Knowing no one, I ordered myself a coffee and joined a seat at a bigger table in Prosper. It was easy to make conversation with the two other eager attendees. The chattering café, completely dedicated to Creative writing workshop: fundamentals of plot, was soon full. Who knew there were so many budding writers in Ely?

The workshop lasted a couple of hours, with more coffee in the middle. It was a sociable, light-hearted atmosphere but, more seriously, also delivered what it promised.

Sophia and Heather of Artemis Writers were welcoming, approachable and knowledgeable, sharing their writing insights with some innovative learner-friendly techniques and exercises.

We told stories through postcards, which was funny and engaged the learners. We learnt about plot points – tapping into resources like Save the Cat1, Into the Woods2 and Story Engineering3 with a supportive handout. We then went on to anticipate the next stages of some not-so-famous existing novels. Some we got (nearly) right – others we enhanced with lesbian murderesses and debauchery. We ended by putting everything we’d learnt together to inform our own stories.

As a new writer, I came away more motivated and with clarified ideas about how to go about framing my own work.

I’d love to go to another event when able, and I’d recommend the workshop to Ely Writers. Sophia and Heather have another workshop in Ely and one in Newmarket already planned – both look promising. They are establishing themselves, and are up for new ideas to inspire new events if you have anything in mind.

References

1. Jessica Brody 2018. Save the Cat! Writes a Novel. California and New York: Ten Speed Press.
2. John Yorke 2014. Into the Woods: how stories work and why we tell them. London: Penguin.
3. Larry Brooks 2011. Story Engineering: mastering the 6 core competencies of successful writing. USA: Writer’s Digest Books.