Life Writing Workshop

A one-day course on life writing, supported by The Mill Community Centre’s Grow Your Idea scheme.

Learn how to write stories based on your life. You may want to share unusual experiences, describe how you overcame obstacles, or record your history for future generations. You might focus on specific events, a certain period in time, or chart your whole life. Your aim could be to raise awareness, expose the truth or even change other people’s perspectives. Reflecting on your life can be cathartic, energising and therapeutic.

Course leader Nicola Hill will explain the different aspects of life writing, using stimulating creative exercises as prompts to get you started. You will pick up a wide range of writing tips, learn about form and structure, look at published examples and find out how to approach publishing opportunities.

By the end of the day, you will go away full of ideas and examples of your own writing, along with a sense of how you could progress to share your story or write for your own benefit.

Nicola has an MA in Creative and Life Writing from Goldsmiths College, where she was taught by Francis Spufford and Blake Morrison. She has had three non-fiction books published. Nicola’s life story in 400 words was featured on Radio 4’s Today programme. You can listen here: Everything Editorial

Nicola worked for The Guardian and has been a freelance writer and editor for over 25 years. She has completed a memoir and two novels, one based on her experiences of fostering and the other on a real person in the Victorian era. Her writing was longlisted for the 2019 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize. She has also had a film script and a play shortlisted for competitions and her idea for a TV programme won a £10,000 prize.

She led online life writing workshops during the pandemic and participated in Oxford University’s Centre for Life Writing workshops. She recently ran a successful in-person workshop for The Open Art Club in Walthamstow.

“I truly enjoyed your workshop delivery and the reactions from the participants were great!” Noga Shatz, Director & Art Program Developer, LGBTQ+ The Open Art Club.

“Your life writing workshop was enlightening. You gave me an excellent understanding of how I could use it in my writing. A great mix of examples with opportunities to scribble out our own stuff. I felt really inspired – especially when others in the group read out some of the things they’d written.” Jane Ralston, workshop participant.

“The session was a great mix of ways of working. It was densely packed but, in a way, that was really energising.” Veronica Lindsay-Addy, workshop participant.

If you want to give a ticket to this workshop as a present, gift certificates are available.

Photo credit: Frank Allais.

With support from: