WRITING WORKSHOPS

Cherry Blossom

CORONA UPDATE:

My in-person workshops are on hold during the Covid-19 crisis. I am running lots of online workshops and discussion groups. For all details click here.

In more normal times, I run short story workshops at my home in central Bath. The workshops are on Saturday mornings roughly once a month. Sometimes I run a whole day workshop at my house during which writers have the opportunity to explore an area of story, have the space to write, and receive feedback on a piece of previously submitted work.

I have run writing workshops for many years: at festivals and arts centres with Bristol short story collective Heads and Tales, for Julian House homeless charity in Bath, for the Refugee Centre in Bristol, for the University of the Third Age in Bath. I was very honoured recently to run a workshop at the inaugural Clifton Village Lit Fest, in Bristol. My background as a script editor for the BBC and Granada TV and my MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa has given me experience of working with a wide range of writers.

All of the workshops aim to be supportive and encouraging to writers of short stories at all levels. I provide exercises which are stimulating and inspiring (hopefully!) in a warm, friendly atmosphere. All workshops run on Saturday mornings from 10.00-1.00pm. My Bath workshops cost £10. They can be booked via Eventbrite.

Workshops coming up:

All workshops are currently online. Click here to see what's coming up.

Editorial Services:

I have mentored a number of writers at various stages of their writing careers. I enjoy working on a one-to-one basis and would delighted to consider new mentees.
I can provide a written critique of a piece of writing with constructive suggestions for improvement.

Please get in touch if you are interested in either of these services.

I am proud to be an Arts Mentor for Koestler Arts.

WHAT THE WRITERS THOUGHT

I ran a workshop recently which looked at story structure and narrative. It was a wonderfully productive and creative morning, with some fantastic pieces of writing emerging. Here are some of the responses from the writers who came along: ‘Inspiring and engaging’, ‘SO helpful’, ‘Friendly feedback’, ‘I liked the mixture of tips, facts and writing exercises’, ‘Fun’, ‘Loved it’.

After a recent ‘Writing for Performance’ workshop the writers said: “I thoroughly enjoyed the small group and how supportive it felt.” “Totally inspiring!” “Supportive, convivial atmosphere.” “Brilliant. Well constructed. Interesting and informative. Well executed” “Really helpful” “Loved it – loved it all!”

TESTIMONIAL

"Looking for an excellent editor? Or some inspiration for your creative writing? Clare could be the person you’re looking for.

I joined one of Clare's Saturday morning creative writing courses two years ago and was amazed to discover what flowed in response to Clare's various writing exercises. Since then I've done a number of her Saturday courses and have also worked with Clare privately when I wanted some help editing various memoir pieces I was working on at the time.

Clare combines her own experience of writing for the stage, with a sympathetic but effective approach to reviewing another person’s writing. Drawing on her many years as a script editor for the BBC, she knows how to improve the impact of a piece of writing, often just by making small adjustments."
[Annette Mercer, 2018]