I have decided I feel a bit better about my OU result. I got 30 out of 33 for Flying Like Superman, which I am well chuffed with, and 23 out of 33 and 34 respectively for the Ellery Crisp piece and the Croatian one.
My tutor told me I ‘write with clarity and skill’ and ‘understand the connection between character and atmosphere.’ She said Bruno in my Croatian story was such a vivid character, she wondered whether he is one I had been previously developing. He actually isn’t, I created him purely for that assignment, so I was flattered by her assumption.
Her main criticism was that I ought to keep things a bit simpler when writing to restrictive word counts, and cut down on excessive backstory. I agree with her – I do tend to over-complicate storylines. I am so paranoid about my work coming across as ‘boring’ that I try to cram in too much story.
So really I can’t complain about my result. I have chatted with fellow OU students on the course forum, and quite a few achieved similar marks. At least the criticisms were just, unlike certain reviews I’ve received this year which were simply rude and vitriolic.
