The Watson, Little x Indie Novella Prize

Our friends at Indie Novella have launched a brand new writing prize. Check out the details below, visit their website form more courses, advice and of, course, excellent new fiction releases.

 

Read Wes Viola in Bear Street Gazette

We're a bit late with this post, but friend of DWG Wes Viola got in touch to let us know that he's had a brilliant Halloween-themed piece published in the Bear Creek Gazette, which tantalisingly describes itself as 'home to art, creative writing and strangeness.' Read Yuck, Yuck, Yuck by Wes Viola here.

A Slightly Random Selection of Prompts Deployed at our November Meeting

We were delighted to welcome a few new faces to the group at our November meeting. Here, for those who couldn't make it, or for anyone who finds themselves delivered to our humble blog via a Google search involving the terms 'Dalston', 'creative' and 'writing', is what we got up to:

• November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo - https://nanowrimo.org/ ). Write the most attention-grabbing opening paragraph for a novel in the genre of your choice. Don’t worry if you have no idea who the characters are or where the story is going. Just launch on in there, as if you do!

• Kickstart a story with a passage that asks (and possibly answers) these three questions: i) whose house is Ethan leaving? ii) Why was he there? iii) Where is he going now?

• Think of the last piece of fiction you wrote that you were pleased with. Now interview the main character. Write this as either a straight Q&A, or as if it’s an in-depth profile in this weekend’s Sunday Times magazine.

• Write a piece of fiction that hinges on an argument.

• Write a piece that includes any or all of the following: a reunion, guilt, a funeral.

• Write a piece of fiction that includes any or all of the objects below. Feel free to take elements from each.

A) A dog, a bicycle, a briefcase.

B) An older brother, an unfair contest, and the skeleton of a bird.

C) A dress, a hair salon, and an amazing rumour that turns out to be true.

(See more ideas for stories that contain 3 objects here: )

• Award-winning sci-fi writer Damon Knight filled his book Creating Short Fiction with helpful exercises. One of these he designed as a way to create a setting or mood:

“Imagine a character who is sitting or standing, alone, in the room you are now in. See the room through his eyes; write a page or so of pure description of the room, without mentioning the character or referring to him in any way, but bearing in mind as you write that he has just had a phone call notifying him of a promotion and a raise.

Assume that the person lives here, if the room you are in is part of a house or apartment; if it isn’t, assume that the job has something to do with this room.
How does his emotional state colour his perceptions? Remember that you are not allowed to refer to the character, even by using a pronoun (“I looked at the furniture,” for instance). Tell only what he sees.”

Charred: Poetry by Andreena Leeanne at The Gallery at Stoke Newington Library on Weds 2 Nov

Join Andreena Leeanne at The Gallery at Stoke Newington Library on Weds 2 Nov, 6.30 to 7.30pm, and hear excerpts from her poetry collection Charred.

Charred was published by Team Angelica in October 2020 and shortlisted for a Polari First Book Prize in 2021.

Andreena writes and performs poetry to come to terms with and speak out about her personal experiences with homelessness, mental health, childhood sexual abuse and the many other challenges she has faced in her life. 

Register on Evenbrite here.

Be the Uplifter - Poetry with Sharmay Mitchell at Stoke Newington Library on 1 Nov 2022

Join Sharmay Mitchell in The Gallery at Stoke Newington Library on 1 Nov, 6.30 to 7.30, for an evening of poetry, including some exclusive snippets from her up-coming collection Be the Uplifter, a refreshingly positive book, striking back against a world simmering with anxiety.

Register on eventbrite.

 

Register for Two Free Creative Writing Workshops at Dalston CLR James Library, Run by Indie Novella

We're delighted to have two full-day creative writing workshops running at Dalston CLR James Library in October and November, by new London-based publisher Indie Novella, in association with literary agency Watson, Little.

Sessions run from 11am to 4pm, and there are 30 places at each. These workshops are free to attend and open all. Registration is via Evenbrite. 

Click the links below to register and find out more.

Register for Sat 29 October 2022.

Register for Sat 19 November.

Please note: Indie Novella are running two editions of the same session, to ensure as many as people as possible can attend. The event on 19 October is the same as the session on 29 November.

 

Next Meeting of Dalston Writing Group: Thurs 3 Nov

In a slight deviation from our regular schedule, the next meeting of Dalston Writing Group will be 6.00 to 7.30pm on Thurs 3 Nov at Dalston CLR James Library. Stay tuned for full details on what we'll be up to.