Borders Bookshop, Australia

I was absolutely delighted to find that, although we have lost Borders bookshop here in the UK, overseas it is still a going concern. Even more importantly from my point of view, my book, Folklore of Hampshire, is on sale in Borders Australia.

Good, eh?

Penny Legg's Writing Buddies

At the last Writing Buddies meeting in Borders in Southampton, I was surprised to hear that the coffee and chat sessions have become a motivating force for the production of words. Writers are now being motivated to write because they know that a Writing Buddies meeting is coming up and they want to be able to tell the rest of the group about the writing they are currently working on. Writing Buddies are also getting fresh ideas from each other. I had not foreseen this when I started the group.

Readers of this blog will know that I set up the group in response to a need I had perceived for writers to get together and talk about what matters to them in the world of writing. It gave them a forum for discussing problems with plotting, characterisation and such like, to talk about markets and book selling, trends, successes, even the demise of the semi-colon! Anything in fact that affected them as writers. Over time we have tried to advise one writer on the problems he has had with time lines in his novel and commiserated with him when he recently announced that, after 120,000 words, he had abandoned the project. We have talked about writing courses and pooled knowledge of the good and the bad. We have always talked about the ongoing projects that we are working on. As we have a goodly sprinkle of novelists, poets, non-fiction writers, short story writers, diarists and children's writers it is good to hear of the multitude of work that we undertake. That we are now sparking ideas and motivating each other to produce work, is great to hear.

The next meeting of Writing Buddies is on Friday 28th August at 2pm. If you fancy dropping in for a cuppa and a chat, you will be very welcome.

Writing Buddies launched successfully

Writing Buddies went well. Ten writers turned up and all had lots to say, which was great. We met in the middle of the Borders store and, I have to say, that the store staff looked after us very well indeed.

For more information see the Writing Buddies blog by clicking here.

Writing Buddies will launch this afternoon!

Yes, it is Writing Buddies Day! Can't wait. It will be interesting to meet those who come along and the chat is sure to be lively.

As Writing Buddies is aimed at anyone with an interest in writing, I am hoping there will be an eclectic mix of personalities. I will be there with my ever present camera to record the event for posterity.

If you fancy a cuppa and a chat, come along to Borders Bookshop in Southampton this afternoon at about 2 o'clock, pull up a chair and join in! I look forward to meeting you!

Writing Buddies

I am pleased to announce the formation of a new, informal writers' group, Writing Buddies, which will meet fortnightly at Borders Bookshop in Southampton, from Friday 22 May.

I had been toying with the idea of starting my own writers' circle as I did not seem able to find a circle in my area. However, readers of this blog will have read about my discovery of the Southampton Writers' Circle and so the need to start my own group has died away. However, I felt that there was something missing and with the formation of Writing Buddies, I hope to fill the gap I see in services for writers in Southampton.

I know that I am new to the area and there is bound to be someone out there in Readerland who will email me and tell me I have it wrong, there is an existing group offering the services I am about to offer and asking me who do I think I am, starting something similar? Well, I apologise but the fact is, as a newcomer to the area, I have not found them.

So what am I wittering on about? Writers' Circles offer their members a place to meet and try out their writing. Members read excerpts and friendly criticism is offered. Circles run competitions and invite guest speakers to talk about their latest books or share expertise. Writing Buddies is different. Writing Buddies is open to both professional and non-professional writers of all genres and both sexes. It is basically a group which meets for a cuppa and a chat upstairs in the large Borders store in the Southampton city centre. Anyone who has an interest in writing can come along, pick up a coffee and sit down to discuss any aspect of writing they wish to. So, we might talk about the latest developments in the fiction market, an editor's view of journalism, discuss how a plot can be pushed forward, talk about writing organisations and writing courses, the latest developments in book selling or anything else the group fancies. The emphasis will not be on reading out our own work but on the wider world of writing. Thus, Writing Buddies will not overlap with existing writing circles and will, I hope, complement them.

Writing Buddies will not put people in touch with agents or publishers. Writing Buddies will not critique work. Writing Buddies may though, pass on information about where to go for such services if they are necessary. It just depends on who joins the group that week and who knows whom.

The management of Borders has been very supportive. It seems that they have wanted to have such a group within their store for a while, but did not know where to start to find writers interested in coming along. My initiative has therefore been of interest.

Depending on how we fare, I would like to see guest speakers pop in to join the group, to bring new ideas and new possibilities to our merry band.

If you fancy coming along, the meetings are free and start at 2 p.m. If you would like more information, please do contact me.