It all started back on a cold night in January 2024……

Huddled in a small meeting room, I waited to see if anyone would answer the invite I’d posted online to come to a brand-new writing group.

My husband and I had been living in France for the last few years but had come south for winter. In France I was part of the Bordeaux writers’ group and had loved meeting other writers, getting and giving feedback and talking all things writing.

I hoped to do the same in Seville.

Four people showed up to that first meeting. I introduced myself first: best-selling author of Management Bites, author of three other non-fiction books and one novel, born in the UK but grew up in New Zealand…. your whole life summarised in one sentence, you know how this is when you live in another country because you end up doing it a lot!

I asked the others to introduce who they were.

An older gentleman went first.

“I am here so I do not kill myself.”

He had been through a bad time, and this was the advice his therapist had given him. Join a group, meet new people and find a new purpose.

I took a breath.

This was a fairly big ask.

I’m pleased to say that he is still alive and well, and still an honorary member of the group. Two of the other original members still attend the group today – almost 2 years later.

And what a journey our group has been on during that time!

We’ve had a lot of aux’s come and go. I initially thought an aux was some sort of bull-like animal, but actually they are auxiliary teachers, here for a year after graduating to teach English. They often join us for a few weeks then disappear.

We also have permanent English teachers too. It’s one of the few jobs you can get in Seville if you don’t work remotely, which most of the rest of us do.

Many in the group are expats or immigrants. We’ve had writers from the UK, US, Portugal, Columbia, France, New Zealand (that’s me!), Australia, Japan, Ireland, Argentina, Scotland, Germany, The Netherlands, Mexico and India.

We also have Sevilliano’s come along. They listen to us in horror. We all talk very fast and with various accents. Finally, they know what it’s like when we spend months learning European Spanish, then come to Andalucia and can’t understand what anyone is saying (Andalusian accents are STRONG).

Many writers who join us are complete beginners. They sit and listen at first, then they join in doing the 10-minute writing prompts that we start all our meetings with. After a few weeks of this, they take the brave step of reading out what they’ve written. From there, they gain confidence, start bringing along small things they’ve written and then suddenly they’re writing a novel!

It is fantastic to see.

A spark that was gently glowing has suddenly burst into creative flames! That’s why I started the group and why I suggest anyone wanting to be a true writer should join a writing group too.

Then there are the experienced authors – who come along just out of interest. They don’t need to be in a writer’s group because they already know how to write (and they do know). But what they find is something quite special.

Most of us still use a pen and paper during the writing prompts, because it activates much more of your brain than using a phone or laptop – and writing together creates this incredible energy. It’s fun, and a chance to experiment and try something new. And most people then read their pieces out – which can be scary when you haven’t shared your writing before, or when it’s unedited and raw. But we all understand this, and somehow we have created an atmosphere where you can be vulnerable and still be safe, where there is nothing but pure positivity. And that’s a rare thing.   

And we laugh too! Someone has always taken the writing prompt in a completely different way to everyone else, and it can be fascinating and hilarious. It can be gruesome too. I’ll never forget when we were writing about the heat in Sevilla in summer, someone who shall remain nameless, arrived late, and thought we were writing about how heat burns, and wrote about someone’s face burning off.

But even in 10 minutes, and under pressure, often the writing is beautiful. And strange. And engaging. And entertaining. And sometimes side-splittingly funny.

There are quotes that come out of nowhere that have us in stitches.

‘Then I tested positive for explosives’ (told during a very normal story about being in an airport).

‘I’m a hamster man myself’ (writing about a pet shop)

‘People have an average of less than 2 legs’ (this one was about writing character flaws and I can never unknow this fact now).

Week after week, we meet on the top floor of Casa del Libro (a big bookshop chain in Spain). When I’m in Seville, I run the sessions, but as I’m away a lot, the group is self-managing. Someone steps up each week to lead and comes up with a writing prompt. Sometimes Casa del Libro is closed, or the room is full of books. The group has also met in bars, cafes and even on the riverbank. We’ve written through autumn, winter and spring, and a small group of us, even through 45C summer heat. Blazing sun. Sweaty bodies. All to put words on paper.

If this sounds like something you’d like to be part of, get in touch and let me know.

How it works

The SWG consists of the following:

A Wednesday night writing salon – where we do a writing exercise and then you can read chapters, blogs, poems, non-fiction (anything in English) and receive feedback. This is lead by myself or one of the group. We have about 15 people attend each week (we have a WhatsApp group for once you’ve attended). After introductions, we spend the first hour doing a writing exercise using a writing prompt, or trying out a writing tool or technique. These are lots of fun with positive thoughts on what works, and constructive comments on what doesn’t. You don’t have to read anything but once you do, we expect you’ve made a contribution to the group already.

Sunday Sessions are a little more informal, doing some writing, getting feedback and discussing writing techniques. Places are limited to no more than 7 people, so you do need to be part of the group already.

Book events where authors talk about their writing process and their books.

Workshops where we deep dive into tools and techniques, or work on plot or structure or challenges that you’re facing. For more about workshops click here.

If you have any questions do let me know, or if you’d like to come along, get in touch.

Read our writing!

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One on one help

If you’re wanting some personal guidance with your writing, then I have helped a number of writers with 3 key areas.

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Writing Bites

I’ve also spent 2 years writing a book about writing a book…..

The amount of information about how to write can be overwhelming (as well as the number of books out there about writing), so I’ve taken the essentials and minimised it all down to the key things you need to know. I’ve used my own extensive writing experience, as well as research from hundreds of articles and books. And this all goes into my workshops, but also will finally go into a book called Writing Bites.