From Marketing to Protest Poetry with Writing On The Wall

 

Our colleague Vicky, marketer of the Directions programme, recently completed Writing On The Wall’s 6 week ‘Write To Work’ course. As well as improving her writing capabilities, she wanted to gain a better understanding of the programme and what Directions' clients experience. It is designed to help unemployed people in the Liverpool city region gain the knowledge, skillset, and resources to pursue a career in the writing industry.

She shared her experience, what she learned, and what she took away from the course...

 

The past 6 weeks of Writing On The Wall’s ‘Write To Work’ course have been eye opening, engaging, and refreshing. It was great to be in an environment where creativity was championed and encouraged alongside a room full of like-minded people.

 

Many different writing styles and genres were taught across the programme, including protest poetry, screenwriting, playwrighting, and novels. This made me realise how much scope there is within the writing industry. It also gave me the opportunity to recognise what genres I identified with most strongly and what I felt passionate about.

 

I had the pleasure of meeting six different writing professionals during the course. Each writer bought their own passions, technique, and teaching style, making each week a new experience. Being exposed to such a diverse range of creatives from different cultural backgrounds was also very refreshing.

 

The importance of a healthy mindset was encouraged. Authors Natalie Denny and Ginni Manning separately spoke about creating a physical safe space where you can relax and let your creativity take hold. Mindfully setting out blocks of time dedicated to your writing is also a technique I learnt to get into the right headspace.

 

The group was also given practical advice on how to get your work published, including who to contact and what to avoid. Topics included self publishing, working with Amazon Books, and submitting your work to external publishers. This was helpful as the world of publishing can be very overwhelming and confusing.

 

Since the course, I’ve realised that I’m drawn to protest poetry, especially around inequalities in women’s health and feminism. I recently submitted a poem to be published in Writing On The Wall’s next anthology, which is an opportunity all participants have when attending the programme. I am excited to work with a professional editor in the near future to get the full experience of writing, editing and publishing a body of writing.

 

I recommend anyone who is interested by the writing industry to attend the Write To Work programme. It is carefully put together to equip you with the confidence and skills to pursue your writing goals. The strong sense of community within Writing On The Wall as a charity is also incredibly welcoming and the team there are always there to answer questions and provide support.

To find out more about Writing On The Wall and their future programmes, click here.