Posts Tagged "Sleep is for the Weak"

The Writing Workshop Returns

Posted by Josie on Jun 6, 2011 in Writing, Writing Prompts, Writing Workshop | 23 comments

So, I had a good loooong break. I fell apart, I put myself together again, I fell apart some more (apply, rinse, repeat) and somewhere along the line I seem to have managed to reassemble myself into a vaguely functioning human being again, at least for the time being, anyway.

It’s time to pick up some old threads, and some new ones too, and get going again.

And you know what that means? Yep, the Writing Workshop is BACK. Thank you for being so patient. I doubt we’ll have loads taking part any more, but I kind of like that, actually. And for those of you that said how much you missed it and encouraged me to come back to it when I was ready, thank you.

I’m going to go back to posting writing/blogging prompts every fortnight on a Monday. It will vary each week – sometimes I might just give you one theme, or question to get you thinking, other weeks we might do something slightly different, not sure yet.

Writing Workshop: I Believe

Posted by Josie on Feb 24, 2011 in Creative Writing, Me, Photography, Writing, Writing Workshop | 20 comments

Now it’s your turn. What beliefs have you been writing about this week?

Leave your name and the URL to your post in the Linky below (the URL should be to your post not just to your blog) If you have the time it would be great if you could try and show your support to other participants by reading and commenting on at least two other entries.

If you haven’t had chance to respond yet, then you’ve got another whole week to take part and enter your link so there’s plenty of time. Don’t forget that anyone can take part! Our next workshop will be in two week’s time, so I hope to see you back soon.

Writing Workshop Prompts: I believe

Posted by Josie on Feb 21, 2011 in Writing, Writing Prompts, Writing Workshop | 2 comments

Hello from me. It seems to be Monday again, fancy that.

Right then. I am a big fan of separating out the idea of ‘religion’ from ‘belief’. All of us, no matter how religious we profess to be, live our lives according to our own set of personal beliefs, be they within a moral framework, or some kind of spiritual one, or even beliefs based on scientific reasoning.

This week I want to learn about YOUR beliefs, and how they affect your life. This is not about preaching, though, this is about sharing. Your blog, your space, your opinion – remember, when reading and commenting, that you don’t have to agree with someone in order to still be constructive and supportive. Judgement-free zone, okay? Just expression.

Here’s some prompts to get you thinking:

1. Tell me about a time where your beliefs affected a decision.

2. How have your belief systems changed through your lifetime? How do they compare to when you were a child? What new beliefs have you discovered? What old ones have you let go of, and why?

3. Write a simple statement laying out the beliefs you hold to be important, your own personal creed.

4. How do your beliefs compare to other significant people in your life? Have they ever caused conflict, or brought unity? What affect do they have on your relationship?

5. Beliefs don’t have to be limited to just a life-view. Pick something more specific. Write about your beliefs on parenting, or writing, or art, or nature, or cooking, or something else! (However, anyone writing another ‘beliefs about blogging’ post will get a sharp kick to the ankles… )

For any newcomers to our Workshop, here’s how it works: each workshop I’ll give you a bunch of writing/blogging prompts, something to get you thinking. How you respond to them is entirely up to – there are absolutely no rules and it is open to anyone who’d like to take part. The aim is to provide you with a touch of inspiration and an opportunity for expression, to help you make some connections you might otherwise not have discovered and create something unique and personal. You can write about real-life experiences or try your hand at some fiction, express yourself through stream-of-concious writing, or have a go at at writing in some form of poetry. Be creative, be brave, be honest. Those are the only provisos.

And remember! We’re not looking for perfection here! Just have a go! The best way to get better at writing is PRACTISE. All the best writers aren’t afraid to write badly. So turn your inner-critic off for a while and just see what words come out.

Now here’s what you have to do. Decide how you’d like to respond, write your post and publish it on your blog between now and THURSDAY. On Thursday come back and use the widget that will be up to paste in the URL of your post to share. Then take some time to read some of the other entries and leave some comment love! We’re not here to critique – just to have fun and support each other in our writing experiments. So be kind please. Anyone who would like to submit something via email, or even anonymously will be more than welcome to do so. I’ll post them on the site here and include the link in Thursday’s round-up.

Enjoy x

Workshop Badge Code:

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Writing Workshop: Pull and Stretch

Posted by Josie on Jan 27, 2011 in Creative Writing, Parenting, Writing, Writing Workshop | 13 comments

Bloggers! Before I introduce the workshop today, I wanted to use this opportunity  to announce the exciting writers’ news I promised on Monday. It is an absolute pleasure to reveal details of Save The Children’s very first blogging conference on February 26th – a unique opportunity for people who, like me, love writing. Participation is open to bloggers from all walks of life with workshop sessions running all day. I will be there speaking at one of them, and, most excitingly, best-selling author Melvin Burgess will be presenting our key-note session.

Even better, Melvin will be running a special master-class with eight lucky bloggers, giving you an exclusive chance to learn some writing tips from one of the UK’s top authors.

To find out how to register your interest, and how to apply to win a place at Melvin’s master class, just click through here to find out more. Places at the conference are limited so act fast! I really hope to see lots of you there.

Now, time for our workshop… this week we’ve been going on a word hunt, using the words we see around us to inspire our writing.

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I can never quite get my head round the concept of the human heart. Sure, I get the biology bit, gleefully dissecting a pig’s heart at school to look in fascination at the muscular walls, arteries and ventricles, my hand against my chest to feel it thump, thumping away, something it has done, without pause, since not long after I was conceived.

What I don’t get is how there is obviously more to it than just gristle and blood. It seems to feel, this heart of ours, to have some kind of tie to our emotional self. I guess we don’t really know exactly how it came to be associated with love, but anyone that loves, or has loved, will know well that feeling, that swell, that tight pressure that we feel there, when love brings us joy, or brings us pain. There’s even a recognised medical condition called ‘broken heart syndrome’, where extreme grief and stress has been seen to lead to an actual, physical weakening of the heart muscle. Love really can HURT.

I have had a strange visual image of love lately, that of long lengths of elastic with tight clamps on each end, that join us, heart to heart, to those we care about. Sometimes the intensity of that love means that the elastic can never be short enough, pulling us closer and closer until we think we might die if we are not together. Other times it is long, stretchy, allowing us weeks or even years of separate exploration before it’s time to pull together again, yet still holding strong, still maintaining a connection. Other times what felt like the strongest elastic in the world, gradually frays and pulls until it disintegrates and we have to let somebody go. And sometimes, the worst times, it is wrenched from us, leaving a hole so deep it feels like it will bleed forever.

When Kai was born, he clamped down on my heart with a grip that would not let go, that will never let go. There was a fusing. It wasn’t instantaneous, and the process carried with it its own pain and adjustment as I learnt to get used to my new tether, and one belonging to a fiercely needy little boy that sometimes seemed to need more love that I had to give.  To start with our ‘elastic’ was short, barely allowing for movement from arms or breast. Take Kai away from me, or me away from Kai, and quickly that stretch between us would start to hurt. I would feel it in my heart, that ache, that feeling of not-rightness, and Kai would scream and wail. It was physical, and it was exhausting, and it was overwhelming, but it would not be denied.

I think my entire journey as a parent since, and Kai’s journey from babyhood to toddlerhood, as been a process of pull and stretch. Little by little, I have had to learn how to encourage Kai to pull away a little, to stretch that bond. In fact, that’s something we’ve both had to learn, as I have had to learn to let go, too. At times we’ve pulled too hard and sprang back together painfully, but gradually, we’ve learnt to move further apart while still staying connected. Never before have we had to do so as much as we have had to in the last few months. I have had to learn to let him go, for my own sanity, and to encourage his independence, and to facilitate his relationship with his Dad, which is so important to me for Kai’s sake. And Kai has had to learn to rely on his other connections, his other heart-bonds, and to develop the confidence to stand alone sometimes. The separation of our family, the start of nursery for Kai, work trips away, have all meant a great deal of stretching, and it has been painful sometimes, infinitely so.

But the pride I felt yesterday morning, as I watched my beautiful, sensitive, needy boy, bravely walk into his nursery class, with bottom-lip trembling and eyes wet, his favourite toy clutched very firmly as he let go of me without a fight for the first time and wave goodbye… it made my heart ache in the good way, the way that makes the painful bits worth it one hundred times over. I felt that pull and stretch again, but it didn’t hurt, it just reminded me he was there, and made me so thankful that I got to be the one that loved him and watch him grow.

Love DOES hurt. But, God, is it worth it.

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Now it’s your turn. Have you spotted a good word or phrase this week?

Leave your name and the URL to your post in the MckLinky below (the URL should be to your post not just to your blog) If you have the time it would be great if you could try and show your support to other participants by reading and commenting on at least two other entries.

If you haven’t had chance to respond yet, then you’ve got another whole week to take part and enter your link so there’s plenty of time. Don’t forget that anyone can take part! Our next workshop will be in two week’s time, so I hope to see you back soon.