Writing Groups near Burnley

Over the past two years I’ve been to various writing groups:

Hasiwriters (based in Haslingden Library)
Irwell Writers (meet in the Mosses, Bury)
Holmfirth Writers (meet in Holmfirth Library)
Slaithwaite Writers (meet in Slaithwaite Library)
Drop-in Writing Workshop (meet in Brewed Coffee, Horwich)
Cheetham Street Writers (now closed)
Clayton-le-Moors Writers (now closed)
Freewriters (meet Bacup Library – library under closure threat)

Many libraries are under threat of closure. We know the reason why but that doesn’t mitigate the threat to one of the only vehicles to authors wanting a fully textured feedback. Groups per se aren’t a panacea to all writerly needs you need to know what you want and hope to find it, whether it’s genre feedback, a place to be sociable, somewhere to preach the merits of your latest masterpiece, get advice, make connections or whatever. They all have plusses and minuses. Some bemoan or eulogise whatever happens to be big in current affairs, others are rowdy social affairs where writing commitment is tested by wise-cracking folk of a slightly older generation. One or two struggle to function much beyond a bare framework of random, uninspiring idea prompts. They’re not all like that and with some effort you should be able to come away with narratives that you are comfortable with.
I’ve been going to writing groups since 2010 and religiously maintain an archive. They cover all genres. I’ve no preference for the short story form but I do note it is unsuitable for some of the ideas I plan on developing at some future point of time.

Attending writing groups means many story starts. It’s easy to assume the stories may never see print but as someone with an eye on a potential publisher, I archive and organise them each year. The following list is date written / wordcount / title. Genre is excluded, but note I am unlikely to write anything that doesn’t have an element of the fantastic, or suspense (or some point if an anecdote).

Recent Stories (* = unfinished)

From 2015:

Date written	Words	Title
11/02/15	302	Oasis of the White Lily*
17/03/15	245	Sea Girl
05/05/15	442	Orphans
02/06/15	471	Dare in the Forest*
16/06/15	381	The Cockroach King
14/07/15	121	Our Garden
21/07/15	331	Dice of Destiny*
05/08/15	320	The Growper*
18/08/15	245	Rebellion
18/08/15	234	Part 2
30/08/15	1501	Kitten’s Play
01/09/15	378	Chicken Soup
01/09/15	271	The Truth
01/09/15	352	Nconnu*
06/10/15	240	Fog
20/10/15	171	Simon’s Dad
20/10/15	318	A Child in a Woman’s Body
03/11/15	399	Rudneth
17/11/15	106	Man Safe
17/11/15	488	The People with Wings
01/12/15	535	Venice
09/12/15	3022	I am Zhlogh
31/12/15	4030	Undercroft
06/08/15	301	North Manchester

From 2016:

Date written	Words	Title
05/01/2016	231	Parakeet
07/03/2016	87970	The Tau Device
17/05/2016	400	The Hnd*
07/06/2016	561	Backstory*
14/06/2016	221	Joy
20/06/2016	641	Circus in town*
21/06/2016	122	Proverbs
22/06/2016	200	The Hut
27/06/2016	374	Sunburn
02/07/2016	18363	Dragon Shard
04/07/2016	479	The Sin of Sloth
05/07/2016	53	The Glass Fly*
05/07/2016	334	The Watch
11/07/2016	233	Foreign world
20/07/2016	212	The Last Meeting
02/08/2016	509	The Mirror
11/09/2016	3282	Amibanu
11/09/2016	2293	Fickleday*
27/09/2016	118	Twilight on Vernon Street*
04/10/2016	185	Instructions for moving a planet
11/10/2016	208	Pub Grub
15/10/2016	404	Winter by the Sea
18/10/2016	214	The Thimble
23/10/2016	543	Reunion
27/10/2016	542	That Which Waits
01/11/2016	580	The Oath