Rotary Creative Writing Course at Ty Newydd

From The Marches 6th Form Bulletin

Young Writers Twila Morris and Jenny Cyffin-Jones were lucky enough to be selected to attend the prestigious Rotary supported Creative Writing Course for Young People at Tŷ Newydd, The National Writing Centre of Wales.

The residential course provided an inspirational environment for our two students to explore their potential as writers, receiving advice and mentoring from professional writers.

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Oswestry for sponsoring this amazing opportunity.

Twila Morris

I would highly recommend the Creative Writing course at Ty Newydd for anyone interested in perusing poetry or short story writing as a hobby or career. The tutors were incredibly helpful in discussing ways to get into the industry as well as giving some handy reality checks when needed. The activities were great to make one think on one’s feet and just get stuck in. For example I really enjoyed the activity where we changed the topic of which we wrote about every six minutes as it meant you had to think about how to link each paragraph together to create a cohesive story with a flowing structure. The games played outside of the activities was a great bonding experience which really got us to be less embarrassed about reading our pieces in front of each other and the tutors were easy to talk to about any problems/concerns we may have. The accommodation truly surpassed expectations with its lovely views and how spacious it was. The fact that catering was in a buffet style was amazing for someone who is a fussy eater such as myself.  Thank you so much for having me!

The time I have spent at Ty Newydd has been truly inspiring and has certainly improved my creative writing skills. The course itself was welcoming and relaxed and the tutors were very flexible in terms of what areas of writing we wanted to focus on as a group, meaning there were opportunities to write descriptive pieces, short stories of all genres and poetry throughout the course. One of the most beneficial aspects of the course, however, was learning to find inspiration for a piece of work, whether that was using the environment around us, rewriting a short story we had read in a new format, or simply writing a short piece based on random sentences found within a novel, and most importantly, understanding how to use that inspiration creatively. This in turn has allowed me to build confidence and creativity in my writing, and has inspired me to continue writing poetry, something that I was wary of trying before the course. There were also plenty of opportunities for us to develop our own writing outside of classes, whether it was continuing a story written in a session held by the tutors or writing an entirely new piece. During this time the tutors were always around to give individual
feedback and advice to us based on what we had written. I would highly recommend this course to anyone who enjoys creative writing as there is something that everyone can learn and take away from the experience.

These two girls were also part of The Marches Senior Youth Speaks team that won the Oswestry Club round.

Background

Tŷ Newydd is the National Writing Centre of Wales. Established in 1990, thousands of aspiring and budding writers have since passed through their iconic teal front door.

Specialising in residential creative writing courses, every week they welcome a new group of individuals from Wales, the rest of the UK and beyond to their home to spend time together under the tutelage of professional writers, take part in workshops and one-to-one tutorials, enjoy readings and bask in the inspirational setting of Tŷ Newydd.

Leusa Llewelyn, Head of Tŷ Newydd said, “Tŷ Newydd, with its unique Welsh welcome, exists to provide support for writers of all backgrounds, abilities and ages to develop their writing. There’s something to suit everyone, and the range of courses offers an opportunity for participants to discover their own writing potential.”During every course, home cooked meals and treats will be provided by the resident chef, to helpthe student enjoy the tranquillity that Tŷ Newydd and its beautiful surroundings provide.

For further information about Tŷ Newydd, including testimonials from recent participants, and to read the programme in its entirety, visit www.tynewydd.wales.