frequently asked questions

What’s a ‘virtual writer’ anyway?

It does sound a little strange – could it be a cunning ploy to save money on REAL writers? It's not that sinister. The virtual residency is a way of using IT to reach parts other writers in residence can’t easily reach. D&G is a huge region; feedback from writers has shown that they often find it hard to attend events. So we’re trying to address that by harnessing the power of IT.

What sort of thing will you be doing?

First off, we’re setting up a mentoring scheme for writers who want to move on to another level. Groups can provide a certain amount of support and enjoyable social contact, but individual writers do have very different needs, aspirations, and interests. So a number of writers who are committed to progressing their work over the next year will be offered individual mentoring (see other sheet). This will take the form of email and other feedback in line with agreed personal goals.

We’re also working with the council library service on a website that will act as a showcase and resource for the region’s writers. There will be links to stimulus material and worksheets for groups and individual writers, as well as links to other sites that offer online communities, feedback, and publishing information. Into summer we’ll be adding bulletin boards that will act as online meeting points for writers wanting to exchange material for feedback.

Personal or group websites are another obvious avenue. This used to be expensive and difficult – something only a writer with strong geek tendencies would attempt! But with the arrival of blogging, website building has become very simple and (even better) free. Blogs have many uses; one of these - which many writers are now exploiting - is as an online showcase for their work. Writers’ groups might also like to consider a simple website showing their contact info. I’ll be running a few blogging workshops, and also putting instructions online that anyone can use.

One area we’re exploring down the line is online conferencing using internet chat. This is already being done by some of the universities (eg Manchester) which offer e-learning writers’ courses - the idea is you can log in from wherever you are, and take part in an online seminar with a visiting writer (who could also be anywhere at all). We’re planning to pilot this system here, and hoping D&G’s ever-intrepid writers will join in.

Let’s not forget also that the new media are bringing a whole wave of innovation, including forms such as kinetic poetry and hyperfiction, or the growth of flash fiction and blog-based or epistolary fiction using emails. We'll be keeping you up to date with digital writing experiments, and are hoping to try some of them out.

Is this approach new?

No - some universities and online writing sites are trying out similar ways of working. But it's the first time the SAC has funded this kind of post. So we’re hoping that writers in D&G will join in with a measure of pioneering spirit, feed back on what they feel works best, and being part of developing something that is being watched with interest in other parts of Scotland (to quote – unashamedly - the Sunday Herald: three cheers for the ever-innovative Dumfries and Galloway…)

If you’d like to know more, ring 01387 253383 or email the virtual writer in residence.