What's Creative Writing all about?

Over the next few weeks we will be sharing guest blog posts from our Creative Writing tutor Claire Benson. Claire will show you different ways you can 'work with words' - you don't have to be a professional to enjoy writing and the benefits of writing can be life changing for some people.

Meet Claire...

‘Would you like to discover reading for pleasure and fun, chat about interesting characters and story-lines, experiment with your creative side and tell your story? Come along to our 'Working with Words' sessions, where we will read together (stories, magazines and poems), discuss, write from prompts and discover how you can express yourself and your ideas in words in a relaxed and informal setting.’

Hello and welcome to the first ever ‘Creative Writing – Working with Words’ blog.

My name’s Claire and I’m the tutor on the programme. At the moment I’m working with a lovely group of people at Pendleside Hospice. The group members all have something in common: they have lost someone very dear to them in their lives. They come to our sessions to meet others, share stories and use creative writing as an outlet for their grief. Sometimes they don’t write about grief at all. There are funny stories, poems and even comic accounts of the rediscovery of King Richard III. A lot of the writing is autobiographical too. We go wherever the mood takes us.

We are now on week six of eleven sessions and each member has settled in nicely. It’s a supportive environment, full of warmth and trust and I feel privileged to be helping the group to flourish in their creativity.

Today, we’ve been looking at using photographs as prompts for writing, looking at the faces of unknown people and asking ‘Who is this?’ and ‘What is their story?’ From here, the group are creating short narratives or poems around their new-found characters.


Look out for further updates and contact Carmela about coming along on the next course!