| Spotlight on...Salisbury Writers |
When a Salisbury writer couldn’t find an active local
group to join, she started her own and this year the Salisbury
Writers celebrate their third birthday.
WN member, Susan Down who writes as Susan French, started
out by running a six-week course with poet Rose Flint (whose
latest collection is Nekyia) and things grew from there.
‘She inspired us all but at the end people were asking
what we were going to do next,’ says Susan, who now
chairs Salisbury Writers. ‘We decided to give it a go
and the Hall where we meet let us have a reduced rent while
our membership was low, which was a great help.’
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Now with sixteen people on its books, a signature
feature of the Salisbury Writers is their ‘Writing Buddy’
system where two writers agree to exchange chapters on a weekly
basis for comment and encouragement. ‘It has proved a
great motivator,’ says Susan. ‘We pair up to look
at specific pieces, either by post or by e-mail and give feedback
on all aspects of the work.’
‘It works really well as we tend to pair up with
people who have similar interests. I always say its a bit like
marriage – there needs to be give and take.’
The group also has their Determination Cup which aims to turn
rejection into a positive and reward those who are regularly
sending out their work, even if they are not being published.
To celebrate their third birthday, Salisbury Writers are producing
an anthology, Ink Spots. ‘We have built up quite a bank
of nice work and thought it would be a great way to build confidence,
especially of the younger members. Often they’ve produced
excellent pieces of work but don’t value them or have
the confidence to send them out.’
It has been a rewarding three years for Susan and her advice
to others planning to start up a new group is that you need
to be really committed and enthusiastic as there are many frustrations
along the way. ‘The upside is that one comes back from
each meeting re-invigorated and full of ideas.’
Salisbury Writers meet on the first Thursday of each month at
The United Reformed Church, Fisherton Street, Salisbury, between
7pm and 9pm. New members of all abilities are welcome and there
is disabled access.
The group’s advice for running a ‘buddy system’
includes:
• Avoid: being cosily nice; nit-picking; condeming writing
because you don’t like that kind of thing; say what you
would do.
• Do: be objective; trust your judgement; comment constructively;
understand the writer’s intention; look for strengths;
suggest what they could do.
• Points to look for in prose: consistency of viewpoint;
focus; number of characters (ideally no more than four in a
short story); immediacy, involvement, intimacy; strong beginning
and ending.
• Remember to be open-minded on listening to the critique. |
