Strengthen your
writer muscles

Try new techniques, make mistakes, fall over, get back up and make another attempt from a different direction. Writers’ Stretch & Tone is a safe and supportive space for you to explore outside your comfort zone, simply because… why not?

Strengthen your
writer muscles

Try new techniques, make mistakes, fall over, get back up and make another attempt from a different direction. Writers’ Stretch & Tone is a safe and supportive space for you to explore outside your comfort zone, simply because… why not?

Maybe you’ve barely written at all, but you’d love to give it a go.

Maybe you’re curious, and would like to view a familiar form of writing from a fresh perspective. Or maybe you’d like to shift your regular work to another level, by threading in some unexpected elements of voice or style.

This is a workshop that allows the flexibility for you to either write calmly or peacefully, or to play and boldly go where you’ve never gone before. All is permitted. And all is strongly encouraged!

African American woman sitting at a cafe window with a notebook pondering on what to write in her notebook.

What should I write about? How can I tell if my writing is any good? What should I do first? And then second, and third? Where can I improve? What’s too much? What’s not enough? How do I ride the line between professional and personal? What’s this thing called ‘voice’ and how do I find mine? And where will I find the confidence to put pen to paper regularly… if only I could just get moving!

Writers’ Stretch & Tone will help you navigate all of the above questions, and more. The writing suggestions you’ll work through in each session will have you exploring multiple aspects of the craft of writing. And because you’ll be doing this in a group, you’ll also be learning about writing from the vantage points of listening, reading AND writing.

Upcoming workshop dates

Writers’ Stretch & Tone is an 8 week, 2.5 hour live online workshop for both advanced and beginner writers to stop thinking and start doing.

Wednesdays

Europe + Americas
time zones-friendly

8 Wednesdays: OCT 04 – NOV 22
19:00 – 21:30 h (Amsterdam – CEST)
1.00 – 3.30 pm (New York – EDT)
10.00 am – 12.30 pm (Los Angeles – PDT)

Price: €370 incl. 21% VAT

Thursdays

Europe + Australia
time zones-friendly

8 Thursdays: OCT 05 – NOV 23
09:30 – 12:00 h (Amsterdam – CEST)
3.30 – 6.00 pm (Perth – AWST)
5.30 – 8.00 pm (Sydney – AEST)

Price: €370 incl. 21% VAT

Wednesdays

Europe + Americas
time zones-friendly

8 Wednesdays: OCT 04 – NOV 22
19:00 – 21:30 h (Amsterdam – CEST)
1.00 – 3.30 pm (New York – EDT)
10.00 am – 12.30 pm (Los Angeles – PDT)

Price: €370 incl. 21% VAT

Thursdays

Europe + Australia
time zones-friendly

8 Thursdays: OCT 05 – NOV 23
09:30 – 12:00 h (Amsterdam – CEST)
3.30 – 6.00 pm (Perth – AWST)
5.30 – 8.00 pm (Sydney – AEST)

Price: €370 incl. 21% VAT

Hone your craft by writing, and then writing some more

Generate new work, revise old work, experiment with forms and style and generally keep your writerly muscles fit – all in the good company of other like minded writers.

Getting started…

Whether you have a story or project already in process, or not, doesn’t matter. Writing suggestions in the sessions will always give you somewhere to start. Then it’s your choice whether you try out different forms, voices and styles in a totally new piece of writing, or whether you work from ideas already in mind.

Gaining momentum…

By the end of each session you will have created fresh writing. You will also have heard some fellow participants read their fresh work out loud – and sometimes you may have read out loud yourself. (Reading is always optional.) What will always stay is that thinking, by itself, doesn’t produce writing. Writing produces writing.

Feedback that supports and strengthens…

Time is also made available to read and analyse participant manuscripts – no matter their form. This might mean reviewing short stories and essays, at other times screenplay excerpts or works still finding their form. Feedback is given in two rounds. 1) What’s working? What’s already good in this manuscript? And 2) Are there any obstacles / confusions? Any ways to suggest improvement?

Putting it all together.

By producing fresh writing each week, by listening deeply to your fellow writers reading out their own fresh work, by perhaps reading your own work out loud, by close manuscript reading to provide supportive feedback, by listening to feedback provided to your own manuscript… Suddenly you’ll be finding writer muscles where you never realised you even had any – but the best thing is the muscles won’t be aching – they’ll be stretched and warm and flexible, and eager to write a whole bunch of new pages full of words.

Hone your craft by writing, and then writing some more

Generate new work, revise old work, experiment with forms and style and generally keep your writerly muscles fit – all in the good company of other like minded writers.

Getting started…

Whether you have a story or project already in process, or not, doesn’t matter. Writing suggestions in the sessions will always give you somewhere to start. Then it’s your choice whether you try out different forms, voices and styles in a totally new piece of writing, or whether you work from ideas already in mind.

Gaining momentum…

By the end of each session you will have created fresh writing. You will also have heard some fellow participants read their fresh work out loud – and sometimes you may have read out loud yourself. (Reading is always optional.) What will always stay is that thinking, by itself, doesn’t produce writing. Writing produces writing.

Feedback that supports and strengthens…

Time is also made available to read and analyse participant manuscripts – no matter their form. This might mean reviewing short stories and essays, at other times screenplay excerpts or works still finding their form. Feedback is given in two rounds. 1) What’s working? What’s already good in this manuscript? And 2) Are there any obstacles / confusions? Any ways to suggest improvement?

Putting it all together.

By producing fresh writing each week, by listening deeply to your fellow writers reading out their own fresh work, by perhaps reading your own work out loud, by close manuscript reading to provide supportive feedback, by listening to feedback provided to your own manuscript… Suddenly you’ll be finding writer muscles where you never realised you even had any – but the best thing is the muscles won’t be aching – they’ll be stretched and warm and flexible, and eager to write a whole bunch of new pages full of words.

A review from participant Lizzie Kean

A review from participant Lizzie Kean

This wonderful six-week workshop series didn’t only get us writing about all sorts of things in styles we didn’t know we were capable of; it also makes us greedy for more. ‘Just write’, says facilitator Matthew Curlewis, and you do. The emphasis was definitely on actually writing, rather than merely talking about writing. There was a clear structure to the sessions and a clear line across the six weeks. All of this contributed towards creating a pleasant sense of being in good hands which, in turn, encouraged people to possibly step further outside of their comfort zone than they would have expected.

When friends asked me what the workshop entailed, I said, ‘Well, we write. We just write. And sometimes we read our writing aloud to the rest of the group and sometimes we listen.’ And you could see them thinking, ‘But how?’. After a brief introduction, Matthew got everyone to jump in at the deep end by giving us a choice of three situations to write about. We got roughly 15 minutes to write and then it was time to share. My two favourite themes were: ‘Think about a photo and start your writing with the phrase “In this one, you are …”’ and ‘Taking inspiration from a poem by George Ella Lyon, write a piece using the opening phrase “I am from…”’.

The pace was quite fast, with everyone writing at least three pieces in a session. During the reading aloud of the written pieces, I found myself moved, thrilled, saddened and intrigued, as well as laughing out loud.

Having attended the workshop, I’m seriously considering doing something with the collection of short stories I’ve been slowly building, and I know of at least four other participants who have real plans to finish and publish books they are writing. All of which should tell you how good this workshop series was.

Lizzie Kean
Originally written for publication in sense-online.nl

This wonderful six-week workshop series didn’t only get us writing about all sorts of things in styles we didn’t know we were capable of; it also makes us greedy for more. ‘Just write’, says facilitator Matthew Curlewis, and you do. The emphasis was definitely on actually writing, rather than merely talking about writing. There was a clear structure to the sessions and a clear line across the six weeks. All of this contributed towards creating a pleasant sense of being in good hands which, in turn, encouraged people to possibly step further outside of their comfort zone than they would have expected.

When friends asked me what the workshop entailed, I said, ‘Well, we write. We just write. And sometimes we read our writing aloud to the rest of the group and sometimes we listen.’ And you could see them thinking, ‘But how?’. After a brief introduction, Matthew got everyone to jump in at the deep end by giving us a choice of three situations to write about. We got roughly 15 minutes to write and then it was time to share. My two favourite themes were: ‘Think about a photo and start your writing with the phrase “In this one, you are …”’ and ‘Taking inspiration from a poem by George Ella Lyon, write a piece using the opening phrase “I am from…”’.

The pace was quite fast, with everyone writing at least three pieces in a session. During the reading aloud of the written pieces, I found myself moved, thrilled, saddened and intrigued, as well as laughing out loud.

Having attended the workshop, I’m seriously considering doing something with the collection of short stories I’ve been slowly building, and I know of at least four other participants who have real plans to finish and publish books they are writing. All of which should tell you how good this workshop series was.

 

Lizzie Kean – originally written for publication in sense-online.nl

Just like ‘daily dance class’ for writers.

Great writers, like dancers, only become great through dedication, work and regular practice. Which is why Writers’ Stretch & Tone exists. To give you a safe and supportive space to keep your writer-muscles fit and flexible. Just like daily dance class, Writers’ Stretch & Tone gets you doing the work – not just thinking about it.

The more you keep writing, the more you’ll keep discovering writing inspiration.