Do you want to write, regularly, with others? Contact Hella to join the open writing group that meets

every Tuesday, 8.00 pm NZ time, on Zoom…

How does it work? We meet at 7.30 pm, Hella provides a topic and we all write for 15-20 minutes. Topics vary, they can be just one word, or the beginning of a sentence. We write to that prompt, whatever comes to mind. In free writing are no rules other than to keep the pen on the paper and to keep on writing until the time is over. It happens often that the final writing veers far from the topic, but - that’s OK. We share our writing - it’s a bit scary to share that unedited raw draft, yet it allows for feedback from others, not just your inner critic, to review that draft. Contact Hella to register.

Initial session free, register to receive the Zoom link. Price NZ $15/session or $50 for 4 sessions

To share your tentative writing drafts with your lover, family or friends, is fraught - the way they read your draft is shaped by their reality, their interests and your relationship; their response can’t be right: numerous new writers dismiss positive feedback as ‘they love me that’s why they say it’s good’, while at the same time they might dismiss a wonderful evocative piece of authentic writing as crap if it does not find the positive feedback they crave. Whatever the response, it’s just the opinion of one person.

Joyce Carol Oates, American author of a staggering 58 novels and countless other work, did not share a single one of them with her husband of 47 years, despite the fact that he was an editor and publisher and they worked closely together all those years.

How do you improve your writing? Courses provide tools to polish the craft; like any other art form there are techniques to be studied, rules to be understood - and broken deliberately - courses provide focus, exercises and much needed deadlines to polish the draft into a finished project you’re truly proud of.

Where to go once the course is over? Increasingly popular creative writing courses churn out writers who, once the course is completed, stop writing again - the focus, the feedback, the deadlines are gone, it needs more confidence and self discipline to keep motivation up to write, to polish, to submit than many writers have.

The solution? A writing group, a bunch of readers and writers, of people as interested in the craft of writing as you are, committed to listen to each other’s first draft and to provide feedback.

Hella runs an open writing group on Zoom, every Sunday at 7.30 pm NZ time. Contact Hella to find out details.

Here is Fiona’s Tribute to the writing group:

Writing without boundaries

liberated 
I had never written before when my writings weren't checked, corrected, restricted & graded 

this was a first .
freedom to explore 
Styles and ideas ,
to listen to others
and to feel inspired; 
to go beyond our expectations of ourselves 
Hella's energy and positivity 
keeps the work we do safe; 
no judgement of each other 
we are valued and acknowledged for our uniqueness 
we're honoured…write on.. 
I'd had to do remedial reading when I was a child 
so the fear of reading in front of people 
was very real, 
and that's not how it's turned out to be
it's just been a delight. 
my heart no longer pounds before I start telling my story
And in hearing back what we've written 
we develop 

new insights 

new lights illuminating our path ahead 

& we grow a bit more

And in connecting share the joy.