Beyond Words Workshop Anthology
During the first Covid lockdown I moved the Bourne To Write workshops onto Zoom and dramatically changed their scope for the better. Previously based in the South coast of England the workshops now had a global reach and writers could share their work onscreen. Also I didn’t have to make dozens of cups of tea and coffee every week while the writers pored over their twenty minute timed exercises – you’ll find a selection of those miniature miracles near the end of this book.
All of the work in this anthology is being published for the first time, many of the pieces explore the same topic which was set as homework. But the originality and range of style is highly impressive. Remember when you are enjoying one of those timed exercises it was written in just twenty minutes and then read out live to the workshop. Try it, you might surprise yourself.
“I was very familiar with Zoom but Roddy’s workshops really make the most of the format. Close reading other writer’s work onscreen is a revelation and I love watching videos of poets and plays. But one of the best things about the workshop is Roddy’s help with homework. It’s like a magic wand has been waved over it.” Margaret Cooper – Zoom workshop writer.
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In this section we share a selection of our writers’ weekly homework pieces and timed exercises. Homework is normally 500 – 850 words maximum, the timed exercises are completed in the workshop within 20 minutes.
Its not uncommon for one of the workshop writers to develop their homework pieces and craft them into a long form story, or even a novel. These two long form pieces by Sue Hitchcock are perfect examples.
The Disinformation Correspondent by Sue Hitchcock
Square One by Sue Hitchcock
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May 2026
The Perfect One – a timed exercise by Maureen Marsh
Take Your Medicine by Stuart Finegan
The Watcher by Maureen Marsh
Zealots by Fran Duffield
Late by Shabs Rajan
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April 2026
This and That – song version by Catriona Millar
This and That – a timed exercise by Catriona Millar
Hope Given by Juliet Robinson
Hurt – a timed exercise by Maureen Marsh
Take Your Medicine by Stuart Finegan
To See or not to See by Lesley Dawson
Bitter Fruit by Fran Duffield
Depths – a timed exercise by Fran Duffield
Invisible Girl by Maureen Marsh
Love’s Last Service – a timed exercise by Francesca Ryan
Dark Side of the Moon by Francesca Ryan
The Obedient One by Lesley Dawson
Stranger by Fran Duffield
The Yank by Rosalyn St Pierre
The Mark of Beauty by Fran Duffield
I Once Had a Garden – a timed exercise by Catriona Millar
Wild as the Hills – a timed exercise by Catriona Millar
Meditative Magic of Night by Ankusha Jain
The Power of Number – a timed exercise by Rosalyn St Pierre
Woman Waiting – a timed exercise by Fran Duffield
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March 2026
Aquifers by Fran Duffield
Newborn by Francesca Ryan
The Palace Gate by Ankusha Jain
Jewellery’s Gambit part 2 by Juliet Robinson
Tomorrow I’ll be Ready by Stuart Finegan
You Must Make Haste by Ankusha Jain
The Letter – a timed exercise by Maureen Marsh
Jewellery’s Gambit by Juliet Robinson
A House of Stories by Stuart Finegan
Beasts by Maureen Marsh
Petrichor by Francesca Ryan
The Spice Man by Lesley Dawson
An Extraordinary Day by Stuart Finegan
The Smell of Bombay by Smita RK
Azahar by Fran Duffield
Monsters of Our Own by Juliet Robinson
The Grass isn’t Always Greener by Stuart Finegan
August – a timed exercise by Fran Duffield
The Message – a timed exercise by Maureen Marsh
Homecoming by Fran Duffield
The Board Meeting by Rosalyn St Pierre
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February 2026
Sunday Morning by Francesca Ryan
The Olive Harvest by Lesley Dawson
The Secret by Maureen Marsh
Bluebells by Fran Duffield
Winter Palace – a timed exercise by Fran Duffield
Don’t Ask Me And I Won’t Tell You by Lesley Dawson
Aperitif at Casa de Tortilla by Shabs Rajan
The Palace of the Wolves – a timed exercise by Rosalyn St Pierre
The Pigeon and the Kite by Smita RK
The Ice Palace – a timed exercise by Maureen Marsh
Remembering by Stuart Finegan
Bitter Fruit by Fran Duffield
Depths – a timed exercise by Fran Duffield
Invisible Girl by Maureen Marsh
Love’s Last Service – a timed exercise by Francesca Ryan
Dark Side of the Moon by Francesca Ryan
The Obedient One by Lesley Dawson
Stranger by Fran Duffield
The Yank by Rosalyn St Pierre
The Mark of Beauty by Fran Duffield
I Once Had a Garden – a timed exercise by Catriona Millar
Wild as the Hills – a timed exercise by Catriona Millar
Meditative Magic of Night by Ankusha Jain
The Power of Number – a timed exercise by Rosalyn St Pierre
Woman Waiting – a timed exercise by Fran Duffield
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March 2026
Aquifers by Fran Duffield
Newborn by Francesca Ryan
The Palace Gate by Ankusha Jain
Jewellery’s Gambit part 2 by Juliet Robinson
Tomorrow I’ll be Ready by Stuart Finegan
You Must Make Haste by Ankusha Jain
The Letter – a timed exercise by Maureen Marsh
Jewellery’s Gambit by Juliet Robinson
A House of Stories by Stuart Finegan
Beasts by Maureen Marsh
Petrichor by Francesca Ryan
The Spice Man by Lesley Dawson
An Extraordinary Day by Stuart Finegan
The Smell of Bombay by Smita RK
Azahar by Fran Duffield
Monsters of Our Own by Juliet Robinson
The Grass isn’t Always Greener by Stuart Finegan
August – a timed exercise by Fran Duffield
The Message – a timed exercise by Maureen Marsh
Homecoming by Fran Duffield
The Board Meeting by Rosalyn St Pierre
February 2026
Sunday Morning by Francesca Ryan
The Olive Harvest by Lesley Dawson
The Secret by Maureen Marsh
Bluebells by Fran Duffield
Winter Palace – a timed exercise by Fran Duffield
Don’t Ask Me And I Won’t Tell You by Lesley Dawson
Aperitif at Casa de Tortilla by Shabs Rajan
The Palace of the Wolves – a timed exercise by Rosalyn St Pierre
The Pigeon and the Kite by Smita RK
The Ice Palace – a timed exercise by Maureen Marsh
Remembering by Stuart Finegan
This and That – song version by Catriona Millar
This and That – a timed exercise by Catriona Millar
Hope Given by Juliet Robinson
Hurt – a timed exercise by Maureen Marsh
Take Your Medicine by Stuart Finegan
To See or not to See by Lesley Dawson
Bitter Fruit by Fran Duffield
Depths – a timed exercise by Fran Duffield
Invisible Girl by Maureen Marsh
Love’s Last Service – a timed exercise by Francesca Ryan
Dark Side of the Moon by Francesca Ryan
The Obedient One by Lesley Dawson
Stranger by Fran Duffield
The Yank by Rosalyn St Pierre
The Mark of Beauty by Fran Duffield
I Once Had a Garden – a timed exercise by Catriona Millar
Wild as the Hills – a timed exercise by Catriona Millar
Meditative Magic of Night by Ankusha Jain
The Power of Number – a timed exercise by Rosalyn St Pierre
Woman Waiting – a timed exercise by Fran Duffield
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March 2026
Aquifers by Fran Duffield
Newborn by Francesca Ryan
The Palace Gate by Ankusha Jain
Jewellery’s Gambit part 2 by Juliet Robinson
Tomorrow I’ll be Ready by Stuart Finegan
You Must Make Haste by Ankusha Jain
The Letter – a timed exercise by Maureen Marsh
Jewellery’s Gambit by Juliet Robinson
A House of Stories by Stuart Finegan
Beasts by Maureen Marsh
Petrichor by Francesca Ryan
The Spice Man by Lesley Dawson
An Extraordinary Day by Stuart Finegan
The Smell of Bombay by Smita RK
Azahar by Fran Duffield
Monsters of Our Own by Juliet Robinson
The Grass isn’t Always Greener by Stuart Finegan
August – a timed exercise by Fran Duffield
The Message – a timed exercise by Maureen Marsh
Homecoming by Fran Duffield
The Board Meeting by Rosalyn St Pierre
February 2026
Sunday Morning by Francesca Ryan
The Olive Harvest by Lesley Dawson
The Secret by Maureen Marsh
Bluebells by Fran Duffield
Winter Palace – a timed exercise by Fran Duffield
Don’t Ask Me And I Won’t Tell You by Lesley Dawson
Aperitif at Casa de Tortilla by Shabs Rajan
The Palace of the Wolves – a timed exercise by Rosalyn St Pierre
The Pigeon and the Kite by Smita RK
The Ice Palace – a timed exercise by Maureen Marsh
Remembering by Stuart Finegan
Bitter Fruit by Fran Duffield
Depths – a timed exercise by Fran Duffield
Invisible Girl by Maureen Marsh
Love’s Last Service – a timed exercise by Francesca Ryan
Dark Side of the Moon by Francesca Ryan
The Obedient One by Lesley Dawson
Stranger by Fran Duffield
The Yank by Rosalyn St Pierre
The Mark of Beauty by Fran Duffield
I Once Had a Garden – a timed exercise by Catriona Millar
Wild as the Hills – a timed exercise by Catriona Millar
Meditative Magic of Night by Ankusha Jain
The Power of Number – a timed exercise by Rosalyn St Pierre
Woman Waiting – a timed exercise by Fran Duffield
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