At the March meeting of the Writers’ Circle members read their entries to the first short story competition of the year. The theme, a story taking place at dawn, set imaginations whirring. There were vampires, naval warships, a monster spider, a boyfriend’s challenge, pathos in the first world war and a fantasy. The winner of the Arthur Hastings trophy was Judy Woodroffe for her story The Girl and the Otter Queen, a fantastical story full of atmosphere and magic.

The trophy was presented to Judy by our special guest, Arthur Hastings’ granddaughter, Emma Lynch.

The next meeting of the Circle is on 9^th April 2024 at Newby Library, Scalby Road, Scarborough. 7 pm for 7.15 start. Sue Grogan and Liah Thorley will lead a session about self-publishing and social media for writers. Non-members are very welcome. (Over 18s only.) Cost of session: £4 and £1 to library for tea/coffee at break, if wanted.

The February meeting of the Scarborough Writers’ Circle was held at Newby & Scalby Library on Tuesday 13 February 2024.  It took the form of a writing craft session led by Diana Campbell.  Members had been asked to bring in a small object to inspire a piece of writing and everyone had fifteen minutes to pick an object, either their own or one that someone else had brought in, and write a short piece about it.  The writers then read their creations out to the group and very entertaining they were.  Most were written in prose but a couple were in poetry form, one a haiku.  After refreshments, the group learned about each object: who’d brought it in and the story behind it. 

At the next meeting, on 12 March 2024, the winners of the Arthur Hastings short story competition will be announced, entries returned with helpful critiques and stories read out by the entrants. Guests are welcome and pay £4 plus £1 if they’d like a coffee or tea at break.  (Over 18s only.) The Circle is open to new members. Please check our website https:/scarbroughwriterscircle.com for further details.

The musical ‘The Lady or the Tiger’ is playing at the Tabard Theatre in London from the 28th Feb 24 – 16th March 24. Originally performed at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond Surrey, the music was written by our very own SWC member Nola York!

SWC Meeting – 09/01/24

It being January, everyone was given a chance to talk about their aspirations for the coming year. Plans and projects were both diverse and bold.

To get the grey matter going, members and guests had been asked to bring a piece of existing work, to be critiqued within a small group of three or four. Be kind, be constructive, be confidence building, was the only directive. People said they found the experience a helpful stimulus after the Christmas lull.

The next SWC meeting in Newby and Scalby Library, will be on Tuesday 13^th February at 7p.m. Members and guests are invited to bring along a small item of interest. These artefacts will be used as the basis for a quick writing exercise.

Guests are charged £4 for entry and are made very welcome. Tea and coffee is available for £1 at the break.

Report submitted by Jill Boyes.

SWC MEMBERS ONLY

Think of an event that traditionally takes place at dawn or in the hour before dawn or an occasion that would be especially memorable if it happened at that time. Write a fictional story about the event/occasion.

The story must have at least two characters and have dialogue that moves the story forward and, ideally, tells us something about the characters.

Usual Circle competition rules apply.

Closes: 23:59 on 13^th February 24. Entries to be brought to the February meeting or delivered through Dorinda’s letter box.

The final meeting of the year was held on Tuesday the 12^th of December. Our venue was full of festive cheer, thanks to the volunteers at Newby & Scalby Library. An array of food, provided by Circle members, also lifted the spirits. With curry and cheesy twist, Waldorf salad, and all manner of home baking, it looked too good to eat, but we managed.

Well fed, we knuckled down to the focus of the evening: a ready prepared story of three hundred words. The approach taken by members was, as always, varied. Discussion followed regarding clichés, humour, and gnomes — yes gnomes.

            The 2024 programme starts on Tuesday 9^th of January at 7p.m. Bring along a piece of your work and tell us about your New Year Writing Resolutions. Everyone welcome. Guests pay £4 per session. Members pay £36 for the year, by cash or direct debit. Details will be sent out soon. Light refreshments are charged at £1.

Report by Jill Boyes

On Tuesday 14^th November, Scarborough Writers Circle gathered for a light hearted and lively session on Sci-Fi writing led by Maggie Fawcett, who gave a brief history and definition of science fiction writing. At the end of her talk, Maggie urged members to explore the many and various Sci-Fi books, magazines and online sites that are freely available and encouraged everyone to submit their writing for publication. The short pieces of work read by members included subjects as varied as AI, space travel, timeslip and alien invasion. During the break members had the opportunity to sell their own published work and enjoy Liah’s staggeringly good ginger bread zombies.

Report submitted by Maggie Fawcett (SWC Member).

On Tuesday 10^th of October 23, Scarborough Writers’ Circle met at Newby & Scalby Library at 7 pm. The well-known local poet, Charlotte Oliver, was the guest judge of the annual Shirley Waite Poetry Competition. Charlotte told her audience she’d found it very hard to select the winners, there being a huge variety in style and subject on the theme of ‘Refuge’. The shortest was a haiku (three lines) whilst the longest was forty lines long. When the poems were read out we quite understood Charlotte’s dilemma. The one that stuck out for our judge featured a ‘sick day’ off work that ended with a surprising twist. And so Diana Campbell became the proud owner of the trophy until this time next year. Dorinda Cass picked up a prize with ‘September Spectre 2019’ and blew us away with her wind swept moorland — ‘a spark of peace in the midst of grief’. Jill Boyes wrote about a young refugee crossing continents and was also a prize-winner. Copies of the poems can be found on display in the library for the next month or so.

            The November meeting will be lead by Maggie Fawcett on the subject of Sci-fi. Maggie is asking members to bring along a piece of self-penned Sci-fi between 300 and 350 words long. Guests can also be involved by bringing their pieces, or just turning up. In summary — 7pm Tuesday 14^th November, Newby & Scalby Library. £4 for guests. Hot drinks – £1. Everyone welcome.

On Tuesday 13^th August, the Scarborough Writers’ Circle gathered for an interactive poetry workshop led by Felix Hodcroft, a well-known local performer of the spoken word. 

Felix began by sharing his insights as a guide for new performers of the spoken word and there were opportunities for members to respond with any questions or ask for specific advice in connection with their own experience of reading poetry/prose aloud.

He said that performing is not the same as performance and that it was constantly changing in line with poetry trends through time. He stated that the most important thing when preparing to share your poem with an audience is to make sure they can hear you! Hence, he brought along his AMP system and encouraged members to use it as they ‘performed’ their poems.

He advised us not to share anything unless we had confidence in sharing our message and that there was no need to have learned the poem/prose. Audiences don’t want you to fail. They don’t mind if you have a script. In fact, they prefer it, as they are confident that they will hear your message through your words, in a clear and concise way.

It is important to keep your audience involved, give a ‘very brief’ intro to your poem, so that they can get used to your voice before you read. Then engage with them throughout by inviting them into your poem with eye contact, body language and voice/rhythm control as you read.

The great thing about using the mic is that it enhances the voice of those poets who are naturally quietly spoken or drop their voice when an intimate line is needed, or raise their voice when a dramatic phrase is called for. Varying the voice like this keeps it interesting for the audience. The AMP system can be adjusted as necessary as you perform, instilling confidence for the poet in knowing it won’t be too low or too loud. It also makes it easier for the use of body posture/language to enforce the emotion of the poem keeping the engagement with the audience.

Felix advised to always take a silent breath in before you start and a silent breath out (for twice the count as the in-breath) to ground yourself in breathing correctly, and to use this technique during your performance if required.

The most crucial point is getting your message across.

The poems written and read by members ranged from blank verse, rhyming stanza, alliteration, rhyme in a line, sonnet, flash fiction, and haiku, with a broad array of subjects from writer’s block to a train journey in the fifties. Most members used the microphone to perform their poems and one or two read the same piece twice, which seemed to slow the performance down a little and enhance the poem’s emotional impact of the message of the poem. This exercise showed the difference in impact between the first nervous reading and the second confident reading.

Everyone had a chance to feedback to the reader (performer) about their performance and the poem’s message, which encouraged brief discussions as the meeting progressed.

It was an enjoyable session, members who don’t normally write poetry were encouraged to do so by Felix, who was impressed by the standard.

It was interesting to witness how much confidence it offered to the performers using a mic to read their work aloud, knowing that the whole room could hear their words.

All in all, it was an enjoyable and productive meeting.

Submitted by Julie Fairweather/Diana Campbell

See Diary page for the next session’s details.