In the Autumn of 2015 I met with Ann Lynch on the cute terrace of “Bistrot au Chocolat” in Strasbourg for coffee. She introduced me to the Strasbourg Write a Story Competition. Ann is president of the committee of volunteers working throughout the year to help promote creative writing in English amongst natives and non-natives in Strasbourg and the Alsace region. The committee was looking for more workshop leaders and Ann asked if I would be interested in running a few. I was flattered, and immediately rose to the challenge. Neither a writer, nor particularly experienced in creative writing workshops, I was still tempted; the “creative” aspect of any English language workshop speaks to me and as we sat drinking coffee that September morning, ideas were already spinning through my head as to the kind of workshops I could offer in both honesty and comfort as a teacher …
As with any workshop-based classes, I began molding and shaping my workshops to suit native or native-like adolescents from about 14 years upwards, as well as non-native adults with a good level of English. Today, the workshops are offered mainly in schools; my role being someone who can help young adults first find sparks of creativity which will give them the taste to then be experimental in their writing . I help them take risks in the way they write and choose their subject matter, tapping into early childhood memories and using them to create writing, encouraging them to observe, to comment and to become excited and inspired by ordinary, everyday experiences in ways they perhaps haven’t considered before. The workshops are fun, with no grades or pressure to perform or produce lengthy master pieces, and, I believe offer a moment of creativity in an approach to writing which pleases and gives a little more confidence to many, and to a few, occasionally inspires a desire to continue writing outside the classroom …
Find out more about the Strasbourg Write a Story annual competition and the committee working to keep this organization running on: http://sxb-write-a-story.org