So, what do you do when you run a group that has become so popular that it has outgrown its venue, needs to adapt to changing ideas and technology and, generally, move with the times?
Answer: You reorganise!
This is just what we have done within Writing Buddies for the 2015 season.
We have loved every minute of meeting at the Mercure Dolphin Hotel on the High Street but recently it was very apparent that we were trying to squeeze too many into a small space. So, with many thanks for two successful years at this venue, we have moved to the Seminar Room at the Central Library, Civic Centre, Southampton. We will hold our first meeting there tomorrow, Friday 6 February.
We have also taken the opportunity to revamp the group and present it more professionally. Writing Buddies will stay a not-for-profit organisation but members will now pay a membership fee to join (£15 a year) in addition to the £2 meeting fee. New members will have one free meeting, to get to know the group. Casual members will be welcome at £5 a meeting for a maximum of three meetings. Proceeds from these fees will be used to fund our notetaker and guest speakers, as well as pay for essentials within the group.
In addition to an increasing line up of guest speakers, new this year will be writing practice, set discussion topics, opportunities to help run the group, writing competitions and an online magazine. Phew! We love a cream tea at Christmas, so this is one thing we have retained from the past.
The meetings are open to anyone who is actively writing (or who an interest in an associated field, such as editing, illustration or photography), willing to participate and wanting to have some fun. Writing Buddies come from all walks of life, are aged from mid twenties to over eighty, write in all genres and are a rich mixture of amateur and professional.
So, we hope that the New Writing Buddies will be as popular as the old. If you fancy giving us a try, do come along to meet us. Our meeting dates are on the diary page of this blog.
Answer: You reorganise!
This is just what we have done within Writing Buddies for the 2015 season.
We have loved every minute of meeting at the Mercure Dolphin Hotel on the High Street but recently it was very apparent that we were trying to squeeze too many into a small space. So, with many thanks for two successful years at this venue, we have moved to the Seminar Room at the Central Library, Civic Centre, Southampton. We will hold our first meeting there tomorrow, Friday 6 February.
We have also taken the opportunity to revamp the group and present it more professionally. Writing Buddies will stay a not-for-profit organisation but members will now pay a membership fee to join (£15 a year) in addition to the £2 meeting fee. New members will have one free meeting, to get to know the group. Casual members will be welcome at £5 a meeting for a maximum of three meetings. Proceeds from these fees will be used to fund our notetaker and guest speakers, as well as pay for essentials within the group.
In addition to an increasing line up of guest speakers, new this year will be writing practice, set discussion topics, opportunities to help run the group, writing competitions and an online magazine. Phew! We love a cream tea at Christmas, so this is one thing we have retained from the past.
The meetings are open to anyone who is actively writing (or who an interest in an associated field, such as editing, illustration or photography), willing to participate and wanting to have some fun. Writing Buddies come from all walks of life, are aged from mid twenties to over eighty, write in all genres and are a rich mixture of amateur and professional.
So, we hope that the New Writing Buddies will be as popular as the old. If you fancy giving us a try, do come along to meet us. Our meeting dates are on the diary page of this blog.
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