“There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” I know it, Ernest Hemingway knew it, and if you’ve ever tried to write a poem, novel, short story or play – that is, if you’ve endured hours biting your nails, grinding your teeth, and see-sawing over a single word – then you’ll know it too. Sure, we love putting pen to moleskine, but why is it so damn hard? It makes sense, then, to take all the help you can get.
I’ve been to a few different groups in the past. The support is always useful, but they often brought together too many people, reading aloud too quietly or quickly. So it was a relief to come across a bunch of folk who do things a bit differently.
The North London Writers all live in the area surrounding Kentish Town. But other than that we don’t have masses in common. We keep down day jobs, and enjoy writing very different kinds of things. So far these have included a graphic novel, an Elizabethan sci-fi mash-up, a couple of young adult works-in-progress, some historical fiction and a weekly article from our resident blogger, Jo.
Being a small set gives us the luxury to read each others’ work in advance of the fortnightly sessions, and the diversity of projects means that this homework is never a bore. We also avoid reading aloud which wastes time and doesn’t allow the thinking-space to form considered opinions. As a consequence, our meetings are not for the faint of heart: they involve serious criticism – but what’s the point otherwise?
Don’t be scared, though. We always enjoy ourselves, and there’s praise as well as constructive you-know-what.
There are currently six of us, but our founding member has recently moved to Scotland (sob!) so we’re looking to replenish our numbers. We dare you.
