Q & A with Award Winning Author Joe Craig!

Check out our interesting Q&A with Joe Craig ahead of his visit to Jordan for his much anticipated workshops for young and aspiring writers. We’ve asked him to tell us a bit about what to expect from the workshops and how he is going to make them fun. He’s even let us know something that not many people know about him. Want to find out what that is? Read on…

Why do you think writing workshops are a good idea for young writers to attend and who would you encourage to sign up?

We understand the world through stories. So getting to know how a story works means you can see the world in new ways. But thinking creatively and coming up with ideas aren’t always straightforward processes – let alone writing those ideas down. So it’s a huge help to learn some simple techniques from someone whose whole existence, every day, is coming up with ideas and writing them down – a writer! There are some basics to story writing and creative thinking that everyone should learn when they’re young, but most people don’t find them out until much, much later – and some people don’t discover them at all. So get ahead. Open up new ways of seeing and thinking about the world.

 

What would you say to someone slightly hesitant about joining your writing workshop because they are shy they might have to share their work with others?

Sharing your work with others is tough – especially when some teacher is going to give it a grade or make a judgement about you because of your work. I’m not going to do any of that. That’s not what I’m here for. I have no interest in giving grades or judging who’s better than who or whether your writing is “good enough”. Writing should be all about the thrill of coming up with ideas: The buzz of creating something out of nothing. Learning how to grip an audience in ways you never thought you could. Nobody needs to share something they’ve written if they don’t want to. Whether you do or not, you’ll get the fun of feeling your imagination stretched and your writing boosted.

 

What can young audiences expect in the sessions and will it be fun?

Definitely fun! You’ll never see stories in the same way again; Movies, books, plays, everything. It’ll be like a guided tour to see behind the scenes in a creator’s mind and you’ll get that magical feeling of your own mind exploring entirely new directions. So yes, it will be fun. Hopefully you’ll laugh a lot. I’m not a teacher and I get bored easily so I’ll make sure you keep me entertained. The thing about writing and coming up with story ideas is, sometimes, the more ridiculous you get, the more original and daring and exciting the result will be.

 

Will you share with us something about yourself that not many people know about you?

I make my own mozzarella cheese. It’s delicious. I don’t use my own milk, though. That would be weird. I get it from a cow. Or, actually, from a shop that’s already got it from a cow for me.

 

What is the first thing you are planning to visit in Jordan when you get the time?

My friends! I have old friends who moved to Jordan years and years ago and I’m so excited to see them. I haven’t seen them in ages.

 

What book are you reading right now?

I’m usually reading several things at once. (I always try to keep my Goodreads account up to date so people can see what I’m reading and how I rated it when I finished.) At the moment I’m reading:

-‘Black Horizon’ by MG Harris (first in the new Gemini Force series)

-‘Love in Infant Monkeys’ by Lydia Millet

-‘Real Time II’ by DH Mellor

-‘Time and Space’ by Barry Dainton

What 2 books had you read by the age of 16?

‘Titus Groan’ by MervynPeake& ‘New York’ Trilogy by Paul Auster
 
 
For more information on the upcoming workshops visit our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/events/1574997502742699
 
or drop us an email on info@mintaad.com