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.

The title of this post harks back to when I used to teach baby yoga classes in my community. Every group would finish with a rendition of this rhyme, whilst everyone flew their babies high above them, amidst lots of laughter. Our in-person writing circle could no longer continue, due to constraints at finding a suitable venue for us to gather, and that would allow us to continue for free. After much deliberation, I moved the group online in March 2020, and so far, it has been a great decision. For me, there's less rushing around after finishing work and trying to arrive on time and create a welcoming space. Now, I feel relaxed, refreshed and can even be wearing my PJ's. But what's so wonderful, is that women are more open and expressive in the sharing of their writing. Perhaps the safety and comfort of their own surroundings encourages them to be a little bolder? Who knows, but I do know that it has made the experience richer. As always, check out the even...

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.

Pop the date in your diaries - our next writing circle takes place at our usual meeting place: John Lewis Cafe - see events page for more details

After an absence of several months, the women's writing group returns on Thursday 06 June at 7pm. More details on the events page [Image: Incidental Comics ]

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

Today was the monthly women's writing group and the theme was Reflection. As in previous sessions, the interpretation of the theme from writing prompts was very varied and the writing that was produced was wonderful. To add a little variety, I introduced a video towards the end of the session to invite a different response and to also show that we can take inspiration from just about everything around us. Whilst I'd love to share what was produced, I can't due to confidentiality of the group, but suffice it to say the work shared will have a resonance for a while to come. In keeping with the theme of reflection, the group were invited to pause at the end of each writing exercise and take a few mindful breaths. Then, after reading through what had been written, they then wrote a reflection sentence based on one of the following prompts: "Reading this I notice _____ " "Reading this I am surprised by ____ " Interestingly, further jump off po...

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.