Last week I took part in a one-day workshop for people interested in writing biography. We had sessions with William Fiennes, Hermione Lee and Jenny Uglow. They got us into writing exercises, listening exercises, they praised and criticised (kindly), we talked, wrote, lunched in the gorgeous gardens of Charleston, we came away inspired.
The reason I'm writing about this is because I suppose I'm a bit defensive about it. "If you're going to write, write, don't just do workshops on the subject", as one friend put it. It's true. I like to call myself a (sort of) poet, I read poetry, I think about taking time out to do more writing, I long to find a poetry group I can join in order to read, write and improve. And now I'm interested in biography writing.
It probably sounds a bit lame but I do think that creative writing, and even just creative writing exercises, are good for all kinds of writers. I may never write a best-selling biography or get a book of poems published, but I may get better results and have more fun with the sort of writing I do for clients or for my own commercial interests.
Williams Fiennes told us to focus on the details and to find our own authentic voice: two tips that to me made complete sense in the context of all writing. So I definitely learned something from the day. And the lunch was lovely.
