January 2013

Meeting will be on the 9th of January. Homework to write a piece on subject of Epiphany.

Great freebie for short story writers

Free this weekend from Della Galton - if you don't have a kindle you can download the kindle app for free from Amzon onto your phone or computer. This is great for anyone interested in writing short stories. FREE THIS WEEKEND

For December

It's party time!!! You need to bring a hat or make a card with a literary theme. Giftwrap a book you wish to pass on. Bring something you've written or something someone else has written with a Christmas or Winter theme. Rewrite a Christmas/Seasonal song/carol. Bring some snack food with you and be prepared to have fun!

November Homework!

'A Funny Thing Happened.....' written in the first person, any genre, 500 word max. November's meeting includes the AGM and will start at 7pm.

Mail on Sunday Writing Comp

Create the opening lines of a novel - between 50 and 150 words - and introduce the word 'train'. The setting could be a gym or a railway station or you might use the word to mean a train of thought, the train of a wedding dress or whatever inspires your plot. Winner receives £400 in book tokens and a place on an Arvon writing course. 5 runners up receive book tokens £150 - £300. Judges are: Fay Weldon, James Buchan and Simon Brett. Send entry typed or clearly written with name, address, tel numbers and email address all on the same page, by Monday October 29th, to The Mail on Sunday Novel Competition, 84 Drayton Gardens, London SW10 9SB. Results announced next summer.

Writing retreat

This was sent to me by a Twitter friend and may interest some of you. I run short one-day writing retreats in London, and recently the Nottingham Writers Studio and Nottinghamshire Libraries asked me to run one for writers in the Midlands. We're taking over Beeston Library on Sunday 16th September, and I wanted to let you know about it and offer your writers a discount. At the moment this is a one-off event but the feedback I get is that the retreats are really valuable for writers, so I'm hoping that we'll get enough writers attending to allow the guys at NWS and the library to carry them on in the future. So to get things off to a good start I'm contacting local(ish) writing groups to offer your members £5 off on the 16th. I appreciate that a day sounds quite short, but actually you can get a lot achieved in that time without distractions, and it's designed to fit into a regular working week and still give people a day of weekend to rest. We basically do introductions, switch off distractions like phones and the internet and get on with writing, and there's always food and home-made cake provided to pamper the writers a bit. The London retreats have a good regular following, and some people say they do more in that one day than the rest of the month because it's so hard to find peace at home or fit writing time in alongside all their responsibilities. It's all very well me saying that, but there are also some comments from writers on the right-hand side of the website (under 'Tweetstimonials') and reviews on the About page if you want to take a closer look. If you or your members would like to take advantage of the discount, go to http://www.urbanwritersretreat.co.uk/one-day-writing-retreats/ and pick the 'Discounted - Nottingham Writers' Studio Members' £30 special price option. Then when you go through to pay there's a box that will say 'Enter writing group here for discount' for you to put the name of your writing group so I know it's a valid discount!

September Homework

For the October meeting - poem, any style on the theme overcoming adversity. 40 lines maximum. No cheating with a haiku!

Short story comp alert!

Costa Book Awards Go take a look!

July Homework

Up to 500 words on The Olympics - any genre or format.

June Homework

250 words aprox in any format/genre on title 'Summer with my sister'. A warm welcome to all our recent new members.

Want to write Drama?

TV Drama writers festival You need some sort of credential or to make a case - so any playwrights etc with something on their writing CV should check this out

Opportunity for Children's writers

Check out this from Greenhouse Literary agency

Big Book fortnight

Click the link to download all the author events across the area - some great authors visiting Dudley, Walsall, Sandwell and Wolverhampton!CLICK HERE

June Homework

Theme is Diamond Jubilee. Can be short story, fiction, non fiction, poem. No longer than 500 words. Can be positive, negative or alternative.

Want a free holiday in Devon?

Free to enter 100 word contest - HERE

Homework March 12 and a competition!

Homework this month is our visit to the theatre to see the Harold Pinter double bill and to write a review to share at the May meeting. April meeting we have a workshop from Simon Whaley.

Competition - What I love about Cornwall
Free to enter deadline 1/8/12 Three entries max per person 500-700 words stories must be previously unpublished. Check website for submission details. Prizes include publication in Cornwall Living Magazine and a holiday worth £500 for best entry.

February homework

For the February meeting write a short story of 1000 words must contain the phrase, 'A shout and they were gone'

Want to get your novel published?

Great new FREE opportunity with Good Housekeeping. Check it out here

Jan 2012 Homework

For the February meeting write a letter about your Christmas. 300-500 words but in the style of another writer eg Dickens, Jane Austen, Chaucer etc.