Flash fiction workshop

Last year I was delighted to be invited by Buckinghamshire Culture to get involved in their Village Stories project. As well as commissioning a photographer and a choreographer to take photographs of the people from three Buckinghamshire villages, three writers were asked to work with the villagers on writing projects. I was given the village of Burnham, near Slough, and during a week in September 2024, I delivered three flash fiction workshops to community groups, and one open session in Burnham Library.

I took photographs of the village and handed these out as inspiration for the pieces of writing that were created by Slough Writers (a group which meets in Burnham), Men in Sheds, Burnham Grammar, and the library session. And I was amazed and delighted by the pieces which were produced.

In addition, I was commissioned to write two pieces of flash fiction – also inspired by the photos I took, and these, together with the villages photos and the work by the other writers were produced in a booklet.

In November we had a celebratory evening in Burnham where the village photographs – inspired by Bruegel, were unveiled, and several people who had attended my flash fiction workshops came along and were brave enough to read out their pieces.

It was a wonderful project to be a part of.

If you’re interested in me collaborating with anything similar, please get in touch.

Set free your creativity and dive into a FREE two-hour creative writing workshop with me on Saturday 30th November in Wantage, Oxfordshire. Whether you’re an experienced writer or a complete beginner, this course will ignite your imagination and hone your storytelling skills and have you crafting a (very) short story using photographs as your starting point.

We’ll look at a couple of examples of published flash fiction stories to discuss what makes them work, and then you’ll get straight down to doing some writing. Using photographs supplied by me, I’ll guide you through ways to start your piece, think about character, action, and how to end it. And then briefly we’ll consider how to edit what you’ve written.

The workshop is free but spaces are limited and you need to book in advance by emailing wantage.library@oxfordshire.gov.uk or phoning 01235 762291

Hope to see you there! (Bring your own laptop or notebook and pen.)

(If you’re interested in me coming and teaching this workshop in your local library or independent book shop, then get in touch.)