Women Weaving Words

I've just finished putting together the prompts for Thursday's writing circle. As always, there's so many that I've had to leave to one side as time will be pressing us once again. Remember, the groups is free to attend, however you are asked to make a small purchase of a beverage from the cafe before joining us. We meet at 7pm - first write is at 7.15pm.

Women Weaving Words will be a year old on 12 June! There have been such lovely opportunities to meet and share with so many women this past year, across a table writing. It's hoped you will be able to join us for our celebration write on Sunday 10 June - details can be found on the events page . The topics that have been used as inspiration have been varied and always produce a fresh perspective when shared in a group.

Interested in writing a screenplay? St Albans Film Festival has some workshops that might just tick the box for you. The workshops take place on Saturday 30 June as follows: 11.30 The Art of Screenplays by Robin Mukherjee 14.30 Running a Creative Company in the Digital Age by Lucy Baxter 16.00 The Art of Script Editing by Karol Griffiths Each workshop also includes a book (worth approx £16.99)

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

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.