Welcome"Oh my God, what if you wake up some day, and you’re 65, or 75, and you never got your memoir or novel written; or you didn’t go swimming in warm pools and oceans all those years because your thighs were jiggly and you had a nice big comfortable tummy; or you were just so strung out on perfectionism and people-pleasing that you forgot to have a big juicy creative life, of imagination and radical silliness and staring off into space like when you were a kid? It’s going to break your heart. Don’t let this happen." Annie Lamott - Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life |
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Many of us put off doing the things we secretly want to do most, the things we find do to fulfill ourselves, in favour of the things we feel we should do, or the things we do for others - for work or family. It's important to do those things, of course, but it's also important to find time for yourself, for the things that satisfy your own need to create. And writing is an area where this happens a lot. People feel it's in some way presumptuous to write, in a way that it isn't to paint or make music or dance. If you do water colour painting or play the guitar, people don't usually ask you which gallery your art is in or if you have a record out, but the first question most people ask if you say you write is, "Have you been published?" Confessing you haven't can immediately feel like failure.
But most people don't write to be published. You can write just for yourself - to understand yourself better, to find out what you think. You can write for your family, to pass on your story to your children or grandchildren. You can write just for fun - because you enjoy it. You might not even know why you write - you just feel you have to do it. You don't need to justify why you write to anyone.
In my own classes I take writers of all levels, from complete beginners to people who have been writing for years, people who write for pleasure and people who are professionals. Everyone enjoys listening to other people's stories and sharing their own: writing keeps their minds active and stops them from feeling lonely. They like the social dimension too and often make friends in the class. Sharing writing enables people to get to know each other very quickly. Other people prefer not to work in groups. They just want to get on with it and get advice and support from a professional.
I can offer support in both these areas. I am a professional writer, editor and creative writing tutor and mentor, based in East Sussex. I work with people in other places too, though my preference is always to meet face to face if possible. I'm a published writer - for more about my own writing go to my author website or blog - and I've also been a creative writing tutor and mentor for over twenty years, teaching at the University of Sussex, the University of Brighton and now on the two year part-time Creative Writing Programme at New Writing South, which evolved from the Certificate in Creative Writing at Sussex University. I run my own writing class and a novel support group in Newhaven, and I also offer one to one manuscript appraisals and continuing mentoring for writers. I believe in being flexible in my approach and tailor what I offer to suit people's individual needs.
For more about me and testimonials, go to About Me. For more on what I offer in the way for support for writers, go to my Writing Clinic page.
But most people don't write to be published. You can write just for yourself - to understand yourself better, to find out what you think. You can write for your family, to pass on your story to your children or grandchildren. You can write just for fun - because you enjoy it. You might not even know why you write - you just feel you have to do it. You don't need to justify why you write to anyone.
In my own classes I take writers of all levels, from complete beginners to people who have been writing for years, people who write for pleasure and people who are professionals. Everyone enjoys listening to other people's stories and sharing their own: writing keeps their minds active and stops them from feeling lonely. They like the social dimension too and often make friends in the class. Sharing writing enables people to get to know each other very quickly. Other people prefer not to work in groups. They just want to get on with it and get advice and support from a professional.
I can offer support in both these areas. I am a professional writer, editor and creative writing tutor and mentor, based in East Sussex. I work with people in other places too, though my preference is always to meet face to face if possible. I'm a published writer - for more about my own writing go to my author website or blog - and I've also been a creative writing tutor and mentor for over twenty years, teaching at the University of Sussex, the University of Brighton and now on the two year part-time Creative Writing Programme at New Writing South, which evolved from the Certificate in Creative Writing at Sussex University. I run my own writing class and a novel support group in Newhaven, and I also offer one to one manuscript appraisals and continuing mentoring for writers. I believe in being flexible in my approach and tailor what I offer to suit people's individual needs.
For more about me and testimonials, go to About Me. For more on what I offer in the way for support for writers, go to my Writing Clinic page.
My Newsletter
I send out a newsletter only whenever I feel I have something useful to say. It will include details of courses coming up, links to interesting articles about writing or the publishing world, exercises that I devise, and my own thoughts and discoveries about writing and teaching writing. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please use the form on the top right of this page. You can unsubscribe at any time. You can also follow me on Facebook through my Writing Clinic page or my Author page.
I send out a newsletter only whenever I feel I have something useful to say. It will include details of courses coming up, links to interesting articles about writing or the publishing world, exercises that I devise, and my own thoughts and discoveries about writing and teaching writing. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please use the form on the top right of this page. You can unsubscribe at any time. You can also follow me on Facebook through my Writing Clinic page or my Author page.
