Information About Polly - Leicester teacher -

(4 reviews)

Personal Description:

I run Short Fuse, a successful literary events organisation and the only such offering nights devoted to short fiction in Leicester. We are now entering our 6th year and have attracted high profile writers to our stage as well as giving regular opportunities to local writers to showcase their work.
I run creative writing courses on a termly basis as well as offering teaching on a commissioned basis to bodies like Writing School Leicester and have received excellent feedback on both course content and teaching methods.
I teach 1:1 creative writing to writers with a range of needs, most recently to a young woman with special needs who was referred via an access programme.
I am a writer myself and have innate understanding of the challenges faced by writers in what can be a very lonely and difficult pursuit, as well as a potentially rewarding one.

Teaching Experience:

Years of teaching Creative Writing in both Brighton and Leicester, both as an employed workshop leader and running my own courses. I currently teach at the Linwood Centre on a weekly basis and will be running a course on short story writing for Writing School Leicester in the New Year.
Also years of 1:1 tuition in academic subjects - French, English
I am also a yoga teacher

Teaching Approach:

Creative approach, playful where possible and varying writing and reading exercises, group and individual pursuits.
I believe that you cannot teach creative writing without first encouraging wide reading and so we always look at the work of other writers
Group feedback is vital - because I run Short Fuse a huge part of the writing workshops I've devised revolves around encouraging writers to share their work - eventually, hopefully, on a public platform. I encourage students to submit work to bodies like Short Fuse, but prior to this, work hard at getting people to feel comfortable enough to share work with their peers. Feedback is constructively critical and warm - writers advise one another about how best to proceed with projects.
I also offer a literary **Contact Detail Removed** service, having worked for years as an editor, and am an astute and experienced reader.
I question whether you can 'teach' creative writing at all but have belief in and overwhelmingly positive feedback on my own abilities as a facilitator of this process.