Barbara Large will be running creative writing classes at the Dovetail Centre in Chandler’s Ford from 21st September 2016.
This is great news for any writer who is looking for the mutual support creative writing classes can give and who want to develop their skills.
Barbara Large, MBE will be a familiar face to many writers in Hampshire as she founded the Winchester Writing Conference, one of the most popular and best known writing festivals in the country, based at the University of Winchester. Today it is called the Winchester Writers’ Festival but it still reaching out and helping writers to fulfil their potential. And we are lucky to have the Festival right on our doorstep.
Barbara is also involved with the Hampshire Writers’ Society where guest speakers talk on writing topics. They meet on the second Tuesday of each month at 7.30 pm in the University of Winchester’s Stripe Theatre. Talks are given by writers, agents and publishers. The Society website has a blog page and Brenda Sedgwick has blogged here about her novel, Marriage, A Journey and A Dog.
I’ve given the links to the Society website which gives more information but membership is £25 if paid before 31st August, rising to £30 after 1st September. This entitles members to attend 10 monthly events and join in the Society’s writing competitions free of charge.
How I met Barbara
I first met Barbara at the Winchester Writing Conference many moons ago. She was supportive and encouraging, which was a great help to a nervous first time visitor to the conference. It makes a world of difference to what said nervous visitor gets out of the conference and to whether they want to go back! I have been back many times since then I’m glad to say.
And there are hundreds of writers like me who have learned so much through the Festival and been glad of the wonderful welcome and support. One of my proudest moments was winning a commendation certificate in the Festival’s Short Story competition a few years ago. That certificate was signed by Barbara and takes pride of place on my “writing wall”.
I couldn’t tell you how many enter the various writing competitions the Festival organises each year but it is a significant number so anyone who wins, is shortlisted or commended can genuinely feel a sense of achievement.
And the big news is Barbara will be coming to Chandler’s Ford to continue what has been her life mission which is to encourage writers to enjoy writing and help them develop their craft.
CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOPS
DOVETAIL CENTRE, METHODIST CHURCH, CHANDLER’S FORDHello Chandler’s Ford Writers
Join our Creative Writing classes in the Dovetail Centre, Methodist Church,
Chandlers Ford, on either:-Wednesday evening 7-9pm starting September 21st
or Thursday morning 09:15-11:15 starting September 22nd.
Find the Storyteller in You
Do writers begin with a setting, a character, an action, an object or just a thought?
Join us and find out.
Whether you are an experienced writer or a beginner, build your writing skills and learn how to edit your fiction, non fiction and poetry into marketable and prize winning manuscripts.
You will learn how to build characters, create plotting tension devices and endings that fit. Wake up the writer in you by experiencing examples of excellent writing and trying short exercises to generate your writing energy.
You will be shown that all-important ‘hook’ to generate interest from the editor, publisher and competition judge. Learn how to critique your work so that you can revise your work with more confidence.
Contact Barbara Large at b.a.large@gmail.com for further information.
Additional Information
The classes are for ten weeks and will run from Wednesday September 21st to Wednesday 7th December. The Thursday classes will run from September 22nd to December 8th. There is a brief tea and coffee break in each class.
Costs: £14.00 per session so the total cost would be £140.00.
Please note writers would need to enrol for the block of ten classes.
To bring with you: Writers would need to bring pens and paper.
Assignments are given each week and critiqued in class.
The final polished work will be published termly in an anthology.
Classes would resume after Christmas in January and again after Easter 2017.
Encouraging Writers
I like the idea of a termly anthology as there is nothing like seeing your name and work in print to spur you on to greater efforts.
Success in writing usually comes through a series of small steps. The first one, obviously, is the first acceptance of work for publication but with that behind you, there is something to build on and anthologies can be very useful in helping a writer create their writing CV.
I have found the Winchester Writers’ Festival immensely helpful not just because of what I continue to learn from the talks but because I have made other writing friends such as Jacci Gooding, who I recently interviewed about her upcoming adventures in self publishing with her short story collection, A Collection of Unsettling Short Stories.
The Festival also confirms you are not alone as a writer and there is nothing like someone else who is also creating work for publication to understand both the joys and frustrations of creative writing.
I hope all who go to Barbara’s classes at the Dovetail Centre have a wonderful time. I also hope the anthology will be available widely (as it is such a good advert for what can be done) and that a lot of creative talent is discovered in our area.
Why? Because no two writers will tell stories in exactly the same way, the more variety there is out there, the healthier it is for writing and reading in general, and stories of someone achieving success with their writing can be so encouraging for others.
And classes can be a great way to start someone off on their personal writing journey. Good luck to all who take part and may you find the hard work you put in pays off and, as a result, you find you achieve more than you thought.
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Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.
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I enjoyed the way writing classes made me do things I had not thought of. We used to have a 3 minute scribble. One I remember began “On the third day out, the camel died…” Then we had 3 minutes to write what happened next. What you wrote did not have to be a masterpiece, nor spelled correctly but you had to read it out after 3 minutes. Twelve people in the class produced the beginnings of 12 different stories. The exercise was to make you creative. Try it.
Many thanks, Mike. I’ve used this exercise in different classes in the past, including at Winchester, and they are huge fun. You discover you CAN produce creative work quickly and knowing it does not have to be perfect, nobody is expecting it to be, is a great liberator. You really do just get on and write. I also recommend Ernest Hemingway’s six word story exercise. His was “For sale: one pair baby shoes”. Now there’s a story (and could make either a classic beginning or end to a tale). To start things off, for anyone who wants to have a go at this, my six word story is: “He refused to kill the dragon”.
I attend the Wednesday evening class. It is not only helpful if you are a budding writer but also great fun. Thoroughly recommend it.
I can’t think of anyone more encouraging and helpful to aspiring writers than Barbara. So am not surprised you’re enjoying the classes, Karen!
How wonderful that Barbara Large continues to inspire new writers to fulfil their aspirations. She is another Wonder of the World. I’d never have found my agent without having attended her Annual Writers’ Conference back in 1998. Truly inspirational!
I have just read a piece about your group on the web – is the creative writing group still going and, if so, have you space on the sessions for Autumn 2019?
Hello, Jane. Allison Symes here. Sorry I really don’t know about the group as I’ve not received any further updates but this is a good opportunity to put a call out. If anyone does know if the Chandler’s Ford group is still going, could they please confirm here? Many thanks