Published: Wednesday, 27th January, 2010 4:31pm

Young writers host Athlone open mike session

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Students of an innovative creative writing course, supported by Westmeath County Council, will next week read from their work at an open mike session in Athlone.

The 15 young writers from the Creative Writing Group for Teenagers, including some six from Athlone, meet weekly in Kilbeggan.

The workshops are hosted by writer Caroline Barry, a native of Dublin who now lives and works in Westmeath. She has had two novels published and is currently completing her third novel for her English agent. In the past she was the writer-in-residence for Laois County Council.

Caroline began teaching creative writing workshops in Dublin and when she moved to the Midlands she approached the Westmeath Arts Officer, Catherine Kelly, with a proposal. "I suggested running workshops for young people in Westmeath. Catherine Kelly was wonderfully supportive, the council provided funding for the project, and the Creative Writing Group for Teenagers was born. It's been running for four years now. We've published three anthologies; Stories from the Twisted Tree (2006), A Murder of Crows (2007), and The Idea and its Shadow (2008)."

During the workshops, which take place over several months, Caroline covers many aspects of writing.

"I mostly look at constructing a novel. It is a long and meticulous process." She covers plotting a book, developing characters, scene setting, emotional arcs, pacing, and editing, to name a few topics.

"One of the most important aspects I focus on is critique. It's a tough thing to teach; how to analyse a text so that you know what is working in it and what has to be cut away," she said.

Some of her former students have continued to write. "I know of three of my former students who have become playwrights, one has had work read and produced by the Druid, another has a novel with an American publishing house and one is currently making a short film," she said.

Caroline believes that any creative pursuit must be encouraged in the young. "The workshops are all about development. The young writer is encouraged to explore and experiment with words; they are welcome to write in whatever genre suits them, whether it is gothic horror, science fiction, romance, fantasy, magic realism, gritty realism. It doesn't matter. What is important is that they write."

This year the group couldn't afford to put an anthology together but the students have come up with a novel and energetic way to have their work heard through the open mike session.

So if you are interested in writing, if you are young and want to hear your peers' work, you are invited to go along to The Athlone Little Theatre on St Mary's Place (opposite St Mary's Church) on Saturday, January 30, at 3pm. Admission is free and all are welcome.

Caroline says: "You will hear excerpts from novels that the young people are working on, everything from gothic horror, dramatic realism, ghost stories, and fantasy pieces to poetry. You name it, the young people are writing it! Please come along to show your support."