I lead a creative writing group, and it was our meeting this afternoon. Each month I set them a task which they can interpret however they like or totally ignore, it really is up to them – some people in the group who have very busy lives sometimes just come with ideas… well, that is fine too! I always enjoy the meetings but this afternoon was especially enjoyable.
First of all we caught up with each other’s writing news, that I have all but finished my next novel, now definitely called Beyond Hope, another member talked about his very interesting guided walk booklet which will include geology, history, descriptions as well as directions, someone else caught us up with the progress she has made since successfully completing the National Novel Writing Month challenge in November – she completed the challenge, and completed the first draft of her novel. We welcomed back a member who hadn’t been able to come for a while, and said au revoir to someone else who will miss the next few get-togethers as he will be travelling to New Zealand!
I had found some writing competitions which I thought people might be interested in which I gave out and we discussed, and then we settled down to today’s session. leading up to our coffee/tea break I usually discuss the stimulus for next time’s writing. In february, I would like them to write a review of one of their own pieces of work… quite a tricky challenge! I had printed out some book reviews from national newspapers, trying to get a variety of different types of book, and we each read one, and commented on the review – not the book which was being reviewed. Everyone seemed to think self-reviewing would be really difficult, and we discussed editing and proof-reading our own work. I’m not sure if any of the group will have a go at the challenge – but will probably choose another book to review.
Coffee and tea break; one of our members has a gluten intolerance, and one is diabetic, so I had made some gluten-free cheese biscuits which suited both… and everyone else enjoyed them too! We had a brief discussion about ukuleles, music, reading music, playing the piano, ballet lessons… then refreshments finished we got down to the business of sharing what we had written.
I feel that as I lead the group, I shouldn’t take up the time with my own writing, although I do talk about it and talk about my experiences writing. Everyone and brought something to read, and we actually ran over by half an hour so it was just as well I didn’t have my own work to share!
This is what I had set them to do:
Inside/outside, inwards looking/looking out, light/dark, friend/stranger… Your task for next year is to write something which is from two contrasting points of view… a story maybe, a discussion on an issue, different reviews of one book/TV programme/series/film… Two opposing views in one piece of writing!
…and here is what they wrote:
- a comic/Gothic short story… or a Gothic/comic short story (with a very creepy description of a handwritten, ‘we will follow you’, notice in the rain, written in red ink which had run and looked like blood
- a poem about a medieval battle which revealed at the end it was about a game of chess (with a marvellous image of an iron wall of attackers climbing the ramparts)
- a story told from different characters point of view, where a certain truth suggested in the first few lines was only properly explained in the last few lines
- a child’s perspective on pregnancy, and the adult man’s memory of his thoughts
- a poem which could be reversed, read one way it was negative, read ‘back to front’ it was positive
- an excellent and intriguing story which we discussed for a long time – someone is on top of a mountain admiring the view, almost lost between the sky and clouds and the magical and mystical reflection of them in a lake below… the second page was a descent from the mountain… but who was descending? The same person? The person and a friend? The person and a ghostly presence? Very clever, very, very clever, and beautifully written!
What a clever group they are… I learn so much, and am inspired by our discussions and their work!
Lois Elsden 