Writers’ Bloc – a Literary Band

Being based in Edinburgh this winter has given me a great opportunity to look at this City of Literature, its live events and its support for writers.  I have blogged earlier on the idea behind the Literary Salon, hosted by the City of Literature, and the good work being done by the Scottish Book Trust and the Scottish Poetry Library.  But in a can-do city like Edinburgh, writers are also “doing it for themselves.”  Recently I had the chance to sit down with Gavin Inglis, local writer and one of the key members of Writers’ Bloc, an innovate writing, publishing and performance group, to get the inside story on their longevity and success.

Writers’ Bloc produces events for prose writers to develop and perform their work throughout at local venues and at festivals.  Writers’ Bloc evenings are curated and commissioned by different writers, so that each evening is individual, themed, and brand new.  They keep the prices low, so that audiences won’t hesitate to come along.  As Gavin says, “No one minds the price of a pint.”  Writers’ Bloc also publish chapbooks of collected stories of their writers, with a limited print run, each hand-numbered and signed.

The group started informally through a writing workshop process started by writer Andrew C Ferguson (more on him in the next blog) in 1987 and particularly serving genre-based writers of science fiction, horror and fantasy.  Gavin joined the group in 1993 and the group has slowly built up to a core group of 16 writers of both mainstream and genre fiction.  The writing workshop model remains integral to the group with monthly workshops for writers to submit their work and get feedback from the group.  But Writers’ Bloc exists not only to develop work but to enable it to be performed in themed evenings which are challenging, irreverent, and darkly funny.  All work read comes up through the workshop process.   “There are a lot of poetry events up here.  If you’re a poet you fall over opportunities to read up here, but there wasn’t anything for prose writers,” Gavin said.  And he’s right.  Certainly in Kent we create far more opportunities for poets to share their work than prose writers, and nothing exists to celebrate the form in its own right, while in London fiction events like Book Slam are vastly outnumbered by poetry readings.

How does Writers’ Bloc afford to do all this?  They must be heavily funded, right?  Wrong.  “Writers’ Bloc has never been funded.  We raise money by charging for shows and getting venues as cheaply as we can.  We bring the venue 60 drinkers, so we shouldn’t have to pay a hire fee.”  Quite right, but it isn’t often possible in East Kent – or in Edinburgh.  Even in a place well known for the innovative use of non-traditional venues there are often shortages.  That isn’t helped with the recent closure of two spaces well-known for their literary events, The Big Red Door and the Roxy, as well as the threatened Forest Café’, home to the Inky Fingers Open Mike Night for prose and poetry writers.  But a shortage of venues doesn’t keep a group like Writers’ Bloc down for long.  There will always be a space that wants to bring in audiences and support local writers.  There isn’t too much that is required to run a literary night, but there are some practical concerns to keep in mind.  “We never want to lose money, but we don’t need to make money.  We want a really good atmosphere and the venue has to be accessible for wheelchairs.  If a venue is too big, it feels like you’re reading in a warehouse.  If it’s too small then people are standing about.  It’s lovely if the venue has an in-house PA or if you can find someone who will let you borrow theirs.”  The primary goal is always to put on a good show.  “We’ve learned over 9 years to put on enough material, but not too much.  We need to end on time, so people can get the bus they want.  A show is 3 segments of 5000 words, which is about 45 minutes.  People need a break between, so the venue can sell beer, and so people can socialize.”

The venue itself isn’t crucial and Writers’ Bloc has no qualms about moving as often as necessary, to get the right venue at the right price.  Writers’ Bloc is the brand, rather than the venue itself.  “The venue isn’t crucial for building an audience.  In the beginning it was people interested in the kind of work we were doing, science fiction.  We got good magazine coverage early on.  We’ve always had a mailing list and a sign-up sheet, and that list is over 200 now.”  And how important is marketing?  “We used to spend a lot of time designing posters, but I’m not convinced now by it.  But social media does work, we have a Facebook page, a Live Journal entry, we tweet, and lately we’ve introduced tweeting in performance.  It helps to convince audiences about our work, it helps the events feel contemporary and topical.”  A recent show,  “Planet of the Apps”, featured “new stories of anti-social media.  “A good title and theme make people smile and make people curious.”

Writers’ Bloc is unusual for combining performance with publishing.  I asked Gavin how they got started.  “The chapbooks were first funded through profit made at venues, and then subsequent profits from chapbooks were put back into the next printing.  We kept doing shows and we didn’t have any expenses.  We were able to accumulate cash to produce the books.  As they sold they paid for themselves.”  Over time, Writers’ Bloc writers have also seen their books become collectible as writers become successful.  Books will sell out now as investments for the future.

Both projects are lovely examples of how writers can be more proactive to create opportunities for themselves, rather than feeling they need outside help or funding to move forward.  “There is no market for 10 – 20K words,” Gavin said, “but you can publish it yourself and share it with audiences.”  But he is under no illusions:  running an organization like this both helps and hinders writing.  “It helps, because you have a deadline and it forces you to write more short stuff, get it out, get it performed.  If the story doesn’t work you know about it, you can tell from how the room reacts.  The flip side is you don’t make a living by reading short stories on stage.  You make a living through selling novels or scripts.  If you spend too much time putting on these events then you’re not spending enough time writing.  You can see when someone in the group makes it big all of a sudden – they don’t stop doing the shows but they drop how much time they’ll spend on it because they’re writing the next novel. In a way, success is the enemy of this.  But at the same time anybody who cracks it and goes on to do any kind of promotional tour, they’re going to have to read.  So it’s training as well, on how to read to an audience.  We help them to be comfortable, know what to read and what to avoid.”  It’s also an exceptional way to allow a writer to personally connect with a reader, rather than through a formal book-signing event that may or may not include a rather stiff reading from a lectern.

I asked Gavin for some final thoughts on how writers can benefit from the Writers’ Bloc style of working.  “Write shorter stuff.  Don’t have a long introduction before you read.  Don’t explain it.  Just get up there and get into it and do it and sit down and leave people thinking, wow, I want more of that.  It’s worth doing because it will stretch you.  If you get up on stage and entertain an audience, there’s no better feeling.  And if you read something from your book and you have a copy there then it’s more natural when they want you to sign it.”

What makes Writers’ Bloc so effective?  It’s down to the quality of their work as well as the solidarity of its member writers.  “Better Read Than Dead” was their first motto, and it led to the Soviet style design they continue to use.  It also signaled early on the kind of word play that allows audiences to quickly understand what they’re offering.  Ultimate, Writers’ Bloc feels like a kind of band.  “We’re like a literary band.  We do plan sets like a live concert.  You warm people up, you put the weird B side stuff in the middle, send them home singing the end.  We even have a merchandise desk.”  And like an indie band they are in control of their own artistic choices, output, and product – the group sustains and inspires them collectively as well as individually.  They certainly inspired me.  Visit the Writers’ Bloc site to learn more about the company and their upcoming events.  And if you are inspired to start your own writing and performing group, do let us know!

Tags: Live Lit Revolution!