IN a world today where everyone thinks they’re a writer – blogging, writing e-books and 140 character tweets every 10 minutes, two Bridport authors have joined forces to help separate the ‘wannabes’ from the real thing.

Internationally acclaimed Bridport-based authors Robert Twigger and Jason Webster are collaborating for an exciting two-day workshop at the Chapel-in-the-Garden, Bridport on July 23 and 24.

The course is designed to help writers originate better and more creative ideas for their work.

Dubbed Beginner’s Mind, the Bridport School of Writing course will draw on the authors’ years of experience to allow students to tap into their deepest creativity and improve the quality of their writing.

Robert, winner of the Somerset Maughan and William Hill Sports Book of the Year awards, said: “The idea of Beginner’s Mind comes from Zen Buddhism,

“I spent several years in Japan learning martial arts and one of the most important lessons was how to allow yourself to be open to the teaching, to remove the barriers towards progressing and moving forwards.”

The method clearly worked – Robert not only became a black belt in Aikido within a year, but applied the technique to his writing and went on to become a best-selling author.

Robert said: “It’s about connecting with a playfulness inside you, a childish sense of joy, where making mistakes doesn’t matter and you can have lots of fun.

“With that kind of freedom you can be really creative and have all kinds of ideas that might ordinarily be closed off.”

Robert is teaching the course alongside Jason Webster, acclaimed author of multiple best-selling books of history, travel and crime fiction.

Robert said: “We realised for creative writing, whether fiction or non-fiction, many people are dogged by the feeling ‘it’s not good enough’ or ‘I’m not good enough’.

“These totally unhelpful ideas are hard to get rid of, and they certainly inhibit the flow of ideas that many of our techniques aim to liberate.

“Beginner’s Mind is a way round this feeling of not being good enough.”

Robert and Jason believe by going back to basics, writers on the course can approach everything with ‘a fresh mind, uncluttered by the accumulation of self-regard that can happen as you get older and more experienced in the ways of the world’.

* Beginners Mind at Bridport School of Writing, takes place on July 23 and 24 at the Chapel-in-the-Garden, Bridport. For more information on joining, visit bridportwriting.co.uk