library

The past fortnight has been an absolute whirlwind. I have officially begun my MA in Travel and Nature Writing at Bath Spa University, which I’ve decided to do part time over two years. The course is low residency so I shall be staying in Hertfordshire and completing most of the masters online. However, last week was my first residential which took place in Corsham, a town three miles from Chippenham, Wiltshire. The residential was designed to meet my fellow students and spend five full-on days getting used to postgraduate teaching.

It may sound like an exaggeration but the campus was incredible. Built in 1582, the building is a stunning English country house complete with sweeping grounds and even peacocks that strut comically up and down the walls. I couldn’t help imagining moving staircases and translucent ghosts as I wandered the corridors in search of the library. Although small, its shelves are crammed with books including an enticing selection of nature writing, both old and new.

I am sharing this year’s course with sixteen other writers. While there is a broad range of ages and experience, all but one of us are women – an interesting contrast to the typically male-dominated world of nature writing in previous generations. Everyone is incredibly friendly and I already feel comfortable reading my work in front of them and getting great feedback in return. We were set two writing exercises this week: a piece inspired by senses other than sight and an observational piece from time spent in Corsham High Street. Description is a favourite of mine so I often explore sound, smell and touch as well as visual stimuli, but it was particularly useful to hear what everyone had written and see what details they picked up. Although writing did feature in my undergraduate degree, there was definitely more of an emphasis on visual media, so it was really useful to discover my strengths and identify what I could try next.

65fc464e-0440-4342-bb5a-c15f587296e0 — A visit to Avalon Marshes in Somerset on our last day

Now I’m back in Hertfordshire and already missing the change of scenery, not to mention the time spent chatting with new, like-minded people. We will now mostly be communicating and learning via Google Hangouts until the next residential in February, but I did enjoy meeting face-to-face. I’ve never been taught online before so it will be an interesting new educational experience.

We’ve already been set our first assignment, due next month: an essay on the act of “Writing In The Field”. It will be the first time that I design my own question and I’m a little daunted by that at the moment! I’m sure that once I get reading, I’ll start generating some ideas.

My course leaders are Stephen Moss and Gail Simmons, both successful authors in their own right. I’m so happy to be learning more about the craft of writing, especially on a course tailored to nature and travel. I’ve been stuck in a slight rut this past year and was in need of a new challenge. While I still have the passion and drive, I felt like I was lacking in some of the specific skills I need to pursue a career in writing. I’m convinced that this MA will be a great step for me.

Here’s a question. When is it acceptable to give up on a book? Some may say it never is, but surely there are times when we are allowed to ditch a book halfway through.

I’ve been struggling with this for some time now. I’ve meandered through the last four or five books with mild interest without ever having that undeniable connection. I see people with their heads in books on trains and in cafes and I’m filled with jealousy at how much fun they’re having. I can’t help but feel that I’m becoming fussy, because I never struggled with book boredom as a child.

I tried researching how to resolve this. I typed “can’t find your book” and Google regurgitated a whole range of possible solutions: Wikihow’s “3 ways to find lost objects”, how to find a book on a library system, and “7 steps to find lost objects after panic sets in” (that was just as patronising as it sounds).

None of this was what I meant. I wanted to know how to find MY book, the book that would keep me up all night and have me clinging to every page. It’s a cliché but, annoyingly, clichés are often true. I wanted that experience of falling in love with a book, feeling like you knew the protagonist intimately and was a part of their story as it unfolded. I’ve only felt like this a select number of times, two occasions being Harry Potter and Game of Thrones. Both series are seven books strong and although the latter took me a while, I was just as engaged during the last book as I was at the beginning (good job George).

My latest attempt – and I predict soon-to-be failure – is The Lion’s Eye by Joanna Greenfield. The story is one student’s account of her time studying chimpanzees in East Africa on a once-in-a-lifetime research opportunity. When I found this book in the library I was intrigued. I always love a female protagonist with gumption and I thought I would empathise, seeing as the author was only just in her twenties when offered the research assignment.

I’m now eighty pages in, which is shamefully only a quarter of the book. She’s in the Impenetrable Forest and struggling to adapt to the unforgiving environment, but I find myself still very disconnected. I don’t feel any anticipation or excitement – to care one jot about a real-life story I need to know the author’s history, understand their passions and what drives them. Aside from a genetic condition in one of her eyes, I barely know anything about this woman. As I write about it now I’m not surprised I don’t care what happens to her.

This has turned into a rant, and I didn’t really want to start slating books, but I’ve convinced myself that I shouldn’t need to hang on to an underwhelming book just because it seemed like I would enjoy it or because other people have. While I would advise against giving up most things, there really are too many fish in the sea and too many books in the library. Although there are millions to try, one day I will find MY book.

library

New Chapter

Is Giving Up On A Book Ever OK?