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Themself: Confessions of an Open University Creative Writing Student Paperback – January 21, 2016

by James Kemp (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars 7 ratings
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What do they teach you at Creative Writing school?

This is an inspirational piece of life writing that should encourage those that want to try a new creative pursuit No matter how busy you think you are, you can do it.

Praise for Crisis Point"Tightly plotted, well-written, thrilling stuff, written by a man who knows his business." - M.J. Logue

"I could not stop reading until the end..." - Amazon.com reviewer

Themself: My Experience as an Open University Creative Writing Student

James Kemp started Creative Writing with the Open University in October 2013. Themself is the story of how he became a better writer.

As well as the stories and poetry he wrote there is commentary on how and why they were written. He shares notes on how to build worlds, create characters, tell stories, write poetry and fiction.

The main stories in Themself are:

  • Night Patrol - a tense night with the British Army
  • Rounds - a young midwife solves a problem by helping several others
  • Refusal - an immigration officer deals with a visitor who is more than she claims
  • Hunting Nazis - two former SOE agents haveunfinished business in 1953 Berlin.

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  1. Reading age
    11 - 18 years
  2. Print length
    240 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Dimensions
    5 x 0.55 x 8 inches
  5. Publication date
    January 21, 2016
  6. ISBN-10
    1909951161
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1909951167
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From the Back Cover

This is an inspirational piece of life writing that should encourage those that want to try a new creative pursuit. If you've always wondered if you can write, this book shows that you can do it too.

About the Author

James Kemp is a Glaswegian with a strong talent for telling stories. He has studied Creative Writing with the open university and also has a BSc from the University of Glasgow. He writes a variety of fiction, non-fiction & poetry. His first published story, Crisis Point, came from taking part in the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in 2012. He has also written about his experiences as a creative writing student. He has written a novel about genetically modified people due for publication in late 2016 and is in the process of researching for a non-fiction book on late 17th century military history. In his teens he was an active member of the Territorial Army and during that time he ran over a Land Rover, slept out in -15 degrees, blew up stuff and accidentally shelled himself while training as an artillery forward observer. The last of which was the subject matter for his first poem, Bloom. James works full-time as a senior manager in the UK civil service, is married to a fantastic woman, with two kids and is also a school governor & cub scout leader when he isn't writing or editing stories.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Castlegreen Publishing (January 21, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1909951161
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1909951167
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 11 - 18 years
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.55 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.6 out of 5 stars 7 ratings

About the author

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James Kemp

James Kemp

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All author royalties will be donated to charity.

James Kemp is a Glaswegian with a strong talent for telling stories. He has studied Creative Writing with the open university and also has a BSc from the University of Glasgow. He writes a variety of fiction, non-fiction & poetry. His first published story, Crisis Point, came from taking part in the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in 2012. He has also written about his experiences as a creative writing student.

Almost 30 years after he went to work full-time for the UK civil service in London he is now back in his native Scotland as a senior civil servant. Living in Angus with his fantastic wife and youngest child. James is also an explorer scout leader training teenagers for the Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Customer reviews

3.6 out of 5 stars
7 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Terry Tyler
    3.0 out of 5 stars A good book for novice writers
    Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2016
    Reviewed by me as a member of Rosie Amber's Review Team

    This is a sort of diary, originally produced via James Kemp's blog, of some of his exercises from his course. It includes some pieces he submitted, and a few other random ones, and poetry. At the back there is some information on editing, self-publishing and promotion from James's own experience.

    This would be of interest to the absolute beginner, as some of the initial exercises are elementary, the sort of thing one learns at school. It's nicely written and laid out, and James's manner is honest, pleasant and helpful.

    This book skirts the edges of the various subjects it explores, as James's experience in such things as editing and marketing a book via Twitter is limited. The information is basic, but not unhelpful, though some is incorrect (the minimum price to charge for a book on Amazon UK is 99p, not 77p). I do think, though, that writing talent is not something that can be taught; exercises about how to describe the smells in your garden won't make your writing compelling if you have no innate gift for the written word. Then again, they might help bring out some latent creativity, or develop confidence.

    To sum up, this is a book for a novice or another creative writing student. If James wants to sell more copies, I would advise him to change the title to make it more clear what it's about, and the cover; I'm not sure what 'Themself' is getting at, or the relevance of the dinosaur skeleton, while 'Confessions of' suggests a humorous book.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Spice
    4.0 out of 5 stars Instructive and entertaining.
    Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2016
    As a writer myself I enjoyed James Kemp’s experiences of following an OU course in creative writing. Apparently, these were published regularly on his blog and then integrated into a book, which means that there is sometimes repetition. But this doesn’t detract from the interest.

    There are helpful pointers for inexperienced writers and useful reminders for those who have been writing for years. It was fascinating to follow the processes included on the course and to read how the author structured his various writing assignments, which include a number of different genres.
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Happycat
    4.0 out of 5 stars A useful walk through this OU module
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 7, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    The only disappointment I had with this book, is that most of the links aren’t there.I am seriously considering starting this course🙂
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