Blog Tour: Water & Glass by Abi Curtis ; a thrilling Dystopian tale about human nature!

Available here

It gives me great pleasure to host Abi Curtis' Blog Tour for her debut novel Water & Glass on The Crime Warp today.  Abi's blog tour runs from 30th November till 7th December.  Today she is going to give us five reasons to do a creative writing course, which as I've just started my own PHD at Leeds Trinity University is particularly interesting for me.

Here's a bit about the book 

SEA LEVELS HAVE RISEN. THE LAST SHIP HAS SAILED.

WHO GETS TO DECIDE WHAT WE WILL BECOME?

WATER & GLASS

By award-winning poet ABI CURTIS

Published by Cloud Lodge Books

OUT 30^th November 2017 

Hardback £12.99 

A thrilling dystopian debut from an award-winning poet

Zoologist Nerissa Crane has been chosen to attend to a collection of animals kept in the lower decks of The Baleen, a massive submarine designed to save specially selected humans and animals from catastrophic, world-wide floods. Her job is to care for her charges and not ask questions. The ship is manned by an unseen crew and policed by sweet-talking stewards.

Amidst the hubbub of the animal quarters, a captive creature escapes and scuttles into the upper levels of the ship. He soon becomes an unobtrusive witness to the fearful gossip now spreading about the decks: whispers of a stowaway in the shadows of the hold.

Still haunted by memories of her missing husband, Nerissa sets out to recover the escaped creature. Her explorations of the submarine society opens her eyes to the sacrifices humans will make in the face of ecological chaos and the lengths they will go to survive.

With stunning prose and a riveting narrative, Abi Curtis’ debut novel explores the impact of environmental disaster on our world.  

Five reasons to do a creative writing course:

 You love reading.

I work at York St John Uni, where students can take course in

Creative Writing from undergraduate to postgraduate level. A huge part of what we do is to read. Good writers love books, love stories, poems and scripts, and are fascinated by how these are put together. They love what can be done with language. The work of other writers will inspire you, but also act as a model for the techniques you want to learn. As a writer, you enter a conversation that is cultural and historical, with other writers. So being a good writer must start with reading.

   You love writing

   What you might have expected at the top of the list. Writing can be a lonely business, and there are times when we just have to get those words down and carve out time to do so. A writing course, short or long, can sometimes be a way of finding time for yourself, especially if other commitments keep getting in the way.

    Being part of a community of writers inspires you.

    Lots of courses are taught by published writers and invite authors to give readings. These events can be an occasion to meet with like-minded writers like yourself, and meet your literary heroes. Being part of a writing community might also involve reading your own work in a performance context, or getting involved in an anthology of student work.

    You can take constructive criticism and appreciate the power of re-drafting.

  Most Creative Writing courses involve an element of ‘work-shopping’ –sharing your writing with your group and your tutors or mentors in order to gain feedback and improve your work. It can be a scary prospect to put your work on the line, but if you think about it, this is a way to recreate the professional relationship you might seek with an agent, editor or publisher. Giving good feedback to other writers also hones your own editorial ‘tool-box’, making you a better re-drafter of your own work.

      You want to challenge yourself.

 Creative Writing courses will likely introduce you to new texts you might not normally have read. They will make you aware of the choices you make unconsciously when you write. They might take you out of your comfort zone. But they will produce new work, inspire you and make you write more, giving you a focus you might find hard to achieve alone. They are not for everyone, however. A local writer’s group, mentoring scheme, or your own reading might be enough for you to develop your work, find a publisher and then begin to work with them. But for those who enjoy the community, the deadlines and the stimulation of a course, it can bring your work on tremendously. I have taken residential courses, which provided me the space, time and sanctuary to write; one-off workshops which sparked a new idea, an MA course and a PhD in writing. In all cases, I benefitted from the discipline and focus these provided, but felt challenged and introduced to new ideas. Water & Glass by Abi Curtis is out now (£12.99, Cloud Lodge Books)