'Yearning and its Uses'

This article makes a case for the centrality of yearning in fictional representations of characters. With the help of illustrations from other writers, Adam Phillips, Olen Butler and Ted Hughes I argue that this element is often missing from the creative work of student. I present here, my attempt, through exercises and other stimulus, to generate this yearning or longing in the work of my MA students the on the Creative and Life Writing Program at Goldsmiths. I present here a set of linked exercises with samples of students’ writing, offering a commentary on each and concluding with some tentative, but positive findings.