Divine Write Workshops

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  ''the perfect environment for nurturing my writing... warm, humorous, sensitive... I discovered a long-hidden creative voice which was a joy to explore’  Nick Durnan, stone-carver Langport, Somerset

`Rosie Jackson has a rare gift. She is both a wonderful writer and nurturing tutor. Her workshops are far more than run of the mill programmes designed to improve technique and confidence. Rosie is right in there with you - participating as well as teaching, loving the words, caring deeply about you, your potential as a writer, your heart and soul. I can think of no better way to write.' Mark Charlton, WHS Business Planning Director

'these workshops did a lot more for me than the entire MA course! I cannot recommend Rosie highly enough.... her generosity of spirit lifts work to new, exciting levels’ Deborah Gregory, author of The Cornflake House

`sensitive feedback and encouraging support... it gave me the confidence to have work  published’ Helen Jenkins, housewife, Wolverhampton

`Rosie has a lively, talented way of sharing her own creativity, inspiring others with her love of language and writing’  Lindsay Clarke, author of The Chymical Wedding

`brilliant... more useful than counselling... we want regular sessions...’ Bath and North East Somerset CARE Network

`I can’t imagine what I would have done without these workshops... they really helped ground my writing and develop my ideas.’ Julie Rowell, writer

`a very good tutor... genuinely encouraging with an unfaltering eye for style and structure’ Crysse Morrison, author of Sleeping in Sand and Frozen Summer

`consistently supportive... positive and constructive...’ Elizabeth Lindsay, author of Nellie the Dragon and other children’s books

'a skilled tutor... Rosie nurtures the creative process’ Andy Oldfield, journalist

`your workshops are well worth the time I spend travelling - 9hrs in total there and back! I feel so inspired when I write with you, and you make the sessions such fun, it never feels like hard work. Your feedback is always encouraging and I know when you've listened to a piece whether it's worth working on further or simply left as an expression of `now'. ' Karen Trem, Management Coach.
 

 

 

Highly experienced and an inspiring teacher, Rosie Jackson runs creative writing workshops internationally. She creates a safe, supportive yet stimulating environment where people can write authentically, explore new imaginative material and find their own voice and form.

 

The nature of the workshops

These are not conventional `literary’ classes. Because of Rosie’s unusual background, which combines teaching, spirituality, writing and therapy, her groups offer a rare opportunity for you to realign with your real priorities, and rediscover the voice of your heart and spirit. Whatever your level of experience, your work will become richer and deeper as you:

  • reconnect with the heart and imagination

  • write with passion and compassion

  • overcome internal and external censors

  • dissolve blocks and kick-start good writing habits

  • re-shape your history

  • discover humour and irony

  • heal your wounds

The unique feature of Rosie Jackson’s workshops is that they simultaneously encourage a deep exploration of personal and unconscious material, as well as teaching you whatever you want to know about craft, technique and structure. Through brilliantly devised and carefully staged exercises, as well as highly specific feedback, the workshops also help you:

 

  • fall in love with words, sounds and sentences

  • rediscover metaphor

  • experiment with language and form

  • practise short-story writing

  • sustain longer narrative

  • explore journals and creative non-fiction

 Writing can be a very solitary activity where loneliness defeats the best intentions. Working in a group with skilful, encouraging tuition can shift this isolated experience and transform your work.

 

You will find you 

  • gain confidence as you share work

  • connect with like-minded people

  • have fun

  • deepen your perceptions

  • are guided to a wide range of reading which will deepen your own work

  • dare to submit for publication - many past students have been published

Groups are small – from 5 minimum to 15 maximum; the average size is 7 or 8. With ongoing groups, pieces of work are assigned, but there is no compulsion to work in between sessions. Each workshop allows ample time for writing and sharing new work.

 

How to join a workshop

There are currently ongoing groups in Frome, Bristol and London. These take place on Saturdays every 4-6 weeks. They run from 10-5 pm. Cost in London: £50 per day. Cost outside London: £45 per day. Fees payable in advance; some reduced places available.

 

How to arrange a workshop

Courses can be arranged anywhere. They can be half-day, one-day, evening or  residential. They can be for any age and level of experience, mixed or single sex. If you would like to attend one of Rosie Jackson’s workshops, but are too far away, she is happy to travel to run events elsewhere. You would need a minimum of 5 or 6 people and the total fee would need to include expenses and travel costs.

 

Rosie's tutoring experience

Rosie Jackson has been leading acclaimed creative writing courses in England, the US and Europe since 1988. Currently an active writing tutor for the Open College of the Arts, she’s taught groups in many different contexts. These include the MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University and Nottingham Trent University; a group for managers at W.H.Smith; a highly successful programme in Washington DC, at the Writers’ Centre, Bethesda; a group for PEN International, Vienna; and in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

 

Added to her rich background in literature, Rosie has a deep understanding and extensive experience of psychotherapy. She completed a Foundation Year in Art Therapy at Bath College, and works with people using the creative arts as a form of healing and expression. Previously a tutor for the University of Bristol’s Diploma in Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes, she’s designed many courses in colleges, community groups and therapeutic settings, such as the Somerset CARE network. She also works as a volunteer in Frome, using writing and the arts with a group recovering from trauma.

 

In 2003, 2004 and 2005 she led two-week courses on the beautiful Greek island of Skyros, as part of the `Writers’ Lab’ at the Skyros Centre.

 

Individual tuition 

ROSIE JACKSON offers detailed critiques of work - fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction - on an individual basis. She will provide specific written feedback by snailmail or email, as she does for students on the OCA courses which she tutors.


If you would like any manuscripts read prior to submission to an agent or publisher, Rosie can help with the preparation and fine tuning. She is also available for copy writing, whether private or professional, for composing CVs and letters, or for producing promotional material.


Fees for these services are dependent on the length of material and individual needs, and are negotiated in advance.