Announcing the GIST Write! Lab

It’s not always so easy to get started with your writng. And even when you do, it’s not so easy to finish.  The GIST Write! Lab is a month-long open house to help writers start and finish their works.

Join other budding writers in a mutually supportive and friendly environment to

• kickstart a regular writing habit
• progress or complete an existing longer term writing project
• share writing for feedback
• give feedback to other writers
• find other writers to grow confidence and practice writing with
• get a change of scene and pace to energise your writing project

What kind of writing?

We’re not just talking about imaginative works of fiction – short stories, novels, poems, comics, theatre scripts, screenplays and so on.

You could be creating all sorts of other types of literature and content, including:

• blog posts to build up your online writing portfolio
• journalistic and factual articles for newspapers, magazines and other publications (including hyperlocal and online sites)
• academic research, such as a PhD thesis that needs pulling together
• technical or training material for learners and users
• copywriting for client websites or marketing

We expect most folks will be working on their own projects, but you may also want to experiment with some collaborative writing too.

What do you need?

Apart from a writing project idea (however embryonic or advanced), you’ll have an open mind, a friendly disposition and your preferred writing tools, whether that’s a notepad, a sketchbook, a laptop, a tablet, a napkin or the back of a packet of cigarettes.

How does it work?

Come down to the GIST Lab in November when it’s open for the GIST Write! Lab. Dates and times will be published on the GIST Hub shortly. The more interest there is, the more we’ll be able to keep it open and support your endeavours.

We’re also creating an online writing hub for you to publish your progress every day. You don’t have to use it, but if you do you’ll benefit from

• seeing your writing develop over the month
• being able to get feedback to improve your style and content
• having a real target to aim for and focus on

We’ll take your views on whether to keep this hub private during the GIST Write! month so only you and other participants can see what goes up.

What now?

1. Register on the GIST Hub and join the Write! group. We’ll update you about when the Lab is open for co-writing sessions. You’ll also be able to access the online writing hub when it opens up.
2. Join us on Fri 29 Oct from 6pm-7pm at the GIST Lab to meet other GIST Write! participants, familiarise yourself with where the venue is (if you’ve not been there before), make sure you can connect to our wifi, and get inspired for the month ahead. We’ll also show you how to access the writing hub.
3. Tell other folks who you think might be interested.

There’s nothing that beats having the support of other folks to get your ideas going. And we hope you’ll be able to join us for the first GIST Write! Lab and kickstart your writing goals.