WRITERS’ CIRCLES
http://www.writers-online.co.uk MARCH 2020 45If your writing group would like to feature here, whether you need new members, have an event
to publicise or to suggest tips for other groups, email Tina Jackson, [email protected]CIRCLES’ ROUNDUP
ASA
SPOTLIGHT ON...
The Scribblers group at the Linskill Centre in North Shields, Tyne
& Wear, formed three years ago when the charity opened its doors
to engage with the over 55s, writes Chris Wysocki.
That’s when half a dozen strangers became friends. We now have a
core membership of eleven passionate writers, of mixed background
and experience, united by a love of the language and a desire to
further develop our skill.THE SCRIBBLERS WRITING GROUP
ASA
e Foxes’ Retreat Writing Group
The Foxes’ Retreat Writing Group provides a meeting place for local
writers to share ideas, to play with words, and to have fun with their
writing projects, writes Myszka Matthews.
Writing can be a lonely pursuit, and we had been looking for a way
to expand our creative writing workshops by gifting into the local
community, when we realised that hosting a space to write in once a
month may be just the way to do this.
This fledgling group is free to attend, and our founder members
have plans for the coming year to work on different genres, testing out
our skills on less familiar forms, rather than sticking to our familiar
friends of short stories and journalling. We intend to get out and about
too, when the weather is kind to us, making the most of the stunning
countryside around us for inspiration, and as stimulus for our writing.
We start each group meeting with a fifteen-minute writing exercise,
to stimulate ideas and discussion, and to loosen up our pens and
minds. We work in the farmhouse kitchen or snug in the cooler
months, and perhaps will use the belltent in the gardens for shade
in the summer, should we be lucky enough to have some heat next
year. Sharing our current projects and ideas is the main part of our
meetings, supporting with constructive comments on aspects of each
other’s work. We are keeping an eye on writing competitions and
deadlines, and hope to use the group as a focus to share our writingmore widely.
Our aim is to
encourage people who
have hidden desires
to write to take that
momentous step in
putting pen to paper
and telling the stories
that lie within them.
We hosted a Storytelling Circle in
a bell tent, with a log burner, on
Hallowe’en, which elicited many
interesting and diverse stories being
shared orally.
There will be an afternoon writers’
group and an evening writers’ group,
on the third Wednesday of the
month, to ensure that it is accessible
and flexible for all. Please contact us
for further details of joining us.
Details: email: [email protected]; website: http://www.
foxesretreat.comThe format is simple: we write our stories then bring them to the
table for honest and constructive feedback. A broad range of topics
is fertile ground for inventive writers who learn through critique,
which in itself is a learning curve, as is the art of listening. We also
cover the technical aspects of structure, point of view, language and
grammar. By bouncing ideas off each other we develop and improve.
The group has also been proactive. Last autumn we published
our fourth anthology, which includes winning entries of a
competition for local schoolchildren on the theme of seaside
adventures. We received very imaginative stories. Each book launch
is well-attended, with readings by the authors, among whom we
list competition winners and poets.
‘In addition to in-house workshops, guest speakers cover
genres such as horror and writing for young adults, publishing
and copyright. Audiences with authors and publishers are
diverse and open to the public.
‘As every writer knows, to see one’s work in print brings joy and
inspiration. But does it end there? No – with each publication comes
an analysis of progress and great satisfaction in hearing approving
comments. The learning never ends.
Details: email: [email protected]