
If you should wander through The Thoroughfare in Halesworth on the first Sunday afternoon of the month, when the delightful little independent shops that the cobbled street is known for are closed for the day, you might notice the lights are on in The Green House. For it is there, around a table at the rear of the wonderful plant shop café that our monthly writing group meets. Created and enabled by local writer Katie Flaxman, the group has recently celebrated two years of being: two years of talking about books and poetry; two years of varied and inspiring writing prompts; two years of friendship among those who have been part of the journey from the beginning; and two years of a warm and welcoming space for experienced and novice writers.
Katie started the group as a companionable space for local writers to meet together, write together, share words together, accompanied by tea and homemade cake. Katie has written meditations and stories for children, encouraging them to be vulnerable, to be brave, to be kind and to have courage. She uses these values as starting points for her stories to convey positive messages to her own children and others. These are also the cornerstones of the writing group. Writing prompts are many and varied: book extracts, poems, music, photographs, works of art, natural objects and sounds. The differing or similar paths each writer’s words take is always surprising, and the pieces are as varied as the imagination and experience of each of us. Encouraged but never compelled to share, with thoughtful constructive feedback offered, we writers have grown in confidence and skill. Some are writing longer works – novels, a cookery book, memoirs, poetry pamphlets or collections. Some have submitted pieces to magazines, competitions, exhibitions. Some have been published or broadcast. Whatever our writing experience, what we all share in common is that we enjoy writing and love words.

We are very fortunate in Halesworth, and in Suffolk in general, that there are many literary events throughout the year. One of the highlights for the group was when, on Sunday 2nd July 2023, instead of our regular session at The Green House, we met at The Low House LitFest in the nearby village of Laxfield. On this sunny afternoon, we enjoyed author talks, discussion and conversation in the open air. We have also met up at local poetry events, and author talks in the wonderful independent Halesworth Bookshop.
As I write this piece, I am looking forward to tomorrow’s writing group session. The sessions are always well-prepared and facilitated, relaxed and friendly, and the two hours always come to an end too quickly! Now into its third year of being, we are looking forward to seeing what is in store for us as a group in 2025. There will be laughter, there will be tears, there will be friendship, there will be new faces, there will be tea, there will be cake. And there will be wonderful words.
Sally Ann East
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