The Writing Squad

Squad 10: North West Introductory Workshop
2020-06-20 14:00 - 16:00 UTC
INTRODUCTORY WORKSHOP WITH EMMA & FRANCESCA

These workshops will give you the chance to meet the Core Team. We will invite you to the ones in your region, but if the date doesn’t suit and you can go to the other set, that’s fine, just let Steve know.
These will be on Zoom and will last two hours, they will be writing games/exercises and, only if you want to, sharing.
The intention of them is to get to know the Core Team and people based near you.
We will email you about these workshops later this week with a link to sign up for them on Eventbrite.

NOT ABOUT NOW - A SHARING
2020-06-17 19:00 - 20:30
A donation from a benefactor made it possible for the Squad to commission poems from our poets mini-goals group.
They were asked to write two poems on any theme they wanted, each was allocated a partner and they edited each other’s work.
This Zoom reading is the first sharing of that work.
All Squads are welcome to come and listen, sign up here. You’ll be sent a link on the day.

DISTANCE DIALOGUES 3: THE ARTIST'S IDENTITY
2020-06-12 14:30 - 16:00
Open to all writers Squads 1-9.
Exploring the relationship between your identity as an artist and identity as a human being. What are the different ways this complex relationship can affect our artistic work and our everyday life?
SIGN UP HERE

THINK LIKE AN ARTIST ACT LIKE A PLUMBER with Steve Dearden
2020-06-11 14:30 - 16:00
Open to Squads 1-9.
So you are a great writer, how do you get work?
This session will identify the tools and techniques for keeping yourself going as a creative, while putting yourself out there to get freelance work that will pay the bills. You’ll get a toolkit, or at least a list of practical things that you will be able to act on immediately. The session is based on Steve’s experience of both developing and employing writers and creatives.
This is a session based on a talk Steve has given to creative students at Leeds, Liverpool John Moores and Newcastle Universities. It is suitable for any one just embarking, or thinking of embarking, on a freelance or mixed portfolio career.

SIGN UP HERE

DEADLINE: POETRY COMMISSION TO STEVE
2020-06-07

STAGE TO SCREEN (NO MONOLOGUES ALLOWED) led by Lydia Marchant
2020-06-06 14:30 - 16:00
Open to scriptwriters Squads 1-9.
What makes Gavin and Stacey the funniest programme ever written*? Why does Normal People say it best when it says nothing at all? A workshop exploring all the things telly writing lets you do that play writing doesn’t (including affording to eat.) We’ll watch some TV clips, do some challenges and have a go at taking a scene from stage to screen.
*Arguably
Lydia Marchant is a Squad 8 grad. She’s part of the BBC’s Writers Academy, writing episodes of Eastenders, Casualty and Holby City. Her first full length play Mumsy, commissioned by Hull Truck Theatre, is in development with BBC Studios, and she’s also working on a crime drama with Cuba Pictures. Her theatre work includes Paines Plough, Hull Truck Theatre, York Theatre Royal, Derby Theatre, Middle Child, Silent Uproar and The Roaring Girls. She studied MA Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media at Central School of Speech and Drama and has taken part in writers programmes at Leeds Playhouse, Soho Theatre, National Theatre, Royal Court and BFI.
SIGN UP HERE

DISTANCE DIALOGUES 2: PUTTING TOGETHER A COLLECTION led by Laura Attridge
2020-06-05 14:30 - 16:00
Open to poets Squads 1-9.
Exploring all aspects of putting together a collection of your own poetry, from initial idea to final sign-off. (NB The focus in this session will be more on the creative process than how to get your collection published.)
SIGN UP HERE

DISTANCE DIALOGUES 1: FEEDING YOURSELF ARTISTICALLY led by Laura Attridge
2020-05-29 14:30 - 16:00
Open to all writers Squads 1-9.
Exploring the ways in which we as writers can nourish ourselves through material found outside of our own artistic niche: other genres or forms of literature and art, or from more unusual places in the world around us.
SIGN UP HERE

WRITING FROM THE TAROT with Kym Deyn
2020-05-28 14:30 - 16:00
Open to all writers Squads 1-9.
In this workshop we’ll look at how the Tarot can be used to tell stories and provide structure, drawing from the rich folk tradition of the Marseilles Tarot. We’ll do away with occult symbolism and instead focus on reading images, and how those images can translate into our writing.

Kym is a Squad 8 grad, poet and playwright. Their work has appeared both online and in print, for instance in the Valley Press Anthology of Prose Poetry, Ink Sweat & Tears, MIR Online and Black Bough. They have been shortlisted for several awards including the West Yorkshire Playhouse “Airplays” Competition and the Streetcake Experimental Writing Prize. They won the Outspoken Prize and are the current coach of Durham University’s poetry slam team.
You will be sent a Zoom invite on the morning of the workshop with a link to click to join in.

SIGN UP HERE

DEADLINE: POETRY COMMISSIONS POEMS BACK TO WRITER
2020-05-27

50 WAYS TO BE A BETTER POET with Roger Robinson
2020-05-22 14:30 - 16:00
Open to poets in Squads 1-9.
A fast paced workshop filled with tips, quotes and prompts to level up your poetry practice. For poets who want to refresh their poetry on the page and explore how we combine inspiration, commitment and productivity to balance earning a living and being an artist in a complex changing world.
Roger is a writer and performer who divides his time between London and Trinidad and is a co-founder of Spoke Lab and Malika’s Kitchen. His latest collection, A Portable Paradise from Peepal Tree Press won the TS Eliot and the Michael Ondjaate Prizes and has recently been shortlisted for the Derek Walcott Prize.
You will be sent a Zoom invite on the morning of the workshop with a link to click to join in.
SIGN UP HERE

POETS MINIGOALS SESSION
2020-05-20 17:30 - 18:30
This Zoom meeting will last maybe about an hour and not longer than an hour and half.
We are seeing how we have done with the mini-goals we set ourselves last week, and maybe renewing them or setting new ones.
This is open to Squad 1-9 with a focus on poets, there are other groups for script and prose writers. If you haven’t been to a previous meeting, you are welcome to join, just let steve@writingsquad.com know you want to come.
You will be sent a link before the meeting and you can go on Zoom from your computer or phone.

DEADLINE: POETRY COMMISSIONS TO PARTNER
2020-05-20

PROSE WRITERS MINIGOALS SESSIONS
2020-05-19 17:30 - 18:30
This Zoom meeting will last maybe about an hour and not longer than an hour and half.
We are seeing how we have done with the mini-goals we set ourselves last week, and maybe renewing them or setting new ones.
This is open to Squad 1-9 with a focus on prose writers, there are other groups for poets and scriptwriters. If you haven’t been to a previous meeting, you are welcome to join, just let steve@writingsquad.com know you want to come.
You will be sent a link before the meeting and you can go on Zoom from your computer or phone.

NONE OF IT'S REAL
2020-05-19 14:30 - 16:00
Open to all writers, commentators and critics Squad 1-9.
Theatre is what happens when a bunch of people choose to play pretend in the same room together. Why do critics take it all so seriously? Join James to explore writing reviews about the things we feel in our heads, the things people do on stages, and the fundamental daftness of art.
James is a Squad grad, writer and theatre maker based in Manchester. He sporadically manages a blog of cultural criticism at www.jamesvarney.uk and has written reviews for The Real Story, Exeunt and The Stage.
You will be sent a Zoom invite on the morning of the workshop with a link to click to join in.
SIGN UP HERE

SCRIPTWRITERS MINIGOALS
2020-05-18 17:30 - 18:30
This Zoom meeting will last maybe about an hour and not longer than an hour and half.
We are seeing how we have done with the mini-goals we set ourselves last week, and maybe renewing them or setting new ones.
This is open to Squad 1-9 with a focus on scriptwriters, there are other groups for poets and prose writers. If you haven’t been to a previous meeting, you are welcome to join, just let steve@writingsquad.com know you want to come.
You will be sent a link before the meeting and you can go on Zoom from your computer or phone.

SHINY HAPPY PLAYWRIGHTS
2020-05-16 14:30 - 16:00
Open to theatre writers from all Squads 1-9
A one-off workshop exploring earnestness, warmth and the ‘feel good’. Through reading, discussion and exercises, we’ll think about writing hopefully, moments of kindness, and ideally have a laugh. All levels of experience welcome (though no cool kids allowed).
Billie is a Squad grad, playwright and screenwriter from Merseyside. Her play Too Much World At Once was written on attachment with Box of Tricks Theatre as part of their 2019-2020 PlayBox residency, and received a rehearsed reading at HOME in Manchester. She is currently developing a short film with the young people of the Television Workshop Salford. Her first play, Spiders, was longlisted for the Bruntwood Prize in 2015, debuted in Cambridge in 2017, before being performed at the Tristan Bates Theatre, London, in August 2018.
You will be sent a Zoom invite on the morning of the workshop with a link to click to join in.

SIGN UP HERE

I WANT TO BE A COW
2020-05-14 14:30 - 16:00
Open to all poets Squads 1-9.
In this workshop, we will be reading fun and fantastically silly poems by Sharon Olds, Frank O’Hara, and Selima Hill, among others, and attempting to write funny poems of our own, through a series of exercises focusing on puns, rhyme, and voice.
There is plenty of talk about the necessity of poetry in this difficult time, poems that rise to the occasion and bear witness. However, there is also a need for funny poems: poems that surprise us, delight us, and most importantly, make us laugh. We need to laugh.
The workshop aims to be fun, and might even be funny.
Emily is a Squad grad and poet in York, currently writing her MA dissertation on butch poetics. She has competed in the Roundhouse and BBC Fringe poetry slams, and has poems published in Poetry Birmingham and The Kindling. Her poetry focuses on family, queerness, and the body. She runs a regular poetry workshop at the University of York, and enjoys constructive criticism more than you’d think possible.
You will be sent a Zoom invite on the morning of the workshop with a link to click to join in.

SIGN UP HERE

SCRIPTWRITERS MINIGOALS SESSION
2020-05-11 17:30 - 18:30, 2020-05-04 17:30 - 19:00
This Zoom meeting will last maybe about an hour and not longer than an hour and half.
We are seeing how we have done with the mini-goals we set ourselves last week, and maybe renewing them or setting new ones.
This is open to all Squad members with a focus on scriptwriters, there are other groups for poets and prose writers. If you haven’t been to a previous meeting, you are welcome to join, just let steve@writingsquad.com know you want to come.
You will be sent a link before the meeting and you can go on Zoom from your computer or phone.

ALEX PRAGER STORIES
2020-05-09 14:30 - 16:00
A workshop open to all Squads 1-9 and people telling stories any form.
We will each write our own stories gently guided by a mixture of Alex Prager’s wonderful photographs and other prompts, some for everyone, some just for you.
An hour plus to write alone together, with new prompts dropped in regularly throughout and some time for sharing at the end, but only if you want to.
When not running the Squad Steve write’s short stories, has been Writer In Residence at Bluewater Shopping Centre and the Wakefield Literature Festival. www.stevedearden.com
You will be sent a Zoom invite on the morning of the workshop with a link to click to join in.
SIGN UP HERE

POETS MINI GOALS SESSION
2020-05-06 17:30 - 19:00, 2020-04-29 17:30 - 18:30
This Zoom meeting will last maybe about an hour and not longer than an hour and half.
We are seeing how we have done with the mini-goals we set ourselves last week, and maybe renewing them or setting new ones.
This is open to all Squad members with a focus on poets, there are other groups for script and prose writers. If you haven’t been to a previous meeting, you are welcome to join, just let steve@writingsquad.com know you want to come.
You will be sent a link before the meeting and you can go on Zoom from your computer or phone.

STILL LIVES 3
2020-05-05 19:30 - 21:00
In these sessions we will collaboratively create short pieces of writing, building on personal experience/observations led by Lydia Allison.
We will focus on everyday, domestic challenges and observations. Topics will include plans which get cancelled, things you see day to day in your house, and internalised arguments about what you believe is the right thing to do in relation to every day activities.
You will be asked to imagine outside perspectives looking in at your lives, swap and stories, adopt another voice, write individually at first and then collectively in threes.

PROSE WRITERS MINI GOALS SESSION
2020-05-05 17:30 - 19:00, 2020-04-28 17:30 - 18:30
This Zoom meeting will last maybe about an hour and not longer than an hour and half.
We are seeing how we have done with the mini-goals we set ourselves last week, and maybe renewing them or setting new ones.
This is open to all Squad members with a focus on prose writers, there are other groups for poets and scriptwriters. If you haven’t been to a previous meeting, you are welcome to join, just let steve@writingsquad.com know you want to come.
You will be sent a link before the meeting and you can go on Zoom from your computer or phone.

STILL LIVES 2
2020-05-01 19:30 - 21:00

STILL LIVES 1
2020-04-28 19:30 - 21:00
In these sessions we will collaboratively create short pieces of writing, building on personal experience/observations led by Lydia Allison.
Open to all Squads to writers in any genre. Please only sign up below if you can make all three. They will be on Zoom and you will be sent a link on the morning of each workshop.
We will focus on everyday, domestic challenges and observations. Topics will include plans which get cancelled, things you see day to day in your house, and internalised arguments about what you believe is the right thing to do in relation to every day activities.
You will be asked to imagine outside perspectives looking in at your lives, swap and stories, adopt another voice, write individually at first and then collectively in threes.

SCRIPTWRITERS MINI GOALS SESSION
2020-04-27 17:30 - 18:30

ZINE WORKSHOP with Lauren Vevers
2020-04-24 19:00 - 20:30
Join Squad grad Lauren Vevers for a relaxing evening of zine making in your own home.
You’ll be sent a simple list of materials to gather, be invited to do a bit of writing, we will have a quick overview of zines, instructions on how to make a simple zine format, then time to make and chat, with a sharing at the end.
Never tried before, please try this at home!
You will be sent a Zoom link before the workshop, along with a simple list of things you might want to have to hand.
