Paddington Writers Group meets twice a month, on the 2nd and 4th Thursday, from 7.00pm - 9.00pm at Paddington Library, Porchester Rd, London W2 5DU. Nearby tube stations are Royal Oak, Bayswater and Queensway and buses are 7, 18, 23, 27 and 36.

Everyone is welcome regardless of experience or ability. The main requirement is that you write.

We have total beginners, and we have seasoned, published writers.

Paddington Writers' Group meetings are run as a workshop, which includes readings from the floor, discussion, tips for improving your work and timed writing exercises. Most importantly, you can meet other writers.

Think of us as a forum, where you can come for feedback on your writing, and get support.

You can also submit short pieces of your writing that you want to be considered for publication on this site.

Submit them and any other queries to 'paddingtonwriters@hotmail.com' and we'll get back to you.

See you at the next meeting.

*Switch off your mobile phone / pager before the meeting.

*Arrive on time. If you are ever late, come in quietly without interrupting the meeting in any way.

*Listen carefully when someone else is talking or reading out their work.

*Try not to interrupt . Your turn to speak will come.

*Give your positive and constructive feedback comments after another member has read their work. Your views are valuable to that person to help improve their writing. Keep your comments brief and to the point.

*When you bring writing you want to read out to the group, make sure your name goes onto the Reading Rota for that meeting.

*Individual readings from the floor will usually be under ten minutes each. Longer pieces must be booked in for the following meeting.

*No Prima-Donna behaviour ! Respect and sensitivity to other members at all times .

*Don’t bring alcohol or any ‘alco-pop’ type drinks to meetings.

This complies with Westminster Libraries policies.

'A 21st Century Hamlet'

Hamlet comes on stage in modern attire. Once centre stage, he pauses and begins:

'To be or not to be...'

'Cut' shouts the director.

'What's the matter ?' says the actor.

'Come on. It makes no sense - a man just walking along chatting to himself... We're gonna have to update it. We're in the 21st century now.'

Dressed as before, Hamlet walks on to centre stage, then pauses, takes a mobile phone from his pocket and puts it to his ear.

'Hello, Horatio,' says Hamlet , 'I'm on the battlements. To be or not to be, that is the f-----g question : whether it is nobler in the mind to blah-de-blah-de-blah or take arms against a sea of fortunes and, by opposing, end them. D'you know what I'm sayin'? To die - to sleep - no more, and by a sleep to say we blah-de-blah-de-blah. 'Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished. D'you know what I'm sayin' ? Bye, Horatio. See ya.'

STAY IN TOUCH
>> The handsome couple by the teashop window,
>> Sip from flower painted cups.
>> He watches cricketers on the Green,
>> She stares at watercolours on the wall.
>> Both exquisitely groomed and  tailored,
>> Carefully aged and revered.
>>
>> By the old oak clock we settle,
>> Hot, hungry and thirsty,
>> Muddied and not so perfectly trussed.
>> Sore from the steep hill ramble.
>> We giggle about the bull, losing our way.
>> Eager to share, forging a future.
>>
>> Always stay in touch, my mother said,
>> Just before the big day.
>> Or else you become strangers,
>> Sitting opposite in a railway carriage;
>> Like the spectating man,
>> And the watery eyed woman?
>>
>> Jenny Kingsley
>>
>>
>> TO A YOUNG CAPTAIN
>> My dearest William,
>> As the hot, sticky summer draws to an end,
>> And so begins the season of swollen blackberries as rich as cream,
>> And crisp leaves whispering underfoot,
>> I sit by the fire, thanking you
>> For introducing me to the thinking and reading man’s game.
>> A library of prose and poetry, a new language.
>>
>> Remember the matches, when, by the Green,
>> I sat cross-legged under the mulberry tree,
>> “The Times” firmly in hand, hoping no one would notice?
>> I was stumped by googly, gozunder and kato,
>> The mutterings of nightwatchmen, rabbits and all-rounders.
>>
>> But then one hazy June day,
>> Bowled over by your schoolboy enthusiasm,
>> I laid my paper to rest,
>> And, for some unfathomable reason,
>> Clapped for Atkinson’s half century.
>> I was caught
>>
>> In a world of spin, shots, strokes,
>> Steeped in history and anecdote,
>> For the sake of which, at a snail’s pace, I unravelled.
>> An enigma of common and invented words, puzzling phrases,
>> The obsolete as relevant as the new:
>> Reflections of the changing nature of the terrain, pitch and players.
>>
>> Blushing, I bought a dictionary of cricket
>> To peruse while sipping caffe latte
>> And you were in the schoolroom
>> Considering conjugation and declension.
>> The rules of play I learned
>> And silently argued with the umpires.
>>
>> I wonder: would the gentlemen of Hambledon,
>> Decked elegantly in white,
>> Still praise bat and wicket
>> If held and claimed by a mother or two?
>> While we await judgement,
>> please teach me to flip and float, slice and smother, and be silly.
>>
>> The fire wants kindling. I await your reply. ‘Bye for now.
>>
>> Yours forever,
>>
>> Mummy
>>

Automatic writing over 5 minutes.

Prompt: “These April Fools…”

These April Fools are stupid. Why do we follow this tradition? Pasta on trees? Tony Blair acting in the Old Vic. Kevin Spacey. Good actor. My fave film is Usual Suspects. Kaiser Soze. Who he? Limp. Picture of line-up with faces staring back, askew mouths. I’m hungry and very thirsty.Mouth is dry and need water. Love drinking waterdon’t drink enough of it. Kids need to drink more. My skin gets better when I drink lots of water. Ouch my wrist hurts. Elbow starting to ache after my fall, wonder if its got broken bone floating around

Clouds float freely in a deep blue sky. Birds sing and the luscious green grass has just been cut. Smell of grass is first sign of life going outside. Winter is so dark and miserable, sunlight too low, squinting.

April 2007

Rosie de la Mare

*Some Group Members' work published on this site may contain strong language.*

'Rabbits in the Moonlight'

by Emily Baker  25/01/07

 
Bobtails. I see them. Rabbits.

Skip, jump. Skip, jump. Can a rabbit skip ?

I'd swear they do tonight. That white flash as they scale the bottom rung of Pa's fence.

'Bunny!' Lou calls.

'Shsh, you'll scare 'em,' I say.

'Are the bunnies running away from their mommy ? ' she whispers.

The moon moves out of the oak tree, a huge cheese of light.

And I hold her chubby hand tight.

We have escaped.
 

The following piece is exactly 100 words. A mini saga.

Snowy Night

by Tony Callaghan 8/02/07

Runny nose, aching arms and legs. Sore throat. Freezing on this tube. That f-----g, obnoxious, blazing announcer on the speakers. Droning on at every stop. Volume turned right up.

' Attchoo! '

Do me a favour, mate. Put your hand over your mouth, for f---k sake! I'm already full of cold.

Bo---cks, then! In a foul mood. It's a horrible time of year, is this. Roll on spring.

Here we are. Hope she's left the heating on. The daft mare turned it right down last night. Just can't get rid of this f-----g cold.

God, I hate winter. Roll on spring !

Unbidden onlookers at BBC Proms 10^th anniversary

CHARACTER

As writers, we must know our created characters as if they were real people. We have to know everything about them in order to make them ‘live’ in the world of our fiction. The more real we can make them in our imagination, then the more real they will be on the written page, and so for our readers.

• How old are they?
• What is their height/weight?
• Where were they born?
• What was the childhood home like?
• Describe their Parents
• Describe their school building
• Did they like or dislike school
• What is their favourite food/colour/holiday location/song etc (This list is endless)
• What is their medical history?
• Financial status
• Sexual orientation
• Do they have a criminal record?
• What work do they do?
• Do they enjoy/hate their job?
• Any Brothers/Sisters?
• What’s their best friend’s name
• Their first pets name
• Their Partners name
• How long with present partner/how long alone?

All of this stuff you simply make a decision on. But, as your decisions increase then your choices will begin to form themselves based on past choices. The character will begin to grow organically. You must step into the shoes of your character to find out what they would do, or how they would react in any given situation.

Unless your work is autobiographical, try not to base your characters on yourself or you are in danger of making every character that you create, a self portrait.  However, if you create a character, then your time alone at your typewriter, in the wee small hours, will be more interesting, and as you build your ‘Golem’, you may find that it takes on a sort of life of it’s own, and may well surprise you with what it says and does. SCAREY isn’t it? You have now contacted the inner creative YOU, and your work will flow freely, and easily.

You almost certainly will not actually use all of this stuff that you have ‘created’ for your character, but this detail is the ‘bedrock’ on which your character is based.

The reader sees the part of the character that we choose to reveal in the context of the story, but you as the writer knows much more.