JANUARY/HOLIDAY TOPICS  Lost in Music/Working Dog/Things I’ve left behind
FEBRUARY  Grandparents                     MARCH A Friendship Tested

APRIL 23  What I Was Wearing  

Some items of clothing are linked to memories, emotions and experiences; The ‘lucky job interview’ undies, the jacket you wore on your first date, or a bikini that didn't fare well in water. Tell us how an outfit played a part during a significant moment”.  
 
MAY 28 Someone who Shaped Me 
 
How did you become who you are?  Think about someone who’s influenced your life and get typing.
 
JUNE 25  Family Rituals
 
What are the weird and wonderful things that you do together that only your family understand?  Tell us about your family ritual.
 
JULY 23 A Scary Moment
 
Your heart pounds, your hair stands on end….  Tell us a story about a moment when you were truly terrified.
 
AUGUST 27  On the Job   
 
We spend much of our lives working.   Our job, for better or worse, helps define us. Write a first-person story about a day at work you’ll never forget.
 
SEPTEMBER 24   How we met  
 
Our best friends, neighbours, partners, lovers were all strangers once.  Tell us how you met a kindred spirit and what the relationship means to you.
 
OCTOBER 22 Personal Challenge
 
Often the most rewarding challenges are the ones we set ourselves.  Share a story about stepping outside your comfort zone in the name of self-improvement.
 
NOVEMBER 26 Endings  
 
Our lives are made up of many phases that shape who we become. Reflect on a time when something important in your life ended, and how it affected you.
 
DECEMBER/JANUARY Family Trait  
 
Did you inherit a family trait? What is it and how does it play out in your life?
 
 
 
Bev Lee 5762 8171 bevlee47@gmail.com 18 March 2018
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The 2018 Writing Workshop ‘menu’ of options is now in operation. Creative writing enthusiasts met first, with Jenny McKenna and Joy Shirley agreeing to guide the group as Helen Treloar Duggin has decided to focus on her own writing this year and is unavailable. Thank you Helen for your work in releasing the creative powers of group members last year - we do hope you will pop in to our pub sessions and share your writing journey with us! The creative writers are now working on ‘a bed time story for children set in North East Victoria’ for sharing in April.

Our ‘catch up at the Northo’ option was well attended and most convivial, with holiday topics ‘Lost in Music’ and ‘Things I left behind’ shared and ideas and drafts of some upcoming topics discussed.

The next Creative Writing and Northo Sessions will be in April. Labour Day falls during the Benalla Street Art Festival this year, so the Northo could be rather full!

The sharing of stories about treasured, occasionally feared, grandparents at our regular session was a delight. We heard beautiful descriptions of grandparents who somehow reminded us of our own and of country life in bygone years. We reflected on the impact of depression, war and the loss of grandchildren through divorce on grandparents and were intrigued by stories including long held, often colourful, ‘family secrets’, finally revealed now it is safe to do so.

The topic for our March 28th session is ‘A Friendship Tested’. The brief - ‘A true friend is there through thick and thin, but not all friendships survive under pressure. Tell us about a time when a friendship was put to the test. Did it strengthen your relationship or push it over the edge’. A challenging brief! At our last session Jenny shared her story of the testing of a highly valued friendship, stimulating those with ‘writers block’ to think of possible ‘angles’.

Bev Lee