Written Off was born in the beginnings of the 2020 lockdown, when experts were telling people to connect online, to stay in touch with people to reduce the feelings of isolation.
I had a model for a creative group, which I had road-tested with a Creative Jam- be given a random creative prompt, create for 20 minutes and then rest. The Pomodoro technique.
I invited some people I knew who were writers, put a call out for anyone who wanted to be a writer, and created Written Off. That was in 2020, and the writing group is over 4 years old and growing. It has led one member to write and publish two novels, it has recruited new members, enjoyed Halloween dress-ups, Christmas specials and an annual Pantomime read-through.
I knew the success of the creative model and wanted to share it with more people. It is a difficult model to explain, and hard to show how fun and productive it is, but slowly, through word of mouth, I hope more people discover the joy of writing, the craziness of not knowing what you will write until you arrive, and how good we all actually are at creating stories.
The vision is to empower anybody who wants to write, to give people the courage to write something, then do it again, to NOT plan everything, but to trust their instinct, their gut, and their creativity, and make something.
Rule #1– You’re not allowed to apologise. You don’t have to apologise for running late, for not being able to make it, if you didn’t manage to make a creative connection. It’s okay, sometimes LIFE thwarts you.
Rule #2– You’re not allowed to say anything negative about your own work. We can’t stop you from thinking about it, but you’re not allowed to speak about it. Why? Because we are our own worst critics, so often what we imagine in our heads is 100 times better than what appears on the page. But your audience doesn’t know it, and they think it’s awesome because it is.
Rule #3– If someone gives you a compliment, even if you don’t believe it, say thank you. Someone has given you a gift, has said something nice about you or what you’ve created. You may think otherwise, but thank them for the complement.
Matthew has been a writer for a very long time. He is formally educated with a writing degree, he has participated in the November novel challenge since 2002, and is currently employed as a professional writer in a digital marketing agency. Matt has teaching experience and mentoring experience, and truly believes this creative action model he is bringing to everyone is a great way to exercise your creative muscles, to trust your instincts and to enjoy being creative without your own roadblocks getting in the way.
The dragons are protesting!