Continuing Activities - Month Eight
Dec. 21st, 2019 11:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smallhobbitI've completed two more FutureLearn courses, which I've now finished for the year. Naturally, though, I'm enrolled for a couple which begin part way through January.
The first was How to Make a Poem by Manchester Metropolitan University. Although I would class myself as a beginner, in that I'm unpublished and don't take part in workshops etc, I found that, like in the fiction writing course, writing fanfic has taught me a lot. I did learn some extra things, and peer reviewed a couple of great poems, but didn't feel it gave my poetry a great boost. Which meant when we had to write our first 'proper' poem I decided to do one I was already planning to write for Sloth's Christmas Miscellany Advice from the Sloth. To my surprise, I had a couple of great reviews, so I was happy.
The other course was Working Lives in the Factories & Mills: Textile History and Heritage by University of Strathclyde. This was the third of the Working Lives courses, and just as good as the previous two. I've found the whole twelve weeks fascinating, especially because not only do the courses look at the work people were doing, but also includes some of the songs and literature. A couple of fun moments: at the beginning of the first week mill owners were discussed and North & South was mentioned as describing a fictional mill owner. In the comments I mentioned I rather liked a certain portrayal of John Thornton (see icon) and a couple of others agreed with me :) Then in the final week, we had the opportunity to create the synopsis of a novel about a mill lass, and I described how she met the owner's son when he fell off his horse. The mentor commented that this type of meeting was a classic 'meet cute'!
This year I have completed 23 FutureLearn courses on a variety of different subjects. Some have been better than others, but I've learnt all sorts of things, many of which I would never have learnt otherwise, and I'm truly delighted to have done so. FutureLearn is free and available worldwide, so I would thoroughly recommend anyone having a look.
Apart from following courses, I am also continuing with my cross stitch:
That's one year's worth of stitching.
The first was How to Make a Poem by Manchester Metropolitan University. Although I would class myself as a beginner, in that I'm unpublished and don't take part in workshops etc, I found that, like in the fiction writing course, writing fanfic has taught me a lot. I did learn some extra things, and peer reviewed a couple of great poems, but didn't feel it gave my poetry a great boost. Which meant when we had to write our first 'proper' poem I decided to do one I was already planning to write for Sloth's Christmas Miscellany Advice from the Sloth. To my surprise, I had a couple of great reviews, so I was happy.
The other course was Working Lives in the Factories & Mills: Textile History and Heritage by University of Strathclyde. This was the third of the Working Lives courses, and just as good as the previous two. I've found the whole twelve weeks fascinating, especially because not only do the courses look at the work people were doing, but also includes some of the songs and literature. A couple of fun moments: at the beginning of the first week mill owners were discussed and North & South was mentioned as describing a fictional mill owner. In the comments I mentioned I rather liked a certain portrayal of John Thornton (see icon) and a couple of others agreed with me :) Then in the final week, we had the opportunity to create the synopsis of a novel about a mill lass, and I described how she met the owner's son when he fell off his horse. The mentor commented that this type of meeting was a classic 'meet cute'!
This year I have completed 23 FutureLearn courses on a variety of different subjects. Some have been better than others, but I've learnt all sorts of things, many of which I would never have learnt otherwise, and I'm truly delighted to have done so. FutureLearn is free and available worldwide, so I would thoroughly recommend anyone having a look.
Apart from following courses, I am also continuing with my cross stitch:
That's one year's worth of stitching.
no subject
Date: 2019-12-23 05:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-12-23 07:23 am (UTC)