had chosen, which is when I moved on to the idea of wolf and werewolf transformation.

I like the idea of doing a supernaturally themed novel for two reasons: 1, I have never done anything like this before so it is a full step outside my comfort zone, which I believe is important for me to get the most out of this experience, and 2, the idea of researching and exploring creatures that can shapeshift through my writing is something that I’m finding really engaging.

In terms of transformation and the study of transformation, the lecture allowed us to split transformation into three steps: before, the trigger and after – or cause, change and effect.

Transformation can be a literal change – i.e. from one thing to another – but it can also be a metaphorical change – i.e. something that might not be seen on the exterior. The degree to which something changes or transforms effects its impact; a small change can be infinitely more effective than a large change due to its importance to the character and the story. A smaller change can be more beautifully crafted because of its minimalism; it can also be a small

physical change but have a large emotional impact.

Transformation is a vastly popular idea, both in our media and literature and in our society as a whole. The concept of defamiliarization is something we are fascinated by as a breakaway from the mundane or the norm. When we consider that as we get older more things become commonplace and regular to us, it makes a lot of sense that things which are not normal actively awaken and interest us.

As Anais Nin writes, “It is the function of art to renew our perception. What we are familiar with we cease to see. The writer shakes up the familiar scene, and as if by magic, we see a new meaning in it.” ‘The novel of the future’ (1968)

Animals are more aware to changes in their environment than to things which remain the same (such as an object which moves instead of a stationary object), and as humans we are also “hyper alert” to those kind of changes. We can see that the human condition is attracted to and indeed fascinated by change. For instance, when politicians are trying to win votes in their campaigns, they often promise change, which appeals to us. Writers use the same idea to capture the attention of the reader; by changing or transforming the character over the course of the story, the reader’s interest is heightened.

We began to explore the idea that when we’re dealing with the extraordinary, ordinary language works best. Conversely, when we deal with the ordinary, extraordinary words add excitement to an otherwise mundane situation.

Things that don’t change become more important to us, so perhaps they don’t need to change – they are usually under the pression and influence of change, and resist that change which can be quite fascinating in itself.

We were asked to listen to the BBC short story competition audios, and I luckily had time to listen to all of them (I’ve linked below if you’d like to listen to them yourself). The two which I found most helpful to the development of my own narrative were:

- Ghillie’s Mum, by Lynda Clark

- My Beautiful Millennial, by Tamsin Grey

“Ghillie’s Mum” is a really descriptive story of a woman who can change into different animals, which I found really helpful in my initial segments of my main character's transformations from wolf to human and back. The idea that the change was instantaneous and natural appealed to me, and I’ve been working towards refining that idea in my own work.

The personal reflections and developments in “My Beautiful Millennial” inspired me with the development that the main character will go through over the course of the story; in a sense, learning who they are and becoming more independent and strong-minded, as the character in the short story does.

Sharing and discussing our respective work in my seminar and reading groups was a fascinating and really thought-provoking experience for me. I’ve never really spoken to other writers about our writing, but I discovered how amazing that can be. It allowed me to expand my own lines of thought. Our story ideas were wide and varied but listening to their ideas helped me to start thinking a little bit outside of my comfort zone when it comes to writing.

My research took me through a lot of different websites, challenging quite a few pre-conceptions I had about wolves, werewolves and their respective behaviours. Wolf shapeshifting and werewolf legends derive mainly from various different folklores for a lot of different countries, which means that there is not much that is definitively certain to use as a base.

My initial decision from what I have learned is that the wolf pack will be lycanthropes instead of werewolves. Throughout the various mythologies, it is generally stated that lycanthropes are an advanced species of werewolf who can control when they change, as opposed to werewolves who do not have this power. Indeed, lycanthropy is classified more as an ability passed down by bloodlines

I have found this research highly stimulating and having used a mainly “factual” basis – by which I mean researching the history and commonality of werewolf stories – for my studies so far, I have decided to continue my research through creative writing interpretations of wolves and werewolves. Indeed, I’ve decided to get a membership for the city library (which with hindsight would probably have been beneficial before now), and I’m looking forward to exploring the creative genre of werewolf novels.

I thought I’d finish with the list of questions I’ve collated over the past week:

- What’s the difference between physical and emotional change?

- Do physical changes hide or obscure emotional changes? The cliché of changing your appearance when you are dealing with heartbreak demonstrates how a physical transformation can hide the (arguably more important) emotional transformation which lies under the surface.

- How big does a transformation need to be?

- Is it more impactful to write about exterior/social changes or individual changes?

- Who challenges us/ inspires us as writers?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0079gw3/episodes/player