After hearing of the 'Taking the Plunge' programme (from Anne Caldwell during a presentation she gave during my first evening on the Creative Writing MA at MMU) I decide to apply. I'm told to apply I should pass my application to Kaye Tew at MMU. Kaye is the Outreach Co-ordinator and is responsible for outreach activities in the English Department, including overall responsibility for the Association of Creative Writing & English and associated activities/events. Anne Caldwell is NAWE's Professional Development Manager.







Dear Kaye,

Further to our recent conversations on the NAWE ‘Taking the Plunge’ programme, here is my application.

I am currently a student on the Creative Writing MA programme at MMU and prior to this enjoyed a period of study which included creative writing as part of a humanities degree course. I am currently planning what will hopefully become my future career around creative writing. As a result, I am exploring as many opportunities as possible that will have either vocational qualifications or experience as their outcome.

Should I be successful in securing a traineeship on the scheme, I would hope to further my experience in the classroom environment. I have spent some time in one primary school interviewing Key Stage One students with the intention of assessing whether or not a gender bias existed in the literature provided by the National Curriculum. I found the classroom experience challenging at first but ultimately very rewarding. I would hope that ‘Taking the Plunge’ would be able to give me the opportunity of fostering creativity within students/children, which is something I have found I enjoy whilst working with my own son and his friends both in and out of the classroom. Beyond this, I would also hope to get some robust form of feedback on my performance from both Mandy Coe and the school(s) involved with the programme.

I feel the above points could only benefit my working practice by exposing me to a more collaborative style of working. My writing process did used to be quite an insular experience. I was lucky enough to get a position on the editorial team of the MMU publication ‘Muse’ during my time at the University. This experience helped me work with others and I think shadowing a professional and experienced writer, acting as a facilitator, helping them plan and execute a programme of events would only enhance my ability to organize and help me focus upon the important rather than the urgent. My working practice has in the main been just that, mine and mine only. To grow as a writer I feel I need to experience and respond to the needs and requirements of others in creative situations.

I would like to think that I am able to bring the necessary patience and understanding to such sessions to enable the students to get the most from the limited time available. I very much enjoy the process of creating ‘positive’ experiences for children outside of a classroom. I would hope that that a male presence would help act as a catalyst for some of the male students. The creative arts can sometimes be seen as a ‘feminine’ route. I would very much like to help dispel that if at all possible.


Mark Chambers