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Helen Barrell's avatar

The thought of hopping back and forth between two mindsets sounds very difficult. I would think that, even if you do the creative component first, the spectre of the critical component is looming.

I would feel like I was being watched over my shoulder by an academic critic as I wrote. On the one hand, it might be like being inside your own creative writing version of a cookery video (I sometimes get this Big Voice commentating as I cook. "And the sugar needs to be sifted. No shortcuts here. I'm just gently tapping the sieve against my hand. Ooh, it looks like snow!" But obviously it would be the academic version. "And now, as I write a whole chapter in one sentence, I am reflecting on James Joyce..."). On the other hand, that bristling presence might make be sieze up completely. Th Critic isn't looking very happy about my slapdash metaphors. "I'll fix them in the second draft, Critic! Don't be so mean!"

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Rob True's avatar

I enjoy writing fiction, but I hate the thought of doing a PhD in Creative Writing.

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