It is the time of year when the wildflowers overtake the hill. Yellows, purples and green intermingle with red and orange. I have just been sitting among the flowers, thinking about this post. The theme is supposed to be fracking. It’s an unpleasant word with destructive consequences. I do not want to write about it,…
Most mornings I lie in bed thinking I should be writing. I feel guilty. This morning after making a fruity breakfast, I checked Facebook, and email, read the favoured online papers and avoided editing a story. I discovered another editing avoidance opportunity when I read about Blogging from A to Z. During April, participants write…
Dialogue, I have been thinking about dialogue. Words spoken by imaginary characters have filled my head for two weeks. My cold and cough have blocked some of the voices, but today, the dialogue between two characters is a source of amusement. Josie Whistler, old hippy, owner of a festival food van has a lot to…
The “Writing in the Algarve” group held its first meeting of 2016 at Tavira Library. Monday’s (4th January) meeting looked at story, plot and theme. New members mingled with familiar faces. After introductions we went straight into the first writing exercise, a set scene, involving a psychiatric hospital, a windfall and an ill-tempered character. The task was to write for 5 minutes…
Starting on Monday, 4 January 2016, writing workshops will begin again at the library in Tavira. The theme for the first session will be Narrative, story, plot and content. Six, Monday afternoon sessions have been planned. We will meet every two weeks, so there will be plenty of time to digest information and to write.
The third writing workshop was an opportunity to share progress, (or not), to play with words and to meet other scribblers and writers during National Novel Writing Month NaNoWriMo. We used a couple of writing prompts to get us into the flow. We met at our usual venue – Tavira library. The fourth writing session will be Monday…
Some excellent cultural activities, music, dance, theatre, related to the 125th Anniversary of Álvaro de Campos have continued in Tavira during October 2015. As part of the festival, local school students from the Biblioteca Esjac, Tavira, have produced artwork. They were tasked with creating images of Pessoa’s heteronym, Álvaro de Campos. Their creative efforts need to be acknowledged and…
Writing can be a solitary process, so during October, my friend Mary Jezzard and I, designed a workshop and invited a few people interested in words to join us in Tavira Library. Our plan is to meet again at the Library on Thursday 29 October at 2:30pm, to share writing prompts and more importantly our latest…
Networking for writers and workshop Wednesday 21st October 2015, 10am – 12noon, Tavira Library As part of the 125th anniversary celebration of Álvaro de Campos taking place in Tavira, a free writers workshop, (in English) has been arranged. Some people may not think of themselves as writers, but the urge to scribble words, tell stories in…
A celebration of Álvaro de Campos will take place in Tavira from 8th to 25th October 2015. One of the organisers of the programme, Tela Leao, kindly agreed to an interview. The recorded interview explores why this character is of relevance to Tavira, Portugal, what artistic activities will take place and who is involved in…