Drama Workshop - 15th February, 2016

On 15^th February, we were delighted to welcome successful writer and Creative Writing tutor, Jacqs Molloy, to the group. She gave a lively, useful and inspiring workshop on script writing. First, we looked at a section of prose and then analysed how the piece could be adapted for the stage, the radio and the screen. This not only gave an overview of the three genres but also provided useful insights into what is included and what is left out, the value of subtext and the practicalities that have to be considered when writing or adapting material to be performed. There were useful nuggets of wisdom along the journey, eg it is always best to start in the middle of the action, voices have to be distinguishable, eavesdropping is the best way to learn how to create realistic dialogue, film relies on images, rather than speech and finally: “You must give yourself permission to be promiscuous.” (David Hare). It was a really enjoyable evening and huge thanks to Jacqs Molloy for so generously sharing her ideas and experience; we all learned a huge amount and are raring to write our entries for the Drama competition.
Jacq works with writers on a one to one basis to critique in a constructive way and aid writers as they develop their writing voice and style. You can get in touch via her website www.jacqmolloy.com where you can also find out about other events/writing workshops.  

'Given Phrase' Entries - 1st February, 2016

On 1 February, 30 members attended to read out their stories for our first competition of 2016, for which there were 21 varied entries. Our prompt was taken from this year's National Association of Writers' Group's 'given phrase' category: “and then the whispering started”. And plenty of intriguing whispering there was: whispering in woods, in a strange room in a château and on an aeroplane. The whisperers included fairies, a voice in someone's head and a long-dead school friend. Among those who heard the whispers were a fallen woman, a middle-aged widower, a middle-aged adulteress, a disaffected teenaged girl and an unsettled teenaged boy. We experienced tension at a corporate event, conflict between slave and cruel slave owner, the sadness of two young lovers' parting and a bus ride through London's Christmas lights. There was a whiff of mystery and myth: the song of Aneirin, an exquisitely wrought but mysterious serpent necklace and a sinister pond, rippling with fables. We look forward to the judge's results on 29^th February, when successful local writer, Alexandra Benedict, will be visiting to give her feedback.

Annual General Meeting - 18th January, 2016

At our Annual General Meeting, the group's Chair, Eileen Masters, gave a summary of the year, covering such topics as stabilising the membership, reviewing the constitution and continuing to publish an annual anthology. Then Sam Davey, the Treasurer, presented her financial report, which showed the group to be in good shape and showing a small surplus. There will be changes to the committee this year: Marica Woolf will become Membership Officer while Amanda Giles will take on the role of Programme Officer. We then moved on to choosing a cover for this year's anthology, which will raise funds for Hastings Pier Charity and will have Hastings as its theme. Finally, Marcia Woolf read her winning 3000-word Catherine Cookson Cup story, which received a rave review from the judge, a talent scout from a literary agency.

First Meeting - 4th January, 2016

At our first meeting of the year, 24 keen members staggered through the torrents and gales to share their submissions for this year's anthology. As always, there was a wide  variety of genres, styles and voices, all on the loose theme of Hastings, as all proceeds will be donated to the Hastings Pier Charity. We had Grey Owl and magical mermaids, stories set on the sea shore, a library and an art gallery, two tales of thwarted love and one about a man whose main love was drinking. We had poems celebrating, the pier, rain, beach and everything we have on offer in our quirky town. We finished off with a light writing “splurge”, extrapolating paragraphs from prompts inspired by words connected to Hastings. Watch this space for the further adventures of Arthur, the East End seagull, who could well turn out to be our most celebrated 'Down from London'-er ever. Huge congratulations to Marcia Woolf, who has secured a publishing contract for her dark crime novel, Road Kill, on her first attempt.

Presentation Evening - 4th December, 2015

On 4th December, we had our annual Presentation Evening. Sarah O'Halloran, talent scout from the Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency gave a very entertaining talk and useful Q and A session on how to prepare work for a literary agent or publisher, clarifying the differences between a synopsis, a pitch and a blurb. She advocated approaching it like a job application by making sure it was complete and polished to give the work its best possible chance. She then gave brief feedback on all the entries in our annual 3000-word short story competition before announcing the winner of the coveted Catherine Cookson Cup. Marcia Woolf was first with her beautifully executed dark comedy, 'All Saints'; Anne Hooker's 'Moving On' was second; Elizabeth Allen was third with 'Dereliction of Duty', and Roz Balp's 'Ducking and Diving' was fourth. Then, Vice-Chair, Kate O'Hearn presented the certificates to the winners of the five varied competitions of 2015 before handing the Writer of the Year Award to deserving winner, Sally-Ann Clark. The rest of the evening was spent eating, drinking and socialising. We look forward to embarking on another year of writing on 4th January 2016.

Manuscript Evening - 16th November, 2015

At our last Manuscript Evening of the year, on 16^th November, two brave souls provided extracts from their work to be critiqued by other members of the group. Bill Petsing read a section from his memoirs, entitled 'Dad in the 1930s', which painted a vivid portrait of family life in London between the wars. As a first-hand account, it provided a valuable record and a fascinating slice of social history. New member, Anne Hansen, then read her short story, 'The Lost Weekend', an experimental piece, based on a personal ad. It told the story of elderly love in a clear and charming voice. It had a beautiful flow and some intriguing sexual tension. In the second half, members divided into small groups to discuss various writing issues, including how to portray an angel and how to find imagery to convey emotion between two people.

Catherine Cookson Cup Entries - 2nd November, 2015

On 2^nd November, we read out our entries for the annual Catherine Cookson Cup. This year, our judge is Sarah O'Halloran, talent scout with the Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency, and everyone had really pulled out the stops. There was a dazzling array of genres, styles and characters. There was a granny who had left the narrator a mysterious heirloom, an old dear who'd decided gambling might be a solution to her money problems, an Italian contessa, whose survival depended on the efforts of a faithful retainer and another woman who had discovered a talent for teleporting. There was an 8-year-old boy street whose family lived in a factory doorway and an 18-year-old with a secret. There was a tunnel under an apocalyptic world, another in which a husband was busy burrowing under his own street and strange goings on in a hollowed out yew tree. There was a 19th century priest awaiting execution, a young woman who'd escaped her past and a wife who'd got away with murder.