Women Weaving Words

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]

Our first writing group met on Monday 12 June. The theme for the morning, whilst not very imaginative, was Firsts / Beginnings. It proved to be an interesting topic for so many reasons, and when hearing of the many firsts of others attending, it really sparked many memories. In order to have beginnings, there's also endings, so this was the flip-side of the theme. Again, it proved to be very fruitful. The Watford Quaker Meeting House is the perfect venue, as we were in this delightful room (see image), which was extremely conducive to the writing process. Already looking forward to our next meeting on Monday 10 July. Keep in touch with other news via our Facebook page here

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

We are pleased to announce that a regular monthly writing group is soon to start. Meeting on the second Monday of each month (diary permitting): we shall gather at Watford Quakers Meeting House, Church Road, Watford. Starting at 09.30 and writing (on / off) until 12.30 A variety of themes and prompts will be offered in order to keep you inspired. All are welcome. Please check the events page for more information.

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