I am one of those ‘life long learners’ who is always studying something — painting, print-making, poetry ….that’s just the P’s. Screenwriting is relatively recent addition and I do classes because I want to work with other people who are passionate about the same things as me. I have taken a lot of writing classes over the years and I have had some great teachers and some not so good. But the best thing about class is getting feedback on your work. You might not like it; you might not agree with it but having your work read and critiqued by people you trust and respect is the best way to advance your ideas. It helps to sharpen your thoughts and compels you to clarify what you are on about. I missed that when I stopped going to class. And, those of you who have followed me before know that it was the lack of feedback on your work that made me give up on the MA at Falmouth. It seems that workshops and feedback are such essential parts of the learning process and so we parted ways because of the lack of peer to peer support and lack of group feedback.
I have taught in universities for many years and I know that the best students learn more from each other than they ever learn from those people standing up in front of them. So, in that spirit, having tired of formal classes, I decided to set up my own group. Self help group? Peer support group? Mates who like being together? Whatever. We have been meeting about once a month for the last 4 months. I have cajoled and coerced a wonderfully eclectic group of people from evening classes at City Lit, from Shooting People, from wherever I can find them to join me in my Table Top Reads. We get around a bit — we can’t afford to actually pay for a room so we go wherever we can find a space — at the BFI on the South Bank we squat in the corner of the bar while the Freelance team at the East End gem, The Stratford Theatre Royal (mundanely renamed as Stratford East), have provided us with a great space every now and then. If you don’t know this beautiful theatre check it out — it’s one of the last remaining buildings not to have been redeveloped in this historic part of East London and home to the best pantos in East London — never mind what the Hackney Empire might say! “Oh, yes, it is!”
Anyway, there were half a dozen of us at the first meeting — new friends and old and we keep growing in numbers. It’s great to hear other people’s work in a non-judgemental space and also to get feedback on my own writing. It’s a give and take game, this screenwriting. I am still working on my big band/ bollywood musical mash up rom com… better get back to that.
What do you think about writer’s groups? Let me know in your comments below and I will keep you posted on how we get on.
Thank you for following me.
Jane.