7th October 2026, by Anne Howkins

We were delighted to welcome several new faces to Lucy’s short story workshop – the first of our busy programme for 2026-27. Lucy has an MA in Creative Writing and has just finished her PhD at Nottingham Trent where she teaches a novel writing course. She has won several awards, had many stories published and has had stories optioned for screen. Check out her website for more info.

The workshop was based on ‘Unfinished’ the theme of our current short story competition. Lucy talked about the various ways that the theme could be interpreted in a story and started us off with a free write starting with the words Truth be told… She took us through a series of guided prompts, and a few people read out their drafts. We discussed using an unfinished postcard, letter or note as the basis for a story. As well as verbal prompts, Lucy brought along lots of props – postcards, photos and an assortment of objects to use as ideas for our stories.

These were great kick-starters for developing storylines. Even if you know what you’re main story is, picking interesting random items can add a lot of rich texture. A few of the prompts from the workshop are perfect for my next project! Nick

It was a packed evening and everyone left after a very interesting session with several ideas to work on.   

Our next workshop is on 4th November and will be a zoom session with Matt Kendrick in which he will take us through ‘How do a character’s early influences affect who they become in later life? What do they inherit? What do they learn? And how do we use all of this within our writing to create character depth?’  

Book your attendance through the website.