What is Creative Writing for Wellbeing?
Creative Writing for Wellbeing is writing in a way that isn’t focused on genre, literary style, or publication. It involves writing for short periods of time in response to a prompt, and sharing your writing with others only if you want to.
What are the benefits of Creative Writing for Wellbeing?
Amongst other things, Creative Writing for Wellbeing can help you reflect on all aspects of your life, celebrate, imagine, and grieve, find your writer’s voice, and develop ideas for fiction, poetry and memoir. It can also bring about personal insight and change and build your confidence.
What are the benefits of Creative Writing for Wellbeing in a group?
When you write in a safely-held group, trust grows quickly and this allows you to take creative and emotional risks in your writing. There’s never any obligation to share your writing, but if you do so your work is held sensitively and appreciatively by the other members of the group, and myself. Working in a group means you also hear how other people respond to the same prompt, and opens up dialogue about the content and process of your writing and that of others.
I haven’t done any Creative Writing since I was at school. Is this a problem?
Not at all. My courses and workshops are suitable for anyone over the age of 18, regardless of experience. All that’s required is a willingness to engage with the creative process and the group.
English is not my home or first language. Is this a problem?
No, as long as you have a level of fluency in reading, writing, speaking and listening that enables you to take part comfortably in the sessions. You always have the option to write and share your work in a language other than English, and then to share your reflections on your writing with the group in English.
Does completing a booking form guarantee a place on the course?
No. Completing the form is an initial point of contact. I will then get in touch with you to discuss next steps.
Do you offer concessionary rate places?
Yes, there are two concessionary rate places on each course and workshop. Contact me to find out more.
What are the minimum and maximum group sizes for your courses and workshops?
Minimum: 4, Maximum: 10. (Maximum 6 for My Dreaming Self courses)
What’s your theoretical approach to running Expressive Creative Writing workshops?
I don’t believe in any one idea of what makes ‘a good writer’. Crafting words into forms like haikus, villanelles and flash fiction can create effective results, while the simplest recount of an event or moment can also pack a mighty punch. And there’s a lot to be said for writing that’s messy, spontaneous, fragmented and ‘first draft’, for writing that’s never shared, and for writing that’s collaborative, or performed, or which fuses words with sound or images.
I’m interested in a holistic view of creative writing, meaning I see it as an activity that emerges from all that a person is – their mind, body, soul, memory and imagination. I believe the process of writing is as important as the final product on the page, if not more so. Similarly, reflecting on and discussing their creative process can be as enlightening for a writer as the writing process itself, revealing insights and new directions.
While not a trained counsellor or therapist, my writing and facilitation practice draws on the person-centred approach developed by Carl Rogers, who believed that people ‘grow’ best when provided with opportunities to be themselves, to be heard and to be accepted.
Do contact me if you have any other questions.