Writing On Water

How do you write about water? Does it trickle? Surge? Roar?

Is it hungry? Foreboding? Volatile? Reflective? Tranquil?

Whether you write about a raindrop or an ocean, you can harness water as a powerful writing muse.

Join author Judy Darley and poet Helen Sheppard for a voyage of discovery as we explore different ways of using water to shine up themes in our writing, with generative exercises, examples, time to write and opportunities to share your words. The workshop also includes a brief guided walk with writing prompts.

Judy Darley is a fiction writer, journalist and occasional poet from Bristol. Her fiction has been described as 'shimmeringly strange', possibly because she can't stop writing about the infinite fallibilities of the human mind. Judy’s words have been published and performed on BBC radio and harbour walls, as well as in bookshops, museums, cafés, caves, pubs, a disused church and an artist’s studio. Judy is the author of three fiction collections: The Stairs Are a Snowcapped Mountain (Reflex Press), Sky Light Rain (Valley Press) and Remember Me To The Bees (Tangent Books). Find Judy at SkyLightRain.com and on Twitter as @JudyDarley.

Helen Sheppard is a Bristol-based writer and worked as a midwife. Her poetry explores themes of birth, health loss, and those whose voices are often unheard. Events Helen has performed at include Milk Poetry, RTB, Torriano Meeting House and Harvard Medical School. Helen’s work has been Published widely, including These are the Hands and Under the Radar magazine. Her debut poetry collection Fontanelle was published in 2021 by Burning Eye Books. Helen interviews extraordinary poets for her podcast Health Beat Poets, their ‘take’ on Poetry, Health and Community. You can find Helen on Twitter as HelenSheppard7 and on Instagram as helensheppard58.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

John Sebastian Lightship, John Sebastian Quay, Bristol, United Kingdom