Waterford Libraries is delighted to bring a series of free Writing Workshops to the people of Waterford. The second strand of the Writers at Waterford Libraries programme for 2023, these workshops have been organised in partnership with the Irish Writers Centre and funded by Creative Waterford.
Mary Conway Senior Executive Librarian said” We are pleased to be able to work in partnership with the Irish Writers Centre to offer these creative writing opportunities to the people of Waterford. Thanks to funding by Creative Waterford the workshops are facilitated by established authors and poets who have a wealth of experience and can bring knowledge of both the writing and publishing process to the budding writers taking part”.
The programme runs from July to mid-October and gives participants an opportunity to attend courses in both Irish and English with experienced, well-established writers in their fields. The workshops are either online or take place in library locations during the evenings or on Saturdays.
The workshops are:
- First Draft to First Novel with William Ryan, Saturday 1st July,10.00 am – 4.30 pm. Online (One day Workshop).
- Poetry for Beginners with Molly Twomey, starts Saturday 22nd July, 11.00 am – 1.00 pm, four weeks on Saturdays, Dungarvan Library.
- Writing for Social Change with Dr. Pragya Agarwal, starts Wednesday 2nd August, 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm, four weeks on Wednesdays. Online.
- Beginners/Emerging Fiction with William Ryan, starts Tuesday 15th August, 6.00 pm -8.00 pm, four weeks on Tuesdays, Online.
- Filíocht (Poetry) le Róisín Sheehy, starts Saturday 2nd September, 10.30 am -12.30 pm, four weeks on Saturdays, Central Library (in Irish).
- Short Story for Beginners with Ellen McCarthy, starts Tuesday 19th September, 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm, four weeks on Tuesdays, Ardkeen Library.
- Gearrscéal (Short Story) le Catherine Foley, starts Saturday 30th September,10.30 am -12.30 pm, four weeks on Saturdays, Dungarvan Library (In Irish).
The courses are free of charge open to people over 18 years resident in the City or County of Waterford. Application is by email to library@waterfordcouncil.ie . Applicants must email with the name of the workshop they wish to take part in and give their address, email and telephone number. A sperate application must be made for each course applicants wish to participate in. Places are limited so early application advised.
The full descriptions of the workshops are:
First Draft to First Novel with William Ryan
This one-day workshop is aimed at writers who have either completed their novel or are working on a first draft, as well as beginners who hope to turn a promising idea into something more. It will focus on plot, central and subsidiary characters, setting, research, flow and opening chapters.
Level: Beginners/Emerging
Date: Saturday 1st July
Time: 10.00 am – 4.30 pm
Duration: 1 day
Location: Online
Poetry for Beginners with Molly Twomey
A four-week generative poetry workshop that encourages participants to dive deep into their imaginations and to write with courage. We will work with writing prompts and have group discussions about contemporary poetry, exploring the poems of writers such as Seán Hewitt, Annemarie Ní Churreáin and Ada Limón. We will develop our ability to close-read poetry, looking at aspects such as imagery, metaphor and language. At the end of the four weeks, participants will have exciting drafts of new poems they can develop and refine as well as a group of fellow writers and materials to drawing inspiration from.
Level: Beginners/Emerging
Date: 22nd July
Time: 11.00 am – 1.00 pm
Duration: 4 weeks on Saturdays
Location: Dungarvan Library
Writing for Social Change with Pragya Agarwal
This course will be primarily for non-fiction writers, but also suitable for fiction writers who want to use social and political issues as a stepping-stone for storytelling. Writers will gain a better understanding of how to write about socio-political issues with nuance and sensitivity without it becoming necessarily polemic, how to do research for it, how to incorporate research into storytelling, and the different ways such narratives can be approached and structured.
Level: Beginners/Emerging
Date: 2nd August
Time: 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm
Duration: 4 weeks on Wednesdays
Location: Online
Beginners/Emerging Fiction with William Ryan
This course provides the nuts and bolts of prose fiction, along with individual feed back on offer. There will be takeaway exercises to apply to your own writing outside of the group and also weekly writing deadlines in place (i.e. if your work is to be looked at by the course tutor and included in discussion at the beginning of the next session).
Level: Beginners/Emerging
Date: 15th August
Time: 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm
Duration: 4 weeks on Tuesdays
Location: Online
Filíocht (Poetry) le Róisín Sheehy
Sa chúrsa seo tabharfar leideanna cruthaitheacha do rann pháirtithe le peann a chur le páir. Raghfar i ngleic na céadfaí agus an samhlaíocht. Beidh gné de naceardlann dírithe ar scéal miotaseolaíoch agus roinnt dánta comhaimseartha naGaolainne. Beidh rannpháirtithe ag forbairt a saothar cruthaitheach agus ag foghlaim ceird na filíochta.
Leibhéal: Cúrsa do Thosaitheoirí
Dáta: 2 Meán Fómhair
Am: 10.30 r.n. – 12.30 i.n.
Fad: 4 Seachtaine ar an Satharn
Suíomh: An Leabharlann Lárnach
Short Story for Beginners with Ellen McCarthy
This course offers an introduction to the art of short story writing. It will explore how we can generate ideas from our own environment. How important is the setting? Do we really write what we know? Through short writing exercises and using examples from writers in the short story genre, we will examine elements of the short story such as character, point of view and dialogue. We will study the structure of a story. When does the action start – how should it finish? By the end of the four weeks each participant will have completed their own short story.
Level: Beginners/Emerging
Date: 19th September
Time: 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm
Duration: 4 weeks on Tuesdays
Location: Ardkeen Library
Gearrscéal (Short Story) le Catherine Foley
Aistear trí shéipéal na cruthaíochta a bheidh anseo ina bhfoghlaimeoidh na rannpháirtithe conas forbairt a dhéanamh ar ghearrscéal. Pléifear an dearcadh cruthaitheach atá ag teastáil chun léargas a thabhairt don léitheoir ar ghnéithe éagsúla den saol. Scríobhfaidh na rannpháirtithe le linn na gceardlann seo agus léifear amach os ard torthaí a gcuidoibre.
Foghlaimeofar conas inspioráid a láimhseáil. Gheofar sainmhiniú ar conas scéal a chruthú, conas plota, carachtracht, comhrá agus stíl a fheabhsú agus a dhearadh. Déanfar iniúchadh ar cad is téama agus conas gur féidir úsáid a bhaint as na heilimintí phearsanta atá againn go léir agus chuige sin scrúdófar ábhar,struchtúr, téama agus guth an scríbhneora.
Leibhéal: Cúrsa do Thosaitheoirí
Dáta: 30 Meán Fómhair
Am: 10.30 r.n. – 12.30 i.n.
Fad: 4 Seachtaine ar an Satharn
Suíomh: Leabharlann Dhún Garbhán