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I write this blog because I enjoy writing. Sometimes I'm happy with the result and press the publish button, other times I write a couple of paragraphs, edit down to one and then push delete. I started blogging because I wanted to exercise my writing muscle. I know from experience that composition begets better composition and a blank page will never get filled if you just stare at it. I carry on writing this blog because I have "met" so many creative, original, expressive and slightly bonkers "friends" and am now a blogger groupie and proud of it. Recently however, I have felt myself getting a bit stale and hackneyed and in need of a better workout. SO, I am very happy to announce the start of a new writing group in Bodrum. Calling ourselves a Writing Circle, we will meet twice a month for a couple of hours a session and practice our craft, be it prose or poetry, in an atmosphere of mutual creative criticism. It is not a class as there is no teacher. Neither is it an English lesson as we will not be correcting grammar. My fellow co-ordinator Martha Patrick and I are looking forward to our first meeting on Monday afternoon where we will write briefly, share our work and decide how we want our writing circle to develop.
Martha is a student of the Amherst Writers and Artists method which I am looking forward to hearing about. Pat Schneider, founder of AWA, encourages writers with these words in the introduction to her book, Writing Alone and With Others:
Whether your purpose is artistic expression, communication with friends and family, the healing of inner life, or achieving public recognition for your art - the foundation is the same: the claiming of yourself as an artist/writer and the strengthening of your writing voice through practice, study, and helpful (as opposed to damaging) communication with others. . . . 'A writer is someone who writes,' wrote William Stafford. . . . Every one of us is a writer. You are a writer. You are an artist. Accept it, celebrate it, and practice it for the rest of your life.
If you would like to join us please leave a message below or email backtobodrum@gmail.com
