What we’re about
Welcome to the Chalk Scribblers.
We’re an international online group, and occasionally a rabble, of writers working on improving our skills. We run two types of activity to help each other achieve that:
Our core activity is our Saturday critique workshop. Once a week, we get together to discuss a story or part of a larger work that one of us has written. We exchange our opinions in a frank but constructive way that helps to develop not only the work being discussed but also the writing skills of the people giving and receiving the critique.
Our speaker events usually happen on Wednesday evenings, although they’re often subject to when the speaker can make it. The format is that we ask people who can tell us something about writing and publishing that we don’t know. Sometimes they’re authors, sometimes they’re publishing professionals, sometimes they’re people with expertise that can come in useful for writers and sometimes they’re our own members whose successes we want to celebrate.
Most of our events are free to join although some of our speaker events have cover charges that go toward our overheads.
Our members cover a broad range of fiction, creative non-fiction and screenwriting. However, we’re not the best group for poetry, songwriting and game writing.
Our activities are based on reciprocity between peers. If you’re looking for something more structured, we suggest the Indie Novella 9-week course which runs three times per year: https://www.indienovella.co.uk/writing-course
The group’s organisational structure is described here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WuhkZbzYRSTnS8URRx0SVKnwbpl0Fw9KZ-Q1uSEC2s0/edit?usp=sharing
If you’d like to see what it’s all about, sign up for an event and jump in.
Follow us on Twitter at @ChalkScribes
Follow us on Bluesky at @chalkscribblers.bsky.social
Publications by Chalk Scribblers in 2023
Angela Kay Austin’s Hey Mom and Pop was published in The Local Voices Project, an anthology of stories by East London-based authors exploring the effect of London on their identity. Published by Indie Novella: https://www.indienovella.co.uk/product-page/the-local-voices-project
DJ Cockburn had three stories published this year:
· Escher’s Siren is a dark flash fiction published by IZ Digital. Available online: https://interzone.digital/eschers-siren/
· Denisovan Harmony is a novelette-length chapbook published by Paper Angel’s speculative science fiction and fantasy imprint, Water Dragon: https://waterdragonpublishing.com/product/denisovan-harmony/
· Fortune of the Téméraire is a short story in Uncanny and Unearthly Tales, an anthology of otherworldly stories published by Grendel Press: https://grendelpress.com/product/uncanny-unearthly-tales/
David Miles’s popular science / medical history book, How Vaccines Work, published by the Little, Brown imprint Piatkus: https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/titles/david-miles-2/how-vaccines-work/9780349428901/
Stephen Oram had two stories and a book-length collection published this year:
· Long Live the Strawberries of Finsbury Park first appeared last year and has been reprinted in the Best of British Science Fiction 2022 anthology, published by Newcon: http://www.newconpress.co.uk/info/book.asp?id=227
· In the Lap of the Synth appeared in Mapping the Posthuman, an anthology themed on posthuman myths of multispecies flourishing. Published by Routledge: https://www.routledge.com/Mapping-the-Posthuman/Hamilton-Lau/p/book/9781032334615#
· The book is Stephen’s short story collection, Extracting Humanity and Other Stories, published by Orchid’s Lantern: https://orchidslantern.square.site/product/extracting-humanity-and-other-stories-by-stephen-oram/45?cp=true&sa=true&sbp=false&q=false
Ana Sun had a particularly good year with her stories and related articles appearing all over the short fiction landscape:
· Her article on the subgenre of solarpunk, Write the Future You Want to Live In, is available online at DreamForge: https://dreamforge.mywebportal.app/dreamforge/stories/show/write-the-future-you-want-to-live-in-ana-sun
· The Scent of Green is in Fighting for the Future: Cyberpunk and Solarpunk Tales, an anthology published by Android Press: https://www.android-press.com/product-page/fighting-for-the-future-cyberpunk-and-solarpunk-tales-paperback
· The City Walks Through Me is in The Dérive, an anthology of stories themed on the title which refers to an unplanned journey through an urban landscape. Published by Air and Nothingness Press: http://aanpress.com/aanorder.html#derive
· Welcome to Your Satchel 3001-Librarian's Specialist Model is in The Librarian Card Catalogue, an anthology in the form of a deck of cards that’s part of Air and Nothingness Press’s ongoing series about a multiverse-spanning librarian and their sarcastic satchel: http://aanpress.com/aanorder.html#tlcc
· Shadow Among the Leaves appears in Solarpunk Magazine’s ‘all-BIPOC’ issue 10: https://solarpunkmagazine.com/shop/solarpunk-magazine-issue-10/
· Soul Noodles in The Bright Mirror is in The Bright Mirror: Women of Global Solarpunk anthology published by Fantastic Fiction: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/v/francesco-verso/bright-mirror.htm
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Chalk Scribblers meet the author: Genevieve MorrisseyLink visible for attendees
Genevieve is a self-published author who won the third prize in the 2023 Indie Reader Discovery Awards with her historical crime novel, Marriage and Hanging. She has previously written the Antlands science fiction trilogy.
She will open with a reading from Marriage and Hanging and we’ll then discuss all matters related to writing and the intricacies of self publishing.
Although there is no charge for the session, there is an attendee limit so if you find you can't make it, please remember to change your RSVP so someone else can take your place.
Relevant links:
Genevieve’s website: https://www.antlands.com/
2024 Indie Reader Discovery Awards: https://indiereader.com/2024/05/announcing-the-2024-discovery-awards-winners/
Genevieve on Twitter: https://x.com/glmorrissey/ - *ONLINE* Chalk Scribblers writers' critique group and socialLink visible for attendees
Would you like to join a group of writers exchanging constructive criticism of one of our works in progress?
For every session, one of our members shares a story, chapter or screenplay for discussion. Every member then gives their opinion without interruption or contradiction, then the writer responds and we open it up to a broader discussion.
You're welcome to join through the link though if it’s your first time, we'd appreciate it if you would message one of the hosts below to let us know you're coming.
We share passages for critique through a closed Google Group, which ensures the writer retains the copyright. Because it's where we share our unpublished drafts, we do not open it to anyone we haven't confirmed is not a troll, ghoul, marketeer or any other member of the internet bestiary so we'll sort your access out when you join the session.
The group’s rules are here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QLVrl2s6U75fh0Bil3T6SsmBMH9HpBR2CpQPhz2HXHs/edit?usp=sharing
Follow us on Twitter at @ChalkScribes
Follow us on Bluesky at @chalkscribblers.bsky.social - *ONLINE* Chalk Scribblers writers' critique group and socialLink visible for attendees
Would you like to join a group of writers exchanging constructive criticism of one of our works in progress?
For every session, one of our members shares a story, chapter or screenplay for discussion. Every member then gives their opinion without interruption or contradiction, then the writer responds and we open it up to a broader discussion.
You're welcome to join through the link though if it’s your first time, we'd appreciate it if you would message one of the hosts below to let us know you're coming.
We share passages for critique through a closed Google Group, which ensures the writer retains the copyright. Because it's where we share our unpublished drafts, we do not open it to anyone we haven't confirmed is not a troll, ghoul, marketeer or any other member of the internet bestiary so we'll sort your access out when you join the session.
The group’s rules are here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QLVrl2s6U75fh0Bil3T6SsmBMH9HpBR2CpQPhz2HXHs/edit?usp=sharing
Follow us on Twitter at @ChalkScribes
Follow us on Bluesky at @chalkscribblers.bsky.social - Chalk Scribblers workshop: the seven basic plotsLink visible for attendees
A story is driven by the stuff that happens and the plot outlines what happens, who it happens to, who makes it happen and when it all happens. It’s the plot that leads the characters through the settings to explore the themes and ideas of the story. If the plot doesn’t do its job of showing those other elements, then all the craft that went into them will be forever hidden from the reader.
In his Seven Basic Plots, Christopher Booker identified his eponymous seven archetypes drawn from stories ranging from the present day back to The Epic of Gilgamesh. We’ll be discussing his breakdown of those plot archetypes and discussing how we can use them as templates for our own stories. We’ll also consider ways to subvert them; after all, the basic plots are so widely used that they describe reader expectations as much as story structures.
There’s no obligation to read The Seven Basic Plots, much of which is taken up with outlandish ranting about how storytelling was ruined by the French Revolution, but you’ll get more out of the workshop by giving the topic some thought before the discussion and ideally, work through the process below:
Booker’s seven plots, with examples, are:
- Overcoming the Monster
- Beowulf
- Androcles & the Lion
- War of the Worlds
- Dr No
- Alien- Rags to Riches
- Jane Eyre
- Puss in Boots
- Le Rouge et Le Noir- The Quest
- Watership Down
- King Solomon’s Mines
- Moby Dick- Voyage and Return
- The Time Machine
- The Third Man
- Orpheus & Eurydice- Comedy
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Pride and Prejudice- Tragedy
- Macbeth
- Lolita
- The Picture of Dorian Grey- Rebirth
- A Christmas Carol
- Crime and PunishmentNow have a look at the five-point breakdown of each of the seven plots published by the Blue Pencil Agency.
Some points to note:
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The basic plots are not always distinct from one another but rather exist on the continuum. For example, it’s only the last chapter of Crime and Punishment that makes it a rebirth rather than a tragedy plot.
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One type of plot may function as a subplot within a story that follows another. For example, The Odyssey is a quest plot and 20,000 Leagues under the Sea is a voyage and return but both involve the protagonists in overcoming the monster subplots.
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Different characters may follow their own basic plots. For example, Wuthering Heights follows several characters through interwoven tragedy plots while in Les Misérables, Cosette follows a rags to riches plot while Javert plays out a tragedy.
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While some of the plots may seem inherently more cheerful than others, there is always a dark version. For example, Booker repeatedly refers to Le Rouge et Le Noir as a dark version of the rags to riches plot.
With all that in mind, pick an example that you would be willing to discuss the application of the seven plots to. It could be your work in progress if that’s a discussion you would find helpful. Alternatively, pick a novel or short story that you’ve read and admired and see if applying the basic plots help you to understand what you liked about it.
Some questions that we’ll be discussing are:
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Which of the basic plots is it closest to?
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Does it blend more than one of the basic plots by:
- Combining elements from more than one plot in its over-arching structure?
- Using one basic plot for the over-arching structure and one or more of the others in subplots?
- Having different characters playing out different plots?- Does it use a plot structure that’s fundamentally different to any of the basic plots and if so, how would you describe that plot structure?
Any and all other points that anyone would like to raise will be up for discussion.
