Get writing in my new workshops!
Hello, I’ve made a slight change to the paid subscriptions here at WestWord and now all paid members will get monthly workshops focused on developing micro fictions, flash fictions and short stories. These will all be run by me and also available to book without signing up for a subscription. I’ve scheduled them from Feb onwards and at the moment, have 3 open for booking. Do let me know of any subjects you’d like covered in future sessions.
Paid subscribers you will be added to the guest list so you’ll receive all the info you need. If you can’t make the live time then the replay link will be sent within 48 hours of the event. Subscriptions cost just £6 a month or £60 for the year and also include submissions to WestWord contests and regular editions, so it’s much more cost effective to join! Otherwise, you can book the workshops for £10 each below.
Hope to see you there!
Upcoming Workshops
Writing Hermit Crab Flashes That Have Got Great Story
Sat 3 Feb 2024 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM GMT
Zoom
In this workshop we'll be looking at how you can write hermit crab flashes that don't sacrifice story for form.
From lists, to reviews, menus and beyond, we'll read lots of hermit crab flashes to demonstrate the ways in which you can use this form to deliver real impact as well as innovation.
You'll come away with ideas and story starters to get writing your own!
Finding New Angles for Common Themes
Sun 10 Mar 2024 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM GMT
Zoom
There are only so many themes our stories can explore so finding new and surprising ways to tell them will help keep your readers interested. As writers, there are also themes that recur over and over in our writing but we don't need to stop writing about them - we just need to do it in ways we've not tried before.
In this workshop we'll be looking at the ways you can find new angles to tell stories from. Join me to get ideas, inspiration and new drafts of stories that come from angles you've never tried before!
Writing Striking Settings That Work Hard
Sat 13 Apr 2024 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM BST
Zoom
When word count is small, you have to make sure that any you give to descriptions are really working hard for you. In this workshop we'll be looking at how you can create settings in short stories, flashes and micros that do some heavy lifting to develop your storyline, characters and themes.
We'll look at examples of stories of different lengths and you'll do writing exercises to get you creating settings and descriptions that immerse your reader in the world you're creating and develop atmosphere, move the story on, and reveal more about your characters.
Join me to get ideas, inspiration and new drafts of stories where your descriptions are powerhouses!
Why choose a workshop with me?
I started Retreat West in 2012 and launched Retreat West Books in 2017 (Winner: Most Innovative Publisher 2020 Saboteur Awards), which published 24 books between 2018 and 2023. In 2022, I launched the WestWord literary magazine. I have been designing and teaching online courses, and live workshops, for many years and worked as an editor on hundreds of manuscripts.
I’m the author of two novels, As If I Were A River (2016), which was longlisted for the Guardian Not The Booker Prize, a NetGalley Top 10 Book of the Month and a Book Magnet Blog Top 20 Book of 2016; and Remember Tomorrow (2019 ). My novella-in-flash, Pressure Drop, will publish in 2024, and I have almost finished a flash fiction collection, and I’m working on my third novel. I write The Mindful Writer and The Tao of Storytelling and have a wealth of experience of both sides of publishing to bring to my workshops.
My short stories have been widely published in journals and anthologies; long/shortlisted in the Mslexia Flash Fiction Competition, Fish Flash Fiction Prize, Ink Tears Short Story Prize, Cranked Anvil Short Story Competition, Flash 500 and V300; nominated for Best Small Fictions 2023; and won the Editor’s Choice Prize at 101 Words.