Writers' Workshop

I tried something a bit different this week.  I’ve given talks in the local libraries a few times and they’ve always been very pleasant.  The usual format is that a reading group get together, having read one of more of my books, then I tootle along, talk about what goes into the writing of the opus in question, answer some questions and we all have a cup of tea and a couple of biscuits.  The last talk I did for a library was especially good, because Jane Finnis, who writes an excellent series of murder mysteries set in Ancient Roman Yorkshire, was there and we did the talk together.  However, the talk I gave this week was a little bit different…

The challenge was that, although it was sponsored by a local library, it was open to everyone and I couldn’t rely on any reading-group stalwarts to be there.  The other challenge (problem?  nightmare?) was that I had one and a half hours to fill.  Oh, geez.  I mean, I can rattle on about my books for quite a long time, but an hour and a half? I don’t think so.

So what, short of developing a severe case of Parson’s Throat or emigrating to Brazil, could I do?  The answer, when I thought of it, really appealed to me; let the audience do the work. A writers’ workshop, in fact.  Yup, that’s the trick.

At the start of the session I asked everyone to listen pretty carefully because they were going to have to turn into writers too.  Then I tackled the old chestnut of a question, the one that’s always asked;  “Where do you get your ideas from?”

For some reason – I never been able to figure out why – a lot of writers don’t like this one.  But surely, it’s a perfectly sensible question?  I mean, something has to start the process.  What, exactly?  Well, I imagine there’s a lot of different answers, but what works for me is to find an intriguing situation, something that tugs at my imagination.  How did the situation come about?  Who’s involved?  What happens next?  Those are all questions that send threads out, that lead onto the rest of the story.  My favourite example from my own books is the opening of As If By Magic (if you go onto the books page of this website and click on Magic, it’ll take you to the first chapter.  (Then, of course, maddened by curiosity, you’ll simply have to read the book!)

After talking about ideas for a while, everyone wrote an ambition they had on a scrap of paper, folded it up, and put it into a hat.  Then, just like raffle tickets, the papers were mixed up and everyone drew out an ambition.  They then chose a picture from a collection of photographs I’d brought with me.  The photos were a varied bunch – a ruined house, a railway station, a busy market, children playing, old houses etc.  This is taking a real shortcut to “Where do ideas come from” you see.  After all, if we simply waited for inspiration to strike, we’d probably still be there!

Then, armed with pictures and the “Ambition” everyone sat down to write the first few lines of a poem or short story.  People worked in pairs – it was a fun exercise after all – but what surprised me was that everyone, from a really mixed bunch of people,  flung themselves into it and really wanted to write.  The various pairs came and read their pieces at the end of the session and everyone got (of course) a round of applause and, from what was said, a great deal of satisfaction.  Result!