“Thanks for joining this morning. [It] was really nice to see everyone who made it, and so lovely to do some writing and laugh and share ideas.”
“Thank you so much for joining in with today’s writing session in your various ways. It was wonderful to write in your company.”
Group leaders, David Marshal and Alison Jermak, sign off at the end of their respective writing group meetings. At a distance. It is lovely to write and laugh and share ideas. It is wonderful to write in the company of others.
I feel sure that many of you will have sought out a time during the day when you are able to write. We are discovering, in new ways, the power that writing can have in our lives; the way that writing works within us and takes us beyond ourselves. We are also discovering the great need we have to be in touch. In touch. We may not be near, or even touch, especially if we live alone. But we may be in touch. And the great pleasure of written and voiced communication is brought into sharp focus when closeness is denied. Alison and David are among a growing number of NWP group leaders who are finding ways to create writing workshops, writing meetings that allow us to hear our words, and the words of others, on the air.
These two leaders have been able to use Zoom to create their groups. Simon Wrigley, I know, ran his group last Saturday through e-mail. Alison accommodated both. I envy those who are able to hear poems and prose read aloud and to share the thoughtfulness and the laughter. I have loved the group contact that is generated and the conversations that have arisen. Several weeks ago, a long-standing writing group to which I belong was cancelled for non-pandemic reasons. On the verge of lockdown, I think we felt the loss keenly. Rather tentatively, I began a virtual writing weekend, imagining the arrivals, the crunch of wheels on gravel, Radio 3 in the lit kitchen, our host asking whether we would like tea, or are we ready for a beer? I set writing prompts at appropriate times. During the weekend we quietly exchanged e-mailed conversations. We exchanged writing. Friends who would not have been able to be there in person were able to join us. Those of you who belong to writing groups know just how nourishing and inspiring they are. They are deeply human.
What next?
You could initiate a group, a trio, a pair of you, who would write together. Start with some shared prompts and see where this takes you. Alison and David kept to the pattern of regular groups: words, a short writing activity, a longer more considered piece of writing. If you are starting a new group, you may like to begin with just one short starter and then time for a longer piece of writing. You can decide. There are daily short prompts on this website. There are many more ideas in the Exercises section and in the archived, original website which you can access on the home page. Alison and David drew upon some of the brilliant resources that are available to us on line. David used a session from the Arvon 5 day short story challenge.
Alison chose a poem from Anthony Wilson’s wonderful website. If you are not already signed up for that, I recommend it.