Transcript for Placements for Creative Writers with Angi Holden

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Transcript for Placements for Creative Writers with Angi Holden

Lecturer in Creative Writing, Contemporary Arts, MMU Cheshire

Angi Holden: Usually people think of placements in terms of a tutor having a number of placements available and a number of students and slotting those students into the available placements. That isn't how we work here. The process is about giving the students the opportunity to source their own placements. That is part that is part of the task. So they start off with a learning agreement, which is precisely what it says. It incorporates aspects of learning, but it is also an agreement between the student and the tutor. And as part of that they design and plan their placement. They make all the contacts with prospective employers and they design a rationale they come up with a rationale of why that particular placement fits into what we call the ‘writer's world’. And as we're completely surrounded by text in the modern world that can be almost anything. As part of that they plan when they are going to do the placement, how they think it's going to work out. Then when they are actually on placement they keep a journal, and in that they keep a record of what they do, and how that's differed from what they imagined it to be like, what was in their learning agreement. That journal forms the basis of the placement log, which is the second major assignment. When the placement is completed, they then go on to reflect on the experience and discuss what they've learnt from it, how it's affected them as writers and how it has affected their view of themselves within the writer's world.

Our examples of placements are really varied because for a start we have students on the course who are Single Honours and may see themselves as writers in sense of a novelist or a poet or a playwright. For them very often their view of their role and their potential placement might be in, say, publishing or in the theatre. We also have students that are part of Interdisciplinary Studies or are Joint Honours. So very often we combine a placement with their main interest, whether that is a personal interest or a course interest. That might range from something like journalism through writing copy for businesses. We have had in the past a business management student who has gone down that route. We might have someone who is shadowing a writer or writer-in-residence. We had people who have become involved in community arts projects such as working with Age Concern and those kind of organisations.

The main aspects of my support for students begins way before the beginning of term, even. The prior year I am always talking to students that are going to be taking the placement unit the following autumn. My experience is the best results generally come from students who come to class in the autumn with a fairly good idea, and sometimes a clear plan, of what they're going to do what they want to do with their placements. My role in that is advising, supporting. I will always be available to discuss letters of approach, for example, to an employer, to guide students when perhaps their first choice of placement doesn't work out.

At the end of the course These are going to be creative writers. So I hope that the students walk away with the toolkit of techniques and strategies for making those approaches, but I also think they… hope they come away with a greater knowledge of themselves as writers and where they might fit into the writer's world.

Student Perspective

IV:‘My name is Ingrid Victor and I am a mature student. I waited until I was 50 before I came to university and I have been studying creative writing and philosophy and I've just finished my course. OK, when I decided to opt for the placement option I had a number of deliberations. Having read this local newspaper the Chronicle for the last 20 years I decided that actually I wanted to get to know what happened behind the scenes at the Chronicle. I hadn't done ‘Writing for the Media’ as an option, so this is another way of expanding my writing skills by learning to write in a very different way. Because, obviously, as a creative writer I write in a creative manner but writing for the media it is very difficult to be creative because you can't editorialise unless you are the editor, of course.

As soon as I decided to go for the placement option I was hot on the case and contacted the editor of the Chronicle straight away. So this was March last year. And he replied straight away saying ‘we’ve never been asked this before but yes come on in’. So for me it was very very straightforward. By March it was all wrapped up. I knew when I was going to go and I knew what I was going to do. My objectives were to learn what went off behind the scenes of a newspaper and also to write articles for publication as requested by the editor. So I have got very clear learning objectives, which I could outline in my learning agreement. And then because I knew I would have certain things happening in the autumn term, I liaised with my tutor, Angi, and I actually undertook my placement in the summer. So by the time I return for the autumn term I was up and running having done the learning agreement, having actually completed the placement, I was then ready to outline the details in my log.

I think for me the value of the placement was an opportunity to have a go at something I would never get the chance to do ever again. I mean who else... which other newspapers would let some random person go in for a week, have the opportunity to access their systems, ring up their customers and have pieces written in their newspaper. It just doesn't happen. So for me what a marvellous opportunity. I’ve had 3 columns published in the newspaper. I’ve had various different articles. I’ve had a byline. So what a wonderful thing to come away from..to come away with after this lovely opportunity. So I'm very grateful Angi for her support and I'm very grateful to MMU you for this placement opportunity.’