Introduction
To a creative writing student, uni can be a scary place. Here you are frequently required to take chances, to risk failure, to put your voice out there for the world to see. But it’s also a community; a place where, to quote a character from The Ties That Bind, “we can be scared together”. That sense of community is particularly strong at Bath Spa University. There is something about the verdant campus, the sweeping grassy hills dotted with ancient trees and stone buildings dating back hundreds of years, that acts as a kind of idyllic womb, where one can feel at ease to take chances in relative safety. Sometimes, if you stay here long enough, you can almost hear “the rest of the world” off in the distance, struggling with the unpleasant task of living imperfect lives. From this island in a sea of chaos, one can take a breather and reflect. It’s like the darkened, comfortable seats in the theatre balcony, a high and safe perch from which to peek down at the world with all its troubles, and for a time enjoy the luxury of fixing our eyes only on the parts that most compel us. Needless to say, it’s a superb writing environment. One could do much worse than be a student at Bath Spa University. This is a place to try new things. Here, over the course of a year, MA students spend many full weekends workshopping each other’s work -- a gruelling but exhilarating process. Students are encouraged to explore conflict in all its forms. For some students, this may have been their first or second foray into a new medium. Their stories vary from the absurd to the ultra-realistic, from action movies to character-driven theatre, from silly comedy to heavy drama. It’s surprising how greatly the works can vary, but what’s even more surprising is what they have in common… A script may not mimic the writer’s life, but it always reflects it. Jamie Whear is not a clown who lives in a house full of slackers, Gemma Middleton is no psychic and Rod Stacy-Marks is not a fishing captain. But every writer, regardless of the “assignment”, puts their own feelings about the world, both the idealized way it should be and the unfortunate way it really is, into their characters and stories. This is rarely, if ever, a matter of choice.