I'd like to welcome you to my interview with David Viner, from Redwell Writers.
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Hello David. Can you tell us a bit about your writing group?
Redwell Writers, meets fortnightly at member's houses. It was established in 2006 by a local author though it is now run by its members. The name comes from the fact that the original meeting place was just off Redwell Street in Norwich.
How many members, on average, does your group have?
Usually around 8 to 10 – we wouldn't expand much on this as that size gives everyone a chance for input.
Who are you and what is your role within the group?
My name is David Viner. I took over the running of the group (and also built the web site) once the original person who started the group had to stop running it.
How are your sessions structured?
Sometimes they are themed but mostly they are general discussion plus read and review. We do the occasional writing exercise.
What types of things do you cover in your group?
All aspects of writing: themes, genres, styles, plotting, POV, narrative, characterisation, opportunities for getting published etc. – basically, anything to do with writing!
What have been some of your most popular/successful activities?
The regular read and review sessions are the most popular as it gives us the opportunity to hear what each other is doing and help each other where we spot problems.
What genres do the members of your group write?
Anything goes – we've had romantic, horror, crime, Sci-Fi, slipstream, autobiography, script writing, observational, comedy, general journalistic articles etc.
Have you ever written collectively as a group, such as producing an anthology?
It is something we are currently looking into.
What kind of support does your writing group provide for its writers?
The regular read and review sessions encourage the development of individual writers.
Do you have guest speakers at your group?
Yes, we've had published authors and also had along someone who writes critiques, whose advice was taken on board.
Do members of the group get a chance to run/lead a session or part of a session?
Yes, anyone can run a session – we've used this in the past for themed meetings. Each person would investigate a particular theme such as plotting, characterisation, editing etc and present information about it. Usually the rest of the group would bring along a short piece to read out that illustrated that theme.
What's the best piece of writing advice you've been given?
Writers write! i.e. don't talk about writing unless you are writing yourself, write something every day - no, I don't tend to manage this personally!
What is the best piece of writing advice you give?
As above!
Does your writing group have a website/blog/Twitter/Facebook?
www.redwellwriters.org
How would someone go about joining your writing group?
Contact us via the website.Thank you David.
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