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Good afternoon,
I hope this finds you well. Here’s a Muswell Hill rainbow that made me smile and feel inspired yesterday…
I also felt really inspired on Monday evening while attending a Networking Event in the City of London, organised by Kick Ass Networking (the name played a big part in me booking a place!). I hadn’t been to a Networking event for a while. It is sometimes difficult to choose which to go to. I wonder which event will be most interesting, where I will meet people that I click with, where the hosts will be welcoming, where there will be an interest in what I do and where I will be excited by what others are doing. It isn’t always about meeting other creatives or women like me. It is about being reminded of London’s vibrancy and wonderful eclecticism. It is about feeling energised by others and reminded why you are doing what you do – of the journey that brought you here, of the risks that you have taken and why you would never trade this life for your old life, however hard it can be (especially on days without rainbows). It is about standing tall and feeling that you belong in this vast city.
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| The Little Chamber at Sutton House |
Somebody asked me at the meeting what they would gain from the Creative Writes workshops – aside from learning how to write creatively. I paused for a second and then said ‘I will help you discover your own voice.’ There was a very positive response to this and I wondered if this is something I have been really expressing. Being put on the spot and asked face to face what I have to offer, why somebody should sign up to work with me, why Creative Writes is different – this enabled me to crystalise it for them and for me. If you run any sort of business or work for a company that could benefit from face to face Networking Events, then I urge you to get out there and talk to people! Here is the link for the Kick Ass Group on Meetup:
http://www.meetup.com/KickAssNetworking/
It is half term week, so I have less teaching than usual and am using some of my time to take stock of the workshops I am offering – to ensure that the word is being spread and to plan the workshops. I am thinking of the bigger picture too – where I want to go, which doors I would like to open. I have set up a Meetup Group for the Themed Workshops & Sutton House Saturdays and it’s exciting to connect with lots of different writers. Check it out here:
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| The Victorian Parlour at Sutton House |
writers.http://www.meetup.com/London-Creative-Writing-Meetu/events/166128782/
Part of my work in Kew includes the monthly Book Group and our February book is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I am seeing the film tomorrow and hope that it does the book justice. This book sat on my shelf for a long time, after a friend bought it for me. I was afraid to read a story focussed around the Holocaust and narrated by Death. It is of course disturbing to read but the writing is so incredibly poetic that it takes you to another world, on a secret journey between you and the words. I find myself shaking my head, not just in disbelief about the atrocities humans can inflict on eachother but about the craftsmanship of the writing itself – it is the language of my dreams.
Here are some tasters from The Book Thief:
‘Standing above him at all moments of awakeness was the hand of time, and it didn’t hesitate to wring him out. It smiled and squeezed and let him live. What great malice there could be in allowing something to live.’ 
‘As the book quivered in her lap, the secret sat in her mouth. It made itself comfortable. It crossed its legs.’
And one more; ‘Even Death has a heart.’
Try this: Choose something from the above book quotes to trigger a ten minute free flow. Set your clock, keep your hand moving. You are welcome to post your writing on this blog, just go to comments.
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| Park Theatre Cafe ceiling |
I am busy planning for my Skype Workshop with a new participant in the USA today and a Women’s Workshop for Refugees & Immigrants on Saturday for International Women’s Day. We will be asking what it means to be a woman and thinking about the journeys we have travelled and what we take with us.
The 2014 Themed Workshops will start next Wednesday 26 February 7.30-9.30pm with Creating Character, in Muswell Hill. Andy Andrews will be there filming again for the new Creative Writes video and we will be in the lovely Oak Room at North Bank House. There are a few places left at the moment. There is a discount if three or more Themed Workshops are booked together.
We return to the stunning Sutton House for four Saturday Workshops from 1 March, 2-4pm. There is a special offer on scrumptious goodies at their Bryck Place Cafe too!
For further info & booking on all Creative Writes Workshops please click here: https://www.creativewrites.co.uk/p/bookings-workshop-info-how-to-book.html
Bye for now from the Park Theatre Cafe where I am typing this, with its’ funky ceiling of books!
Nichola