Session number 2, 10/08/2022

Posted on: 31 January 2023 by Words by David Tierney in Creative Writing group

Our second Creative Writing Meet Up happened on the University of Liverpool Campus, in Abercromby Square on a hot August evening when the park was dotted with patches of dried yellow grass...

Bernadette and I hosted, and we started with brief introductions as we had a few new people that joined. As with previous sessions it was established that this was a supportive environment where people could share whatever work they brought at whatever stage it was at and that feedback would be constructive.

I began by reading out the first few pages of my science fiction short story ‘Black and White Head’ which had been published in The Stinging Fly several years back. The story was about a cow escaping with her calf into a landscape decimated by climate change and a woman who had just moved home going with a robot to try and get them back. It was strange to be reading it aloud after not going near it for several years and I could find myself picking apart sentences again as well as remembering what I loved about the story. Marta Zanucco then read from her story ‘Close Reading’ which won the University of Liverpool’s Staff and Student Short Story Competition this year and explored a close friendship in a university hall of residence and reflected on regret and loss. It was a powerful and compact story that had shades of Sally Rooney’s Normal People, albeit with a different type of relationship being explored. Both of these stories opened up the group for discussions around writing in general and around ideas behind stories as well as the process of being published.

Tom Kaye would then read from the start of his story which blended nature with fantasy, having dragons made of tree bark in a dense world. We discussed what the story might turn into—a novel, novella, or short story—and how he might want to build that world. We shared recommendations of other similar works of fiction and non-fiction that he could go to for guidance such as Patrick Rothfuss’s ‘The Name of the Wind’ and Jeff Vandermeer’s ‘Wonderbook’. It’s always amazing to see the beginnings of a fantasy world and all the thought and deliberation that goes into its construction.

Paddy Brennan then shared his story about an art class and a conversation between two students on a bus. It was well-written, witty, and brimming with an effortless humour. The descriptive writing was particularly impressive and the acceptance and pride the main character had of their self-admitted mediocre painting made them instantly memorable. Finally, Natalie Wall read a snippet of a story that she was working on. What was striking was its directness and the plot’s swift movement. It begins with the main character instantly putting herself at risk by sneaking onto private property in order to go foraging only to be confronted by the landowner. The back and forth in the dialogue was quick and like Paddy’s work, witty and humorous, and within it there was an interesting commentary on ideas of ownership and trespassing.

Feedback was open and supportive with an adequate amount of both criticism and praise for each piece. Altogether the session went on for maybe two hours and a lot of that time was taken up with just general discussion about writing, people’s work, and what people were reading. By the time we finished the sun was sinking low and most people headed towards Frederics bar to their usual jazz sessions.