The Writing Squad

How to Find Your Focus with Emma Adams: Workshop
2023-07-01 11:00 - 16:00 UTC
SQUAD 11 WORKSHOP. TICKETS HERE.
We all want to get stuff done, right? But it can be hard knowing how to develop a writing practice that is right for you.
How do you get things done but not freak out trying to do it? How do you find your own voice? How do you become the writer you want to be?
Emma is not convinced that any of us do our best work when we’re focused on the product and thinks it’s better to focus on the process and allow the product to emerge. This not only makes writing more fun, but also in the end, more productive.
If you’ve ever found yourself thinking…
How do I find ‘my voice’? How do I work out what I want to write? How do I make time to write? How do I find ways to start a project, keep working on a project &/or or finish a project?
… This workshop might be useful for you.
During our time together we’ll explore this premise – If we spend more time thinking about our writing as ‘play’ rather than as ‘work’, then we’ll have more fun, get more done and importantly write stuff that is truly the stuff we should be writing (not the stuff we think we ought to write).
This workshop will be come through the prism of dramatic writing (plays, telly, film, drama) but every kind of writer is welcome and you’ll find plenty here that will be useful across the board.
During this workshop we’ll be doing some or all of these things:
Writing together. Talking to each other, sharing ideas, thinking, listening, speaking. We might do some drawing or making too. As a lot of the workshop will come out of the ideas we share together, come prepared for surprises, for listening and trying out new ways of doing stuff.
You should bring something to write on/with, a drink and/or food, although there will be a lunch break in which you’re welcome to go out to buy lunch.

This workshop is primarily for Squad 11, if you are a grad and want to be put on the waiting list please email libby@writingsquad.com.

Poets Minigoals
2023-06-21 18:30 - 20:00
Online poets minigoals session for members of The Writing Squad. This event takes place every 3 weeks.
Topic: Poets Minigoals
Time: Jun 21, 2023 06:30 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89569802490?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 895 6980 2490
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Experiments & Play with Stevie Ronnie: Workshop
2023-06-17 11:00 - 16:00
SQUAD 11 WORKSHOP. TICKETS HERE.
In this workshop we will be exploring how playing with words and using constraints can help us to overcome the blank page and generate new and original ideas for our writing.
We’ll begin by playing with the music and rhythm of words, generating poems and exploring the power of recognising and switching between our critical and creative mindsets. We’ll then move on to explore experimental techniques in both poetry and prose that were pioneered by the 1960’s French surrealist group Oulipo (short for “Ouvrior de Littérature Potentielle” or “Workshop of Potential Literature,” in English). The founders of Oulipo believed that the only way to be truly free in your writing was to impose constraints on the process of composition.
During the workshop we’ll also be playing with and reflecting on collaboration and how working with others can open up new possibilities for our writing.
You should bring something to write on/with. You may also want to bring some water and food if you like, although there will be a break during which you’re welcome to go out and buy food.

This workshop is primarily for Squad 11, if you are a grad and want to be put on the waiting list please email libby@writingsquad.com.

Kick-starters with Malika Booker: Workshop
2023-06-10 11:00 - 16:00
THIS WORKSHOP IS ONLY FOR SQUAD 11. BOOK HERE.
A common symptom of the belief that writing is a gift achieved only through instant inspiration is being defeated by the blank page, writers block, or sitting to write the master piece and being consistently unhappy with the results on the page. This workshop will explore and experiment with different strategies for kick starting writing. The aim is to leave with several drafts as well as starting lines for poems. We will use journals, freewrites, objects, word banks, rhyme trains, and exploratory walks etc to gather, tinker, play and fiddle with strategies for handling that empty page. We will cast various fishing lines to see what baits work for us.

You are required to bring the following: a discarded poem/ prose piece (a piece of work that you have been working on that just does not work, please print it out 2 hard copies, 14 font, double spaced, single side), a favourite or unusual word from the dictionary with the meaning and history, scissors, glue sticks and notebooks. You may also want to bring a drink/food, although there will be a break in which you’re welcome to go out to buy lunch. Be prepared to have fun.

This workshop is primarily for Squad 11, if you are a grad and want to be put on the waiting list please email libby@writingsquad.com.

SFF Minigoals
2023-06-05 18:00 - 19:30
Online SFF (Science Fiction/Fantasy) minigoals session for members of The Writing Squad. This event takes place every 4 weeks.
Topic: SFF Minigoals
Time: Jun 5, 2023 06:00 PM London
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86051076066?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 860 5107 6066
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Poets Minigoals
2023-05-24 18:30 - 20:00
Online poets minigoals session for members of The Writing Squad. This event takes place every 3 weeks.
Topic: Poets Minigoals
Time: May 31, 2023 06:30 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83233059522?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 832 3305 9522
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Prose Minigoals
2023-05-11 18:00 - 19:30
Online prose minigoals session for members of The Writing Squad. This event takes place every 4 weeks.
Topic: Prose Minigoals
Time: May 11, 2023 06:00 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84588931633?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 845 8893 1633
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Poets Minigoals
2023-05-10 18:30 - 20:00
Online poets minigoals session for members of The Writing Squad. This event takes place every 3 weeks.

Topic: Poets Minigoals
Time: May 10, 2023 06:30 PM London
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84652743734?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 846 5274 3734
Passcode: [REDACTED]

SFF Minigoals
2023-05-08 18:00 - 19:30
Online SFF (Science Fiction/Fantasy) minigoals session for members of The Writing Squad. This event takes place every 4 weeks.

Topic: SFF Minigoals
Time: May 8, 2023 06:00 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88114490962?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 881 1449 0962
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Poets Minigoals
2023-04-19 18:30 - 20:00
Online poets minigoals session for members of The Writing Squad. This event takes place every 3 weeks.
Topic: Poets Minigoals
Time: Apr 19, 2023 06:30 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89157464385?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 891 5746 4385
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Prose Minigoals
2023-04-13 18:00 - 19:30
Online prose minigoals session for members of The Writing Squad. This event takes place every 4 weeks.

Topic: Prose Minigoals
Time: Apr 13, 2023 06:00 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81546322795?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 815 4632 2795
Passcode: [REDACTED]

SFF Minigoals
2023-04-10 18:00 - 19:30
Online SFF (Science Fiction/Fantasy) minigoals session for members of The Writing Squad. This event takes place every 4 weeks.
Topic: SFF Minigoals
Time: Apr 10, 2023 06:00 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81738958873?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 817 3895 8873
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Script Minigoals
2023-04-03 17:30 - 19:00
Online script minigoals session for members of The Writing Squad. This event takes place every 4 weeks.

Topic: Script Minigoals
Time: Apr 3, 2023 05:30 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89738522856?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 897 3852 2856
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Poets Minigoals
2023-03-29 18:30 - 20:00
Online poets minigoals session for members of The Writing Squad. This event takes place every 3 weeks.
Topic: Poets Minigoals
Time: Mar 29, 2023 06:30 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88091056442?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 880 9105 6442
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Prerana Kumar Workshop: Writing with Rituals
2023-03-25 11:00 - 16:00 | Priory Street Centre, York
More details and signup here.
A ritual may be defined as ‘a religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order’. The ‘place, power and potential’ of rituals are formative in the construction of the social, cultural, and political fabric of many societies. Rituals can sustain habit and become receptacles of memories – both good and bad. Rituals can also harness the power of community nurture, intimacy, and tenderness, thereby having the radical capacity to facilitate resistance and reclamation for marginalised bodies.
This workshop will include poetry and writing exercises that explore the ambiguous nature of rituals, looking at work by Nisha Ramayya, Bhanu Kapil, Nina Mingya Powles, and Rebecca Tamas amongst others to creatively explore this.

Prose Minigoals
2023-03-16 18:00 - 19:30
Online prose minigoals session for members of The Writing Squad. This event takes place every 4 weeks.

Topic: Prose Mini Goals
Time: Mar 16, 2023 06:00 PM London
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84457760317?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 844 5776 0317
Passcode: [REDACTED]

SFF Minigoals
2023-03-13 18:00 - 19:30
Online SFF (Science Fiction/Fantasy) minigoals session for members of The Writing Squad. This event takes place every 4 weeks.

Topic: SFF Mini Goals
Time: Mar 13, 2023 06:00 PM London
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89916823663?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 899 1682 3663
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Script Minigoals
2023-03-09 17:30 - 19:00
Online script minigoals session for members of The Writing Squad. This event takes place every 4 weeks.

Topic: Script Mini Goals
Time: Mar 9, 2023 05:30 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85471549933?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 854 7154 9933
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Poets Minigoals
2023-03-08 18:30 - 20:00 | Zoom
Online poets minigoals session for members of The Writing Squad. This event takes place every 3 weeks.

Topic: Poets Mini Goals
Time: Mar 8, 2023 06:30 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89281065693?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 892 8106 5693
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Amanda Dalton Workshop: Lost in Translation
2023-03-04 11:00 - 16:00 | Yorkshire Dance, Leeds
More details and signup here.
How might we go about dramatising a novel? And is it ever possible or desirable to turn a poem into a play or a short story into a poem? How do we settle on the genre for something we want to explore through writing? What happens to a text when we change its form? What’s the point – is there a point, ever, in adapting an existing text? This workshop will consider these questions and experiment with some of the fun, creative discoveries and challenges to be had when we adapt our own or other people’s writing and/or style of presentation.
We will produce some new writing in response to an existing text or texts. We will try out new skills and techniques around adaptation and reflect on our writing processes and how we decide which form or genre we want to write in and how some material might be better suited to one form or another. We’ll also have had a go at turning a piece of our own writing into a different ‘form’ or genre.

Awesome Poetry - Disiniformation
2022-09-13 18:00 - 19:30 | Online
Writers reading, led by Malika and Stevie

Squad 10 Mini Goals
2022-08-22 18:00 - 19:30, 2022-07-25 18:00 - 19:30 | Online
Mini goals session – setting goals and updating each other on writing news and cultural highlights. Email billie@writingsquad.com for Zoom details.

Poets Mini Goals
2022-08-11 17:30 - 19:00, 2022-07-21 17:30 - 19:00, 2022-07-07 17:30 - 19:00 | Online

Script Mini Goals
2022-07-18 17:30 - 19:00 | Online

Prose Mini Goals
2022-07-14 17:30 - 19:00 | Online

SFF Mini Goals
2022-07-11 18:00 - 19:30 | Online

Interactive Fiction: Choose Your Own Adventure
2022-07-09 11:00 - 16:00 | Manchester, Manchester
We’ll take a look at the many ways in which interactive stories exist, with a dive into examples from the games space, print, and new media. We’ll look at ideas and structures that make interactive fiction such a unique way to tell stories, and then roll up our sleeves and get stuck into a number of easy free tools to create our own works.
Although this is a primarily a hands-on workshop, the discussion will focus on what makes interactive storytelling really tick, what sets it apart from linear fiction, and where the overlaps are. This workshop is a space for experimentation.
You will come away from this workshop with new insights and understanding of a writing form you’re perhaps unfamiliar with, as well as some useful practical skills for creating your own work. You’ll also be given a cohesive spring-board into more learning and work through comprehensive hand-outs at the end of the workshop.
Bring a laptop of some kind, or anything that connects to Wifi and has a web browser! We can also provide machines if need be. Nothing else needed.
