Events

Upcoming events

Check out our Regular meetings page here with details of our weekly online Tuesday Lit Crit and monthly Silent writing session at the National Library in Kirchberg.  

Past events

Targeted Revisions: Making The Big Work Small - With Justin Maxwell

Sunday, 29. September 2024 from 17:00 CET

Online via Zoom. Registration here. 

In this online workshop, participants will use two modified exercises from The Playwright's Toolbox (details below) that are designed to dis-assemble the complex and often overwhelming process of revision into small, manageable components. The event will start with a discussion about targeted revision, what it is, how it works, and the problems it solves. Then we'll discuss some of the targets that participants can point at in their own writing.

Although useful, participants do not have to have a completed play script or a script-in-progress for the workshop. The process can be and has been adapted for other types of creative writing. The techniques can be applied to any genre.

Facilitator's Bio:
Justin Maxwell is a full professor, teaching playwriting in the Creative Writing Workshop at the University of New Orleans and this year’s judge for the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival. His playwriting book The Playwright’s Toolbox was recently published by Applause Books. Currently, he’s adapting the Tennessee Williams novel Moise and the World of Reason. His play An Outopia for Pigeons is out from Original Works Publishing, and Your Lithopedion is out from Next Stage Press. His prose appears in numerous journals, including Theatre/Practice, Contemporary Theatre Review, American Theatre Magazine, and others. He is a former Co-Chair of the Playwriting Symposium at the Mid-America Theatre Conference.

The Playwright's Toolbox is available through Amazon and other online retailers. The workshop does NOT require purchase of a copy, although Justin may use material from it. Amongst the 56 playwrights who contributed exercises to the book is WWT member Erik Abbott.


Am I making myself clear? with John Brigg

Saturday 4. May at 10:00 - 13:00

Centre sociétaire St Jean (Belair) • 110 avenue Gaston Diderich, 1420 Luxembourg, Luxembourg

We are delighted to announce our Summer 2024 Showcase!

A Writers Who Talk showcase is always an afternoon of friendship, food, and festive fun, and of course an opportunity for members to present their favourite pieces of creative work to you, their fellow writers, and friends.

This year, the showcase we will return to the same venue from this past year: Restaurant QoSQo Ville (Place d'Armes). The gathering will be in an upstairs room (lift available if needed).

One welcome drink is included in the ticket.
A minimum spending for the event is required in order to privatize the space, therefore we strongly encourage our guest to order lunch or drinks. Menu here: https://qosqo.lu/en/carte/ . All attendees are responsible for their own costs for food and extra beverages.

Reservations are required. Registration is open until 19:00 on Thursday 4 July, but as usual spaces are limited so we urge you to book early to avoid missing out.

Readings are open to registered members of Writers Who Talk asbl provided they have renewed their 2024 membership before the event . If you are not yet a member of our asbl but would like to be considered, and also have the opportunity to present a piece of your creative work at the showcase, you may apply (no later than Friday, 21. June) for 2024 membership. Details: https://www.writerswhotalk.lu/membership

We look forward to welcoming you.


Workshop description

Do you wish to polish your poetry editing skills? Would you like to have a smoother dialogue with your work?This workshop, led by Karina Fiorini, will centre on editing free verse poetry and the relevance of the line-break. We will observe other poets’ works, and Karina will share some of her earlier drafts, including their final versions. This will thrust us into the craft of fine-tuning our work.

About the venue: 

Onda is a café in the Gare-Petrusse area that offers organic and natural plant-based food as well as a fine selection of soft and warm beverages. It is easily accessible by public transport (tram stop: Place de Metz).

To support our venue, a minimum spending requirement (treat or beverage) is kindly encouraged for each participant during the event. After the event, you can also stay for lunch and a chat (please let us know in the event form in order to book the table). 

About the facilitator:

Of Maltese origin (b.1982), Karina Fiorini currently lives in France. Last October she won the London Independent Story Prize 2023 with the poem Sea major. Some of her poetry featured in Modern Poetry in Translation - Call the Sea a Poet: Focus on Malta (2023); PEN International / PEN Malta (2021); Scintillas - A New Maltese Writing Anthology (2021); and Les Cahiers Luxembourgeois (2020). 

Her poem La Moselle, an editor's choice, was published in Survival Anthology by Hammond House Publishing (2021) whilst Twelve Inky Years received a special mention by the International Welsh Poetry Competition (2018).  In 2022 her poem Habiba was highly commended by Joelle Taylor, a judge for the Ledbury Poetry Competition. Karina is currently consolidating her first poetry collection. She has a BA in Geography (Uni of Malta), a MSc in Sustainable Development (Imperial College & SOAS); a BA in English (Major) and Philosophy (Uni of London - Goldsmiths and Birkbeck). 

She works in the European public administration, and for over 10 years worked within the Maltese public sector in the environmental and sustainable development sphere. www.karinafiorini.com

Writers Who Talk Winter Showcase 2024

Saturday 27. January 2024 from 11:30 

Restaurant QoSQo Ville:  Place d'Armes 15, 1136 Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Registration mandatory here. Places are limited.

A Writers Who Talk showcase is always an afternoon of friendship, food, and festive fun, and of course an opportunity for members to present their favourite pieces of creative work to you, their fellow writers, and friends.

The showcase will take place in Restaurant QoSQo Ville (Place d'Armes). The gathering will be in an upstairs room (lift available if needed).

One welcome drink is included in the ticket. A minimum spending for the event is required in order to privatize the space, therefore we encourage our guest to order lunch or drinks. All attendees are responsible for their own costs for food and extra beverages.

Readings are open to registered members of Writers Who Talk asbl provided they have renewed their 2024 membership before the event . If you are not yet a member of our asbl but would like to be considered, and also have the opportunity to present a piece of your creative work at the showcase, you may apply (no later than Friday, 15. January) for 2024 membership. Details: https://www.writerswhotalk.lu/membership.

BOOTCAMP - Unleashing your writing with Adrian Teleşpan

Sat 25. Nov 2023 at 09:30 - 12:30 

Online via Zoom.

Registration mandatory here.

For this last workshop of 2023, Writers Who Talk welcomes a guest from Romania, but do not worry - it will be conducted in English. Participants will however write in the language of their choice.

This fun and practical online bootcamp will combine exercises on dialogue and mise-en-scène to get your stories started and let that creative writing run free. The premise: everything is right in writing.

The bootcamp will be online via Zoom. The link will be provided to participants upon registration. Places are limited.


About the facilitator:

Adrian Teleşpan is a Romanian writer and journalist. In 2013 he published his first novel, The Cemetery, which soon became a Romanian best seller. The book currently waiting the attention of a gifted translator - one who will manage to recreate its wits and world-play in English - to turn it into an international success. His work has also been included in two anthologies.

Adrian is also known for his satirical column and the participation to Asia Express reality show. He is passionate about food (he's a big fan of slow cooking and "potatoes purée*), music, dance and spirituality. 

Writers evening at Mudam

Wednesday 13. Dec 2023 18:30 - 20:30

Date still to be confirmed
Mandatory registration here.

To end the year in good spirits, Writers Who Talk is inviting writers and friends at MUDAM for an in-person meetup. The museum entrance is free on Wednesdays evenings and the cafe is open up to 10pm.


We will meet at the entrance, then go to have a drink at the Cafe and talk about writing, creativity and exchange ideas.

Those who wish can do a tour of the museum which is free on Wednesdays. 

Writers Who Talk - Summer Showcase 2023

Sat 05. Aug 2023 at 11:30 - 16:00 


Restaurant QoSQo - 16, Place d’Armes, 

      Luxembourg L-1136 

Registration mandatory here.

We are delighted to announce our Summer Showcase 2023. This year, the event will be in a new and exciting venue with which many of you are already familiar. 


A Writers Who Talk showcase is always an afternoon of friendship, food, and festive

fun, and of course an opportunity for members of the asbl to present their favourite pieces of creative work to you, their fellow writers, and friends.


The gathering will be in an upstairs room (lift available if needed).

 

The Showcase readings will start promptly at 12.00.


There is no cost for the showcase itself. The event is not catered, but food and drinks can be order directly from the restaurant. Menu: https://qosqo.lu/en/carte/

 

All attenders are responsible for their own costs for food and beverages.

 

Registration is open until 19:00 on  01. August, but as usual spaces are limited so we urge you to book early to avoid missing out. 

 

If you are not yet a member of our asbl but would like to be considered, and also have the opportunity to present a piece of your creative work at the showcase, you may apply (no later than Friday, 21. July) for 2023 membership.

 

We look forward to welcoming you.


A Workshop on Plot with Susan Alexander

If you are writing a novel, a play, a movie, or even a short story, plot is an essential, even the essential, element.

The workshop will review the classic notions of plots, look at some modern plot structures, and give participants the opportunity to present their own plot outlines for discussion.

Sat 10. June 2023 at 10:30 - 12:30 at Bouneweger Stuff.

Register here. Price: 10 euros / free for members of Writers Who Talk asbl

A native New Yorker, Susan Alexander has lived in Luxembourg since 1989. She has had a non-linear career path that has included working as a professional musician, being ordained as a Presbyterian minister, heading derivative and fixed income research at a Wall Street firm, founding a web site and web application development company, and lecturing on snowdrops to Britain’s Hardy Plant Society. She holds a BA and MDiv in Theology and an MA and PhD in Human and Organisational Systems.

Susan is the author of twenty-three books, as well as short stories, film scripts, and three musical comedies. She enjoys writing about women who have led complex and interesting lives, their relationships, and the choices they have made. She is listed in the Directory of Luxembourg authors: https://www.autorenlexikon.lu/page/author/102/10203/FRE/index.html

Writers Who Talk - Summer Showcase 2022

Sun 17. July 2022 at 12:00 - 16:00 

Café Villa · Rue de Beggen 195, 1221 Luxembourg, District de Luxembourg 

Registration mandatory here.

Price: 25 euros including food 

We are delighted to announce our Summer Showcase 2022. This is the opportunity for members to present their work to fellow writers and friends and an opportunity to socialise.


The event will be held on Sunday 17. July from 12:00-16:00 at Café Villa (195 Rue de Beggen L1221 Luxembourg).

The restaurant/bar is opening exclusively for Writers Who Talk, so we will have the place with a lovely garden entirely to ourselves and enjoy a delicious buffet. The cost is EUR 25 per person, which will includes food. The number of places is limited and will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.


Members of Writers Who Talk in good standing will have the possibility to read up to two pieces of their writing (the total reading time should not exceed 12 minutes per person).


We look forward to seeing you there.

BOOTCAMP: Going from script to screen with Edward Ojo

This three-hour, virtual bootcamp offers a crash course for newcomers to the art of screenplay writing. Participants will take part in practical exercises related to building a story arc (already covered in an earlier bootcamp) and examining how to get the story into a full script.

Edward Ojo is a socio-economic researcher with specialisation in quantitative analysis. He came to Luxembourg from the UK 32 years ago and has a career path that has seen him providing services as a consultant researcher to various private and public bodies both locally and at international level. He is currently mentoring younger researchers.

Edward’s passion is creative writing, and he has written several short stories and poems. But his first love in creative writing is screenplays. His script, Xtentainment, is currently under review to be made into a film.

Sat 14. May 2022 at 10:00 - 13:00 CEST - on Zoom 

Register here for the Zoom link. 

Price: 10 euros / free for members of Writers Who Talk asbl

BOOTCAMP: How to write online news satire

In this bootcamp, Luxembourg Wurst creator John-Paul Gomez will guide you through a quick look at satire as a whole before focusing on one of the youngest but most popular genres: online news satire. 

Sat 26. February 2022 at 10:00 - 13:00 CEST - on Zoom 

Register here for the Zoom link. 

Price: 10 euros / free for members of Writers Who Talk asbl

Writers Who Talk - Winter Showcase

Sunday 30 January 2022 from 2-6pm online via zoom

Our Winter Showcase will follow the same format as the Summer one and provide an opportunity for members to share their work. 

Writers Who Talk asbl - Annual General Meeting

Tuesday, 11 January 2022 from 7-9pm CEMT - on Zoom

The AGM will look back on the work of 2021 and will offer a formal opportunity for members to share feedback and ideas. 

BOOTCAMP: Visualising words
Writing for the screen
with Jacques Molitor

Sat 27. November 2021 at 10:00 - 13:00 CEST - on Zoom 

Register here for the Zoom link. 

Price: 10 euros / free for members of Writers Who Talk asbl

Before a film can get made, or even financed, we need a screenplay.

Writing for the screen is very different from writing a novel. The best argument is that many distinguished writers (Faulkner, King...) have failed miserably when adapting their books or writing original scripts for Hollywood.

Poetry focuses on the form, novels on the interior voice of the writer to stimulate the reader’s imagination, theater on dialogue and external conflict.

Screenplays are about visualizing the words.

A good screenplay is a tool to make a film in the long run. Great prose or long descriptions don’t make for better screenwriting... neither does long dialogue. It’s all about writing scenes that will work through visuals and sound.
“Less is more”.

In this workshop you’ll learn the most important basics of screenwriting:

Unlike most screenplay theories that simply cut the story into three arcs, Jacques' approach will be an organic way to build a story step by step so that the viewer will have an emotional experience.

“The movies are like a machine that creates empathy” Roger Ebert

===================================

BIO

Jacques Molitor was born in Luxembourg in 1980. After two years of medical studies, he enrolled at film school Institut des Arts de Diffusion (Belgium), where he obtained a degree with honours in 2005.

In 2008, Jacques co-wrote and directed With the Dust (“En compagnie de la poussière”). This short film about a failed gay romance, exploring the intersection of love and death, was screened in the official short competition Pardi di Domani at Locarno, as well as in numerous international festivals.

It is no surprise that Jacques’s first cinema documentary tackled similar themes. Sweetheart Come, which premiered at Festival du Film Francophone in Namur in 2012, explores marginalised sexualities in Luxembourg.

Jacques fiction feature Mammejong (2015) -a drama about a man-child who tries to sever the unhealthy ties that bind him to his mother - debuted at Max Ophüls Filmfestival 2015 in Saarbrücken and has since been screened in numerous venues like New Filmmakers NYC, Chicago European Union Festival and Francophone Film Festival in Rome.

For the small screen, Jacques co-created the RTL documentary series Routwäissgro (2015-2018), of which he directed four episodes.

He also co-directed the first season of successful Belgian RTBF series Coyotes in 2020 with Gary Seghers (“Ennemi Public”). From the 2nd of December, Coyotes will be available on Netflix.

Jacques is currently in post-production of his second fiction feature, Kommunioun, with the company Les Films Fauves. Alongside 19 other projects, the film was selected as part of Frontières 2017 pitch market in Montréal. 

BOOTCAMP: Hypertextual fiction: writing with brackets and maps

Sat 9. October 2021 at 10:00 - 13:00 CEST

Explore this novel way to boost reader engagement in your texts at this virtual bootcamp covering hypertext fiction.

Hyper what?

A genre of electronic literature, hyper textual fiction is characterised by the use of hypertext links that provide a new context for non-linearity in literature and reader interaction. The reader typically chooses links to move from one node of text to the next, and in this fashion arranges a story from a deeper pool of potential stories. Please scroll to the end of this email for examples.

This gentle introduction to digital interactive textual form, by writer José Carlos Dias, is aimed at absolute beginners, so if you’ve never heard about this type of narrative, don’t worry. Just come and learn.

This bootcamp will:

Bootcamp material

Participants will use the free, open-source tool Twine, created by Chris Klimas, available at https://twinery.org/

To take part, you’ll just need a computer (Windows or Mac) with Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox installed. You don’t need a very powerful machine. Any laptop or desktop system bought in the last 10-15 years will do just fine. Using an IPAD or a smartphone is not recommended.

About the workshop leader

José loves words, computers, and stories. He was a fanatic of CYOA books in the 80s and learned English by playing a lot of text adventures in his ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64K (he remembers finishing only one of such adventures though). During the breaks of playing videogames, he managed to complete a double major in Portuguese and English literature and in language teaching from the University of the Algarve. In 2002, he packed his computer and books and went to Warsaw University, where he still teaches Portuguese language and literature to undergraduate Polish students. In 2016, he started his PhD research on interactive fiction and language teaching and hopes to finish it before it finishes him.

Apart from videogames, he enjoys writing interactive short stories and poems for children, playing the guitar, and preparing guacamole. He lives in Warsaw with his daughter, two degus, a PS3, a PS4PRO, a WII, a WIIU, a Macbook Air and a very capable PC. You can find him on Twitter @albuquezi or at j.dias@uw.edu.pl

Registration

This event is hosted on Zoom and coordinated by Writers Who Talk. Participation costs €10 for non-members and is free for members of the asbl. Participants will receive the Zoom link upon registration.

REGISTER HERE


===========

RECOMMENDED READING FROM JOSE

You don’t need to complete the recommend readings presented here to take part in the bootcamp, but they will help you understand what hyperfiction is, its distinctive traits and the craft of creating stories with links. They will be particularly useful for the second part. Even if you can’t read them all, try at least to read some of the shorter ones. I’ve added the average time of traversing a story (traversing = reading once an interactive story) between brackets.

I’ve also chosen works that have very different topics (depression, isolation, queer, slice of life), different tones (humorous, serious, whacky, funky) and are suited for different audiences: children and adults. Just link away.


IN THE PRESS

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2013/apr/10/anna-anthropy-twine-revolution


HYPERFICTION WORKS:

Mature topics

Queers in love at the end of the world, by Anna Anthropy (traversal: 10 seconds) https://w.itch.io/end-of-the-world

16 Ways to Kill a Vampire at McDonalds, by Abigail Corfman (traversal: 15-30 minutes) https://ifarchive.org/if-archive/games/competition2016/16%20Ways%20to%20Kill%20a%20Vampire%20at%20McDonalds/Vampire%20%2843%29.html

Anhedonia, by Maddox Pratt (traversal: 7 minutes) https://mr-joyboy.itch.io/anhedonia

Howling dogs, by Porpentine Heartscape (traversal: 2 hours)* http://slimedaughter.com/games/twine/howlingdogs/


* unfortunately there is no way of saving your progress in this story, but as long as you don’t close your browser, you’ll stay on the same “page”.


Light topics

Interview with a Cat, by Anna Anthropy (traversal: 7 minutes)

https://w.itch.io/interview-a-cat

Congee, by Becci (traversal: 10 minutes)

https://becciness.itch.io/congee 

Writers Who Talk Summer 2021 Showcase

Sun 29. August 2021 at 12:00 - 16:00 

Café Villa · Rue de Beggen 195, 1221 Luxembourg, District de Luxembourg 

Registration mandatory here.

Price: 20 euros

We are delighted to announce our first 'live' event of 2021: our Summer Showcase. This is the opportunity for members to present their work to fellow writers and friends and an opportunity to socialise.


The event will be held on Sunday 29th August from 12:00-16:00 at Café Villa (195 Rue de Beggen L1221 Luxembourg).

The restaurant/bar is opening exclusively for Writers Who Talk, so we will have the place with a lovely garden entirely to ourselves and enjoy a delicious buffet.


The cost is EUR 20 per person, which will include one drink of your choice and food. The number of places is limited and will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.


Writers Who Talk is also supporting National Literary Centre who has been affected by the recent floods.


If you wish, you can also make a donation for the National Literary Centre for the saving of books and manuscripts damaged in the registration procedure for this event.


Members of Writers Who Talk in good standing will have the possibility to read up to two pieces of their writing (the total reading time should not exceed 12 minutes per person).


We look forward to seeing you there.

contact@writerswhotalk.lu



Virtual Lit Crit Group 

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84549440791

Meeting ID: 845 4944 0791
Passcode: write2join

WHAT’S IT FOR?
This is an open group for anyone who writes fiction, poetry, plays and other kinds of storytelling texts to share their work, and then give and receive constructive feedback.
Because of time constraints, we usually accept 5 readings, up to max 8 minutes each. We then dedicate roughly the same amount of time to giving verbal feedback.

Credit for Julia's photo: Albert Zawada

Discover Ecopoetics with  

Julia Fiedorczuk and Gerardo Beltrán

8 May 2021 10:00 to 13:00 CET

Online Zoom Workshop

Registration mandatory here.

Price: 10 euros / free for members of Writers Who Talk asbl

Explore the genre of "Ecopoetics" at this online bootcamp organised by Writers Who Talk.

The three-hour workshop will be led by prize-winning Polish poet and writer Julia Fiedorczuk and Mexican poet and associate professor Gerardo Beltrán.

 

‘Eco’, as in the word ‘ecology’, comes from the Greek word ‘oikos’, meaning a dwelling-place. The word ‘poetics’ derives from ‘poiesis’, which means to bring into being or to make. Ecopoetics is thus the making of a home, involving not only humans but all forms of existence who share this universe.

 

Poetry has a special place in this making due to its historical association with ancient ritualistic and magical practices, its attunement to the natural rhythms of the Earth and the body (through prosody and the voice), and its inherently subversive character as a linguistic practice, counteracting the fossilization of language into clichés.

 

More information:

http://ekopoetyka.com/

 

https://mhprl.pl/produkt/ekopoetyka-ecopoetica-ecopoetics-ekologiczna-obrona-poezji-una-defensa-ecologica-de-la-poesia-an-ecological-defence-of-poetry/

 

About the workshop leaders

 

Julia Fiedorczuk has published six volumes of poetry, three novels, a collection of short stories and three critical books in Poland. Her work, both creative and academic, focuses on the relationship between humans and their more-than-human environments. Her first collection, Listopad nad Narwią (“November on the Narew”) was selected as the best debut of the year by the Polish Association of Book Publishers. She has also been the recipient of the Hubert Burda Prize for poets from Central and Eastern Europe (2005) and the Szymborska Psalmy (‘Psalms’) Prize. Her work has been translated into many languages, including books in English, Swedish, Spanish, Ukrainian and Serbian. Her most recent work is Under the Sun, a multi-layered tale of love and loss set in Podlasie (a region in Eastern Poland), weaving human and non-human stories against the backdrop of the turbulent history of 20th Century Eastern Europe. 

 

Gerardo Beltrán is a Mexican poet, translator and associate professor at the Institute for Iberian and Latin American Studies at the University of Warsaw. He has published six books of his own poetry and over thirty as a translator. In his academic work he focuses on the problems of poetic and intersemiotic translation, as well as on the relationships between poetic language, ecology and science. He is an honorary member of the Polish Writers’ Association and a member of the Lithuanian Literary Translators’ Union, as well as of ASLE, the Association for the Study of Language and the Environment.

Photo credit: Antonio Orenda. Insta @luxembourg_photographer 

Funny Writing Workshop with Jess Bauldry


24 April 2021 10:00 to 13:00 CET

Online Zoom Workshop

Registration mandatory here.

Price: 10 euros / free for members of Writers Who Talk asbl

What makes people laugh? Why? And how can I harness this in my writing?

“Laughter is the sun that drives the winter from the human face”, wrote Victor Hugo. It lifts the soul and is a great leveller, as Victor Borge wrote: “Laughter is the closest distance between two people.”

But for many writers, what can be funny to us, may not be funny for our readers. Knowing what triggers laughter and applying this knowledge to our writing, can add a new dimension to our work and help us engage readers.

Whether you are writing to entertain or share an important message, there are no limits to the applications of humourous writing.

What is more, the stress and strain of the pandemic mean the world is looking for humour as a release mechanism. As teacher and stand-up comedian Dean Lewis says: “When the covid-19 measures ease, people will be crying out for comedy!”

This three-hour workshop developed by Jess Bauldry for Writers Who Talk asbl is aimed at creative writers who are newcomers to humorous writing. It will explain the key ingredients of laughter and will take participants through some techniques to generate humour and laughter in their writing. The workshop will focus on humour in character development, word play and exaggeration while giving an overview of the spectrum of humour and elements that can add humour to a text.

About the instructor

Jess Bauldry is a UK/Luxembourg national who has worked as a journalist for the past 15 years. She writes short stories and four years ago began a journey to inject more humour in her writing. Since then, she has been a regular performer of stand-up comedy in Luxembourg and abroad, has trained with American comedians Judy Carter and Dean Lewis as well as UK comics Sally Holloway, Jane Postlethwaite and Tired ‘n’ Tested’s Sophie McCartney.

Twitter @JessBauldry

Bootcamp: Motivation with Stephen Kelner

10 April 2021 15:00 to 18:00 CET

Online Zoom Workshop

Registration mandatory here.

Price: 10 euros / free for members of Writers Who Talk

Description

This workshop is about how to motivate creative effort, particularly (but not limited to) writing. It is based on the research done over twenty-five years with a host of successful artists on their implicit motives and their creative process.

Implicit motives are the nonconscious emotional drives that energize, select, drive, and direct patterns of behavior over time. They are your sources of emotional energy, and thus have a large impact on what you do. However, because they are not conscious, motives can act both to promote and to derail productivity.

The purpose of this workshop is to discuss the nature of implicit motives in creators, to help you identify your own motivation, and to discuss methods for taking best advantage of the motives you already have, and the creative styles you prefer. We can also discuss different myths associated with creativity, and how to use motives as a tool for creating compelling characters.

There is no one way to be a creator, and my own research backs this up, so we will discuss what helps you work best. As Kipling wrote: “There are nine and sixty ways/of constructing tribal lays/and every single one of them is right!” 

Biography

Steve Kelner is a motivational psychologist, assessor and developer of people, and a writer - not necessarily in that order. After seven years of research studying published writers, inspired by his wife, award-winning mystery writer and bestselling editor Toni L. P. Kelner (AKA Leigh Perry), he published the first edition of the book Motivate Your Writing!, which collected formal psychological research (as well as his own) into writing, creativity, goal-setting, and related issues into a practical work aimed at people who wish to increase their artistic productivity. In the 15 years since publishing the book, he has appeared at numerous conferences, coached and developed writers’ groups, and worked with individual writers and artists in other fields, and as a consequence updated the book and put it out this year in its second edition in ebook form, having done extensive editing and providing additional content based on the input and findings of other artists (including his two children, an animator and a musician). The new edition is available in various formats here

Kelner has himself published numerous nonfiction articles on leadership, competencies, assessment, development, and motivation, as well as short mystery fiction. He is working on a proposal called Climbing Everest, on how to evaluate top executive leadership and develop oneself to get there, based on his 30+ years as a practitioner and authority in leadership.

He is currently President of Ascent Leadership Networks, LLC, which develops leaders and organizations in ways that matter (ascent.net).

Practical information: 

Places are limited. The zoom link will be sent to participants one day before the event. 

Price for non-members: 10 euros.

The event is free for members of Writers Who Talk asbl who are already registered and in good standing one week before the event.

Virtual Bootcamp: Writing for Children

Join Luxembourg children’s author Isabelle Marinov for this online talk aimed at writers and readers on 20 February, from 10:30am-1pm.

Isabelle published two picture books in January 2021: “The Box Whose Head was Filled With Stars”, through Enchanted Lion Books, and “Leo and the Octopus”, through Templar Publishing. Her agent is also currently approaching publishers with her middle grade novel. Prior to that she has written a number of picture books and screenplays.

During this bootcamp, Isabelle will read from her books, talk about her approach to writing and the process of getting published. Plus, she’ll share some writing exercises that participants will work on during the bootcamp.

More about Isabelle here

This online workshop is aimed at writers of all levels. It is conducted in English and organised by Writers Who Talk asbl.

Participation is free for members of Writers Who Talk, and €10 for non-members. The zoom link will be sent to participants one day before.

Register here

Cancellations are possible via email at contact@writerswhotalk.lu. Reimbursements are only possible up to 17/02/2021.

Launch Party 

Saturday 30/01/2020   :  10:00 - 18:00

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84607716856

Zoom Meeting ID: 846 0771 6856

Passcode: WWTasbl 

For this last bootcamp before the summer break, children’s author and multi-disciplinary writer Fanély Gouguet will share her techniques for revising our own work and for giving constructive feedback to others on their work.

 

In this bootcamp, participants will learn:

- How to take your reader on an emotional rollercoaster ride

- How to ‘Show, not tell’

- How to scrap evil words

- What to look for when revising then editing your own work

- What to look for when critiquing someone else's work and how to express it

 

To get the most from the bootcamp, we’d like participants to bring a story of their own that they are happy to share with another person to critique. It can be a short story, picture book, flash fiction of no more than 1,000 words.

For the revising part of the workshop, participants may bring a second story or work on the same one that they will share for constructive feedback.

 

We ask that you send this text ahead of the workshop, so that we can pair writers together who work on similar themes or genres.

 

About Fanély

A native of Paris, Fanély Gouguet lived in Sri Lanka and the UK before moving to Luxembourg. In 2005, her middle-grade novel Les Aventures de Philibert au Sri Lanka https://amzn.to/3peqnUj was published by L'Harmattan. Writing fiction is her oxygen, which led her to become a conceptual copywriter by trade. Advertising taught her the use of bare language and to think visually. Interested in different forms, Fanély currently focuses on picture books and screenwriting. Since March this year, she is the new Benelux Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators Regional Advisor (SCBWI) organising events about the craft each month to gather a community of like-minded creators.

 

 

Register now on: https://fienta.com/revise-edit-critique

Participation is free for members, €10 for non-members.

 

You will receive the zoom link in your confirmation email.