Tag: passion

FIRE!

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The November meeting of the Scarborough Writers’ Circle focused on writing craft. Members were invited to bring short pieces to read out and accept feedback on pace, energy, interest and story arcs.  The theme for the evening was ‘Fire!’ and what a wonderful assortment of writing we heard.  There were stories of dragons eggs, of school pranks, feisty witches and the gunpowder plot. We had poignancy of a mother coping with autism and lots of crackle, woodsmoke and flame. Discussion was lively with lots of helpful feedback given and generously received.

Our next meeting will be at Newby and Scalby Library and Information Centre on 13th December at 7:15. Members are invited to bring a festive 100 word story to share.  There will be nibbles!

Attendance is £4.00 for non-members – but membership is open and we very much look forward to welcoming new members and non-members alike. For more information and our year timetable see our website pages (https://scarboroughwriterscircle.com/)

(submitted by lelmeleyal@hotmail.com – Lel Meleyal – Chair SWC)

The Shirley Waite Poetry Award

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The Award’s second airing was the nucleus of the 11th October meeting. The trophy was introduced into the circle’s program last year to honour the memory of our dear friend and fellow writer Shirley, whose sudden death in November 2018 stunned all who knew her.

Her absence from the writing scene in Scarborough is tangible and she is still missed by many who knew and loved her as their treasured memories live on.

The Award is part of the circle’s contribution to National Poetry Day’s annual celebration of poetry. The remaining part of that celebration is – reading poetry. Namely, poetry written by members for the competition.

This year’s theme was Environment and was judged by guest speaker Jane Sudworth.

Jane is highly regarded for her shrewd judgement of poetry and she has assisted in several poem-sifting processes for local competitions. She is an exceptional poet herself and her work has been featured online as well as published in various anthologies. She is part of a trio of performing poets known as Poetry on Fire and is also a member of the Scarborough Poetry Workshop.

Jane gave a brief commentary on the process of how she approached the competition in order to make her final choice, before reading out a poem by Shirley entitled Pink Frog and announcing the winners as follows:

1st Place to Jill Boyes for Starless.

2nd Place to Lel Meleyal for Zakynthos.

3rd Place to Katie Wilkinson for Wild Orchid.

Jill receives the trophy from Julie Fairweather (last year’s winner)

The reading of all entries and Jane’s feedback comments encouraged lively discussions and the final part of the evening informed what we, as writers, can learn from poetry to enhance our prose.

It was an engaging evening and a fitting tribute to Shirley’s memory.

The next meeting is on Tuesday 8th November, 7.15 p.m. – 9.30 p.m. at Newby and Scalby Library, 450 Scalby Road, Scarborough YO12 6EE.  All are welcome to attend (18 years plus). Guests £4, Members Free. The theme is FIRE. See the DIARY page of the website for further details.

Submitted by Julie Fairweather

Shirley Waite, 19.4.1953 – 09.11.1918

Beginnings and Omens at the Scarborough Writers’ Circle

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At 19:13, on the 13th of September, 13 members of the Scarborough Writers’ Circle met and discussed the importance of opening paragraphs and the power of omens. Members shared the beginning of their own work, along with examples from established writers, to demonstrate the variety of ways in which writers can arouse the interest of today’s readers. The meeting concluded on the hour, but disappointingly, the clocks failed to strike thirteen – perhaps leaving that omen for a night about endings.

The next meeting is on Tuesday, the 11th October 22, at Newby and Scalby Library. The evening will be a read-through of the entries to the Shirley Waite Poetry Competition, in celebration of National Poetry Day, followed by an announcement of the winner. The evening will conclude with an examination of rhythm and what fiction can learn from poetry.

Attendance is £4.00 for non-members, but membership is open so please browse the website for further information at http://www.scarboroughwriterscircle.com/ 

Report submitted by Stewart Ashton. 

A personal reflection of the August session led by Felix Hodcroft entitled ‘Environment’ can be found on Julie’s Personal Website here.

Nikki Barker Competition

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Nikki Barker Competition
‘All in a good cause’
My intention is to encourage passion for some burning issue out there that really fires up individual members. I would like to see some background knowledge, research and campaigning.
It could take the form of
· a plan of campaign,
· an account of an achievement for the cause
· a story about a campaign, fact or fiction
· an article for the media
· or anything else you want to make of it
Please feel free to add illustrations, no more than three, and any words on these will not be included in the total word count and indicate under ‘market’ where you intend it for.
Go on, move me to tears, to signing up or, even more difficult, to putting my hand in my pocket!

1,000 words; normal competition rules apply (see website)
Entries in: 13 May 2014
Results and reading of entries: 27 May