Events & Workshops

Supporting writers in North-East Scotland since 1993

2022 Workshops

18 June 2022 Leila Aboulela Writing Group to Published Author

Leila appeared in person at our Belmont meeting room, joined by a mix of LTW members and non-members and we linked via Zoom to our online audience. Places, both Belmont and online, were free but had to be booked in advance. The workshop was part-funded by Scottish Book Trust Live Literature.

Leila began the workshop with a reading of one of her stories, ‘Farida’s Eyes’. This story is published in Leila’s collection of short stories, ‘Elsewhere, Home’, winner of the 2018 Saltire Society Fiction Book of the Year award. A lively question and answer session followed. The workshop ended with some writing exercises and an opportunity to share the results, which were many and varied. Exercise 3, below, produced a wonderful stream of consciousness piece worthy of James Joyce!

Writing exercises, as suggested by Leila:

1 Pre-writing exercise for times when writer’s block strikes

‘Something is happening…’ Write the first thing you think of – don’t overthink, just write!

2 You wake up in a place you have not seen in daylight eg camping, a friend’s house, a hotel. Describe what you see. This is another one to counter writer’s block.

3 It is important to know WHO you are as a writer in order to find your own unique voice and style. Think of images or objects that in some way encapsulate how you see yourself, perhaps a whole drawer full – maybe a tidy, organised drawer or maybe a messy drawer. Another way to approach this non-verbal exercise would be to look for images online that somehow reflect your writing persona.

Leila spoke about her early life in Khartoum after reading ‘Farida’s Eyes’. You can see Leila on a visit in 2008 to Sisters’ School, Khartoum:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZekJ13_g3rU&t=493s