London & Surrey Literary Salon

The Salon Writer’s Co-Working Sessions are a two-hour, writer-focused space designed to help you show up for your writing, make progress, and feel connected to a community of fellow wordsmiths. These sessions are for anyone who writes: novelists, poets, essayists, short story writers, memoirists, playwrights, and experimental writers alike. No matter your level of experience or stage of your project, this is a space to nurture your creative routine, free from judgment and distractions.

What to Expect

• 15-minute Check-in & Prompt: We begin with a brief grounding exercise, discussion, or writing prompt to set intentions and focus your energy.
• 90 Minutes of Focused Writing: Work on your current project—fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or any literary experiment. We use the Pomodoro technique with short breaks to stay refreshed and motivated. Camera on or off—whatever supports your flow.
• 15-minute Sharing & Reflection: Close the session by sharing progress, insights, or challenges. Build accountability and connect with a community of fellow writers.

(Please note that because of the focused nature of this group and to avoid creating any unnecessary distractions for those working, no one will be admitted after the first 15 minutes of the session.)

The sessions are completely free and open to all writers. The aim is simple: to create a welcoming, accessible environment where writers can focus, create, and connect. Bring your current project, bring your curiosity, bring your coffee or whatever helps you write. Walk away feeling energised, supported, and ready to return to your work with renewed clarity and confidence.

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### About Your Facilitator

I am a Professor of English Literature at the University of Surrey, where I run the MA English Literature and MA Creative Writing programmes. My work combines teaching, research, and publishing on literature, creativity, and contemplative practices. I am also a qualified Psychosynthesis Coach and Clinical Hypnotherapist, as well as a certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher (MBSR/MBCT) and Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-200). This integrated background allows me to support writers in both the craft of writing and the inner processes that sustain creativity. Over the years, I’ve worked with writers at all stages—helping them find clarity, confidence, and depth in their work. These co-working sessions extend that ethos into a welcoming, practical, and inspiring space for writers to focus, create, and connect.

What happens when two forces can’t easily coexist? When attraction and resistance live in the same room? When a character, an idea, or even a place contains a tension that refuses to resolve?

This free 90-minute creative writing workshop explores the creative energy of rivalry. Inspired by the beloved Heated Rivalry books and TV series—but open to everyone even if you haven’t read or watched Heated Rivalry!—this session offers a lively, low-pressure space to experiment with tension, friction, and charged relationships in storytelling.

Through a series of guided prompts and creative exercises, we’ll look at how rivalry (between characters, desires, loyalties, identities, or hidden motivations) can generate real momentum in any project. After all, rivalry creates heat, and heat creates movement!
This session is free and open to all writers at all levels.

You might particularly want to come to this session if you:

• Are in the middle of a writing project and want to deepen rivalries, tensions, or secret dynamics between characters.
• Are starting something new and want to experiment with rivalry as a central creative engine.
• Are curious about how tension works in storytelling across genres.
• Or simply want a fun, relaxed writing space where you can explore ideas alongside other writers.

The emphasis is on curiosity, experimentation, and creative energy rather than critique or perfection! There will be short writing bursts, playful prompts, mindfulness practices, and opportunities to explore different types of rivalry, from open antagonism to subtle emotional friction.

Sharing is welcome but never required; you are free to write, explore, and keep your work entirely private if you prefer.
And no preparation is required—just come ready to write!

About your Facilitators
Dr Sharlene Teo is a novelist and Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Surrey. Her debut novel Ponti was shortlisted for several major literary awards. Her work explores memory, identity, and the emotional tensions that shape relationships, and she has taught creative writing in both university and community settings.
Professor Allan Johnson is programme leader for the MA in Creative Writing at the University of Surrey. A scholar of modernist literature and psychospiritual approaches to creativity, his work explores the relationship between creative practice, inner development, and the deeper patterns that shape storytelling. Alongside his academic research, he runs workshops and communities focused on creativity as a form of personal and artistic growth.

The Salon Writer’s Co-Working Sessions are a two-hour, writer-focused space designed to help you show up for your writing, make progress, and feel connected to a community of fellow wordsmiths. These sessions are for anyone who writes: novelists, poets, essayists, short story writers, memoirists, playwrights, and experimental writers alike. No matter your level of experience or stage of your project, this is a space to nurture your creative routine, free from judgment and distractions.

What to Expect

• 15-minute Check-in & Prompt: We begin with a brief grounding exercise, discussion, or writing prompt to set intentions and focus your energy.
• 90 Minutes of Focused Writing: Work on your current project—fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or any literary experiment. We use the Pomodoro technique with short breaks to stay refreshed and motivated. Camera on or off—whatever supports your flow.
• 15-minute Sharing & Reflection: Close the session by sharing progress, insights, or challenges. Build accountability and connect with a community of fellow writers.

(Please note that because of the focused nature of this group and to avoid creating any unnecessary distractions for those working, no one will be admitted after the first 15 minutes of the session.)

The sessions are completely free and open to all writers. The aim is simple: to create a welcoming, accessible environment where writers can focus, create, and connect. Bring your current project, bring your curiosity, bring your coffee or whatever helps you write. Walk away feeling energised, supported, and ready to return to your work with renewed clarity and confidence.

***

### About Your Facilitator

I am a Professor of English Literature at the University of Surrey, where I run the MA English Literature and MA Creative Writing programmes. My work combines teaching, research, and publishing on literature, creativity, and contemplative practices. I am also a qualified Psychosynthesis Coach and Clinical Hypnotherapist, as well as a certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher (MBSR/MBCT) and Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-200). This integrated background allows me to support writers in both the craft of writing and the inner processes that sustain creativity. Over the years, I’ve worked with writers at all stages—helping them find clarity, confidence, and depth in their work. These co-working sessions extend that ethos into a welcoming, practical, and inspiring space for writers to focus, create, and connect.

The Salon Writer’s Co-Working Sessions are a two-hour, writer-focused space designed to help you show up for your writing, make progress, and feel connected to a community of fellow wordsmiths. These sessions are for anyone who writes: novelists, poets, essayists, short story writers, memoirists, playwrights, and experimental writers alike. No matter your level of experience or stage of your project, this is a space to nurture your creative routine, free from judgment and distractions.

What to Expect

• 15-minute Check-in & Prompt: We begin with a brief grounding exercise, discussion, or writing prompt to set intentions and focus your energy.
• 90 Minutes of Focused Writing: Work on your current project—fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or any literary experiment. We use the Pomodoro technique with short breaks to stay refreshed and motivated. Camera on or off—whatever supports your flow.
• 15-minute Sharing & Reflection: Close the session by sharing progress, insights, or challenges. Build accountability and connect with a community of fellow writers.

(Please note that because of the focused nature of this group and to avoid creating any unnecessary distractions for those working, no one will be admitted after the first 15 minutes of the session.)

The sessions are completely free and open to all writers. The aim is simple: to create a welcoming, accessible environment where writers can focus, create, and connect. Bring your current project, bring your curiosity, bring your coffee or whatever helps you write. Walk away feeling energised, supported, and ready to return to your work with renewed clarity and confidence.

***

### About Your Facilitator

I am a Professor of English Literature at the University of Surrey, where I run the MA English Literature and MA Creative Writing programmes. My work combines teaching, research, and publishing on literature, creativity, and contemplative practices. I am also a qualified Psychosynthesis Coach and Clinical Hypnotherapist, as well as a certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher (MBSR/MBCT) and Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-200). This integrated background allows me to support writers in both the craft of writing and the inner processes that sustain creativity. Over the years, I’ve worked with writers at all stages—helping them find clarity, confidence, and depth in their work. These co-working sessions extend that ethos into a welcoming, practical, and inspiring space for writers to focus, create, and connect.