Life is full of uncomfortable moments. Putting them on the page shouldn’t be one of them. Embracing inner discomfort can result in powerful, tense writing.
The page is a safe space – for fears, for desires, for that difficult mingling of the two. This workshop will take you through a range of strategies for making your reader shift in their seat, whether it’s small, subtle details dropped into a text, or our messiest thoughts sprayed across the page for everyone to read.
What will you do in the workshop?
We’ll be looking at writers who excel at unease, ranging from auto-fiction through to fantastical horror. Are there common themes? We’ll then use writing exercises to unlock our own experiences, fantasies and fears – the root of tense writing.
What can you expect?
Expect to feel uncomfortable! We’ll use free association writing exercises to start, before building into longer exercises. You’ll leave with a good word count, which you won’t be required to share. Writers discussed: Shirley Jackson, John Fowles, Garth Greenwell, Sayaka Murata.
Who is this workshop for?
Suitable for writers of any level, especially those writing stories that include distress or discomfort, real-world or not. Think: dystopian, horror, crime, literary.
This workshop is part of our Developing Tutors series.
What is Developing Tutors?
Developing Tutors is a series of workshops delivered by London Writers Awards writers who are talented writers looking to grow their workshop delivery experience.
Bursary Places
We have 5 free bursary places for each Developing Tutors event available to those who cannot afford the price of a ticket, allocated on a first come first served basis. Please email [email protected] stating which event you would like to attend for free and if we are able to offer you a place we will. Due to availability, we can only accept one bursary request per person.
Access Notice
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If you require BSL interpretation to take part, please email us at [email protected] by Tuesday 16 May 2023 and we’ll try to secure BSL interpretation for you. Spread the Word will cover this cost.
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We’ll send through any reading seven days in advance. We can create adapted handouts to writers attending our workshops and events by request.
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If you have additional access needs or questions, please email us on [email protected]
Published: 8 March 2023
About Tomek
Tomek Mossakowski
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TOMEK MOSSAKOWSKI is a British-Polish writer living in Peckham. He has a PhD in English from King’s College London, but swapped Foucault for frangipane to become a baker. He trained at some of London’s top bakeries before opening a bakery school, while never giving up on his childhood dream of being an author. A gay, second-generation immigrant who’s moved around the world, he writes stories about people seeking a sense of belonging. His YA novel, Ideal Me, is about a depressed teenager on Mars who learns to speak to the planet. His work has been published in The Moth and shortlisted for the Bridport Prize in 2021 and 2020.