Previously I've done short writing sessions for the writers' club- when needed- but never actually done a workshop for the evening meeting (it came out to about 90 minutes or so).
Of course all the fears and thoughts of inadequacy passed through my mind before the start, even though I'd been preparing the materials across the previous twelve days.
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| Flip-pads are useful... |
All the images were mine from a variety of places over the last ten to twelve years. A few of them have even appeared on this blog.
When I was choosing which pictures to include in the workshop, I had two criteria; was it a good enough image, and how many ideas could I think of for each one. I ended up with forty pictures!
It seemed a lot, but there had to be enough variety. Some had only one central object, others had lots of scope for choice. There were animals, summer and winter scenes, plants, buildings and landscapes, street scenes, and random items.
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| A few pictures not chosen... |
The members and visitors were engaged, and by the end of the evening when we went round the attendees, there were a variety of partial stories read out, many ideas, and a poem.
I've received some positive responses today from a couple of members, so I'm pleased.
Yes, there are a few adjustments I'd make if I ever did it again, but you only discover that when you've tried it.
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| A few more... |
21 comments:
Well done Carol, I had every faith in you.
Well done. First time at anything new is always scary. Lovely that you've had some positive feedback too.
Well done from me too!
Glad it went o.k. Carol. Sorry I couldn't get there. I've had a rough couple of weeks.
Sounds a great evening, Carol - I love pictures as inspiration!
Meant to say I like your new photo on the header!
What a fabulous idea, Carol. As a creative writing tutor for adults I'm always looking for inspiration for workshops. Did you take each photo for one story or did you go from one to another for-say, characters, settings etc.?
Sound lovely me it went really well Carol - you're braver than me!
Thanks Wendy. Admittedly I'm used to standing up in front of a group of writers, so it's not as scary as it could have been. :-)
Thanks Judith.
I was aiming to get the writers to consider ideas that their chosen image, or object from the photo, created- it allowed the mixed ability of the writers to achieve an idea (or more than one) they could build on, which worked well for the time limit I had.
A lot of the images used were taken on my holidays, during research trips, or at annual events- it was only when I was looking through years of photos that I found enough variety, or there was something in an image I could zoom in on and crop out for an interesting image- a bike locked against the lamppost was cropped from an image of an architectural feature on a building in Bath. :-)
Thanks Rosemary.
The header photo is the canal through Sydney Gardens in Bath. :)
Thanks Keith. Sorry things have been difficult for you. Hope to see you soon.x
Thanks Patsy. :)
Thanks Bea. It was good to hear from people there who took part and found it helpful. :-)
Thanks Maria. The hard work was worth it. :)
Thanks, Carol. It's a great idea.
As someone who writes regularly to a photo prompt, I prefer random objects. Scenery doens' do anything for me as far as writing is concerned. Well done for taking a good mixture.
Thanks Lizy. I'm more a scenery person myself, but felt the workshop needed a wide range so hopefully there would be something to inspire every writer. :-)
Well done, Carol! I am sure that the apprehension was unwarranted. It's all in the planning, isn't it? Sounds like you did a great job!
Thanks Helen.
Yes, planning is essential and ensuring everything needed is completed and packed ready. :-)
Well done, Carol. I've led a few workshops and it's scary. It's such a buzz afterwards though and worth the anticipation and preparation when you receive great feedback. :)
marion
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