Women Weaving Words

Following a successful workshop in nature last September, I had planned a follow-up. However, given the current situation, I was wondering if it would work online, and do you know what? It most certainly can. So, Sunday 12 April, I will be hosting a 'Virtual' Women in Nature session. We will begin with a check-in at 8am (I know it seems early, but it's so much nicer when everywhere's so quiet) - there will be a meditation and some reflective writing prompts. I will then send you off into your nearby faraway: this could be in your home, looking out of a window, in your garden, street or nearby park. You will be armed with some prompts to take with you. We will then rejoin as a group online at 11am, for more writing, group reflection, then finish at 12pm. If you want to know more, please do get in touch.

Thursday evening we shared the space in John Lewis cafe with a much larger group of women who were knitting. Places for women to gather with ease is, ironically, not easy to come by. Hearing the other group occasionally in the background resonated with this month's theme: Free your Voice For several years I've been dipping in and out of researching into what happens to women's voices as they age. I've even written about it. Then there's the other difficult we experience - not being able to truthfully express our needs. The question, "what do you want?" can actually be quite off-putting and harsh. Want is too direct, whereas need is softer, more approachable. We explored a variety of writing prompts on somewhat tender themes at times, allowed light to be cast on areas that have perhaps been ignored or hidden for some time. Whilst the content was kept private, the support and connection within the group ensured a sense of safety for this explorat...

Our women's writing group will next meet on Sunday 30 September at 10.30am - see the Events page for more details.

01 April saw the start of NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month) - to find out more, click the image above to be taken to the main site. It's great to see the enthusiasm on social feeds of others sharing their daily writes - a poem a day for thirty days. Today is day 5 and I've still managed to keep the momentum. The enthusiasm will be taken through to the next women's writing circle on Thursday 12 April - see the Events page for more details.

This Thursday (15 February), we will be using the energy from the previous day with our writing theme being: love Join us! We will be meeting as usual in John Lewis Watford from 19.00 to 20.30 - it is free to attend but you are asked to make the purchase of refreshments from the cafe. Women Weaving Words welcomes all women who wish to put pen (or pencil) to paper. Whether experienced or beginner, our group visits a variety of prompts in each session which can help you to build your writing confidence and also add fuel and inspiration to your own writing projects. [Image: Pixabay]

Yesterday (10 January) was the first writing group of 2018 and it was such an enriching experience, gathering around several tables in John Lewis and writing. We were inspired by poetry from Louise Erdrich, Ellen Bass and @nakedwriting and the insights and discussions that followed each piece were wonderful. The focus was on reflecting on 2017 and our aspirations into 2018. Writing really does allow a deeper sense of reflection, which is why I feel it is an important approach to meditation. It simply invites you to start where you are, encapsulating that all important meditation instruction 'beginners mind'. We can only write in the present moment, which is where we find ourselves with our breath. I can't think of a more perfect way to have begun the year. [Image: Pixabay.com]

You may like to use this 'in-between' time of Christmas and the New Year to tackle one (or all) of the following prompts. Set your timer for 10 minutes and...go! What matters to you most at this time of your life? With the season in mind, what traditions are meaningful to you? Or, what seasonal / spiritual traditions do you need to let go of? Who or what has had the greatest impact on you this year? Have fun and I look forward to seeing you across the page or table in 2018. Image: pixabay.com

This week saw the six month anniversary of the women's writing group, having started our journey in June. Small steps, but it has been wonderful each and every time I meet women across the page to hear their words. Here's to the next six months!

Another successful writing circle this morning (on St Andews Day). The theme was 'objects' which took us in a variety of directions. One attendee bought a poem to share, which we used for some inspirational writing at the end of the morning. The poem can be viewed on the link below: Miracle on St David's Day - Gillian Clarke

On Saturday 18 November I spent the day at Canterbury Yoga with a group of 19 wonderful women. The workshop had been arranged back in February, following on the heels of a successful workshop in Stamford in January, so it had felt like a long wait until the day finally arrived! The day was planned to give all present, irrespective of experience in yoga, meditation or writing, an opportunity to dive deeper and also to leave feeling deeply nourished and relaxed. I am delighted to say that the feedback has been overwhelming, and all who joined me reported many benefits (which can be seen in some of the feedback below). If you would like me to bring a Women's Stories workshop to your area, please do get in touch .

I am currently enjoying Jackee Holder's Paper Therapy course and have to say, it is jam-packed with so much, not only on the benefits of writing (which we all know is fantastic right?) but so many writing prompts and directions in which to take your journal writing. In addition, Jackee is regularly feeding back on all that is contributed online. If you often find your enthusiasm fades with online courses, or you feel that you have to contribute something, have no fears. There's absolutely no pressure to contribute online, you can work privately at your own pace and the lessons on the platform are available for 6 months following the end of the course. To find out more on Jackee's offerings, please visit her website here She has an absolute wealth of knowledge that she so generously shares.

October's writing theme is Autumn. At first glance it would probably conjure up typical images of burnt oranges, deep reds and falling leaves. Don't be fooled though. Autumn gives us a wide spectrum from which to draw writing inspiration - some very unexpected. To find out more why not come and join us? We are meeting on Monday 09 October from 09.30 to 12.30 at Watford Quakers Meeting House, Church Road, Watford WD17 4QB. It's a very relaxed setting and welcomes new and experienced writers alike. Refreshments are provided and there's a fee of £5.00 payable on arrival (cash please - thank you). We look to meet on the second Monday of each month (diary permitting). Hope to see you soon.

On my recent family holiday to Devon, I had the pleasure of revisiting Plym Wood, which captured my heart a couple of years ago. It is a magical woodland (to me anyway) and offers cycle pathways, many, many walks, as well as areas to simply sit to meditate and of course write! Here I am really writing wild - in fact the writing created at the time this photo was taken has proven to be very helpful for a personal writing project I'm currently engaged in. Of course, we don't need to go great distances to enjoy the elements of nature to nourish and inspire us. We can of course make a pilgrimage to our local park area - go at different times of the day to avoid the 'busy' periods, unless of course you need support with characterisation, in which case, you will want the busy-ness it offers! Writing prompts are all around us and we can take our cue from just about anything our world has to offer.

Monday's women's writing group was themed on 'Dreams, Hopes, Visions'. It bought together a wonderful group of women, who each wrote so differently, but with strong themes coming through all the prompts that we used. We can use the prompts in any way we see that serves us in the moment. Sometimes writing from the personal and at others it may be fiction or poetry that emerges. Either way, it produces a rich blend that has once again left a resonance, an echo if you will, of words and sentences that were shared. The theme has not yet been set for our next group meeting on Monday 21 August , but whatever is decided upon, I'm sure that again it will provide depth and insights for all who attend. You are welcome to join us. We meet at Watford Quakers Meeting House, 150 Church Road, Watford WD17 4QB from 09.30 to 12.30. There is a fee of £5.00 which is payable upon arrival.

I recently attended Julia McCutchen's 'Conscious Writing' retreat in Glastonbury. I was filled with trepidation as it was taking place on the same weekend as Glastonbury Festival. Despite some hiccups at Castle Cary station, I arrived full of enthusiasm for a weekend of writing and anything more would be a bonus. It was an incredible weekend as Julia helped us navigate our way through the seven core principles of conscious writing, which are: Presence Alignment Authenticity Balance Simplicity Intuition Connection The weekend was a perfect blend of sessions and free time. It was also fantastic as I got to meet lots of wonderful women who I'm sure will become life-long friends too. In addition, I took part in my first open-mic evening!  If you've never attended a writing retreat I cannot recommend doing so enough. It really is an opportunity to delve more deeply into your writing process and gain results and insights along the way. For those in...

Our second women's writing group is nearly upon us. For this month the theme that has been suggested is: Dreams. However, I have taken it a little wider to allow us to really get to grips with some juicy writing prompts that I've put together. Remember: no prior experience necessary - all women welcome. [Image: Google]

We now have a dedicated Facebook page which can be accessed here: Women Weaving Words

I started following  @WomenWriters on Twitter recently, and have found them to offer some really inspiring posts. One such post I read this morning, which you may find encouraging to read. I think we can get overwhelmed with having to prove ourselves as writers. Before anything is published, we are a writer first and foremost. The most important aspect is the writing - publishing isn't for everyone, but it comes much further along the line. If writing for pleasure or with more serious aspirations, we need to start by believing in ourselves. One last thing : you don't need to have published work to be classified as a writer. Here's the link to the article: Seven ways to take yourself seriously as a writer

I don't know about you, but when I'm online, I often see snippets of things here and there, or an image may provoke a writing idea. I either have to copy / bookmark the page to come back to it, in order to save it before it's long gone in my browsing history. Recently I discovered Evernote - this is still in its trial phase with me, but is proving to be very useful, especially given that I can sync my devices. Therefore I can save items on my phone, and the same clips will appear on my desktop version. Great! I can jot down notes - they are saved instantly, so you don't even have to worry about having pressed a save button. In addition, I have the extension on Google Chrome which allows me to clip as well as do many other things with items I discover whilst online. As a writer, it can be an invaluable tool, and it also becomes a mobile journal as well. Irrespective the genre you write in, you can organise all your snippets into suitable files for ...

On Friday I attended WOW (Women of the World) Festival at London's Southbank. An annual event that hosts workshops and sessions on so many aspects of being a woman as well as the difficulties and prejudices we face. One of the sessions I attended: The Genius Gap - Women & Creativity , was very compelling and inspiring. Creativity is how we employ our imagination, make use of inner resources, bring together amazing projects through writing, song, design, dance, music, sewing. The list is endless. An issue that many of us face is finding the time, or having time amidst EVERYTHING else that we need to still take care of. As a result, we have to work so much harder to be noticed or even try to achieve a semblance of what our male counterparts appear to. Our social system is geared towards male creativity. It doesn't compromise for needing to finish earlier in order to complete the school run. Difficulty in seeing something through due to a child's illness. The list o...