To write is to unlock our most vivid thoughts and feelings and give them a voice. It is confidence building and builds self esteem. Creativity deserves to sing and each one of us has something to say if only we can find a way to express it.

My Creative Writing teaching has grown from a course I taught at the Arvon Foundation some years ago. Since then I have built up my own teaching to work for individuals, groups and in organisations.

I teach in two ways: one to one regular sessions working on a specific project, or work shops for groups. The subject matter might be anything from the next epic historical novel to the secret life of a small black pug, from a sultry thriller to a prose poem. The imagination is limitless, we just need to find the way into it.

In One to One sessions we begin with an assessment of what the client wants. Sometimes what seemed to be a novel is actually a short story or a poem, sometimes what looked like autobiography is in fact better served as fiction. My work and my privilege is to help the client see their own talents and to show them how best to use them in their writing.

The techniques for unlocking creativity in individuals which foster self esteem and confidence while having fun in a non competitive environment make creative writing a complement to therapeutic work. I work with patients at The Recovery Centre in Chelsea.

My Group Workshops are inspired by the creativity of the group itself: so reading out loud and feedback within the group are significant tools helping new writers to find their literary feet and become confident among their peers. Exercises, supervised writing sessions and in some instances a group ambition to achieve a body of work that everyone contributes to are all motivating techniques.

I currently work with a group of children at Burlington Danes Academy for the First Story Charity. This is my second year and “Chandenance” the anthology we produced at Burlington Danes with a group of 15 year olds last year is available with the other anthologies other writers and schools have worked on from First Story.

There are no hard and fast rules for writers, and in teaching creative writing I have learned a lot myself and the work I do in this field has illuminated my own writing considerably. The most important thing of all is to listen.

I look forward to hearing from you.

I am currently running a set of creative writing workshops in Cley, North Norfolk. These are running monthly from 11th October 2011.

See more here: Creative writing workshops