Solace and Solidarity: A trauma-informed writing workshop
I hosted my first in-person trauma-informed writing workshop on January 30 in partnership with the national shutdown. It was scary and intimidating, I probably messed up more than I realized. But I also did some good, and in this darkest of winters I am holding on to the positive feedback.
Optimism isn't blind, it's the ability to see the scary possibilities as well as the opportunities to move forward. I'm an optimist not because I bury my head and hope for the best or pretend the best is here, but because I am willing to keep trying and make a mess, keep trying different angles, keep trying with the long-eyed foresight of a better outcome.
And that not only takes resilience but a need to get creative with the ways we approach a task. This can be personal, work-related, community, or — yes — a pesky story that just isn't coming together (have I mentioned I'm working on a novel?).
I designed this workshop to remind participants of their skills while honoring both their anxieties and their room to blossom. Here are the prompts I gave to the seven writers who took a chance on a last-minute workshop held in a plant shop.
5 minutes - free write the situation as you see it
5 minutes - free write the situation as you feel it
5 minutes - poem “I love…”
5 minutes - skills you have
5 minutes - skills your direct community has - friends you already have = low social lift
5 minutes - brainstorming what skills you might need, collectively, for you to feel safe in any situation
3-5 minutes - how and where to acquire those skills yourself, in your friend group, or though new connections
5 minutes - letter to your neighbor about how you envision coming together utilizing your and their skills
5 minutes - poem: “I am…”
10 minutes - situation as you feel it now
One woman felt pushed out of her town after trying and failing to make connections and make friends, and was about to move to a bigger city where she has friends and community. She showed up feeling excited for the opportunity to feel loved and supported, but also nervous about feeling useless and helpless. I didn't know it at the time, but the prompts I came up with were just what she needed before packing her truck and heading west.
I was hiking this afternoon and started to feel overwhelmed, so I sat on a log and went through these exercises myself and felt much better at the end. More grounded, capable, and able to get back to my writing with focus. The swirling thoughts had a place to live, back in my notebook where they belong, which gave my ideas around the flat plot points in my manuscript the opportunity to ruminate and solidify.
After going through these prompts, what changes can you feel? Drop me a line and let me know!
If you're looking for one-on-one coaching or are interested in my upcoming (Learning to) Love Language webinar, click on the links or the button below.
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