ABOUT THIS CIRCLE

The Women's Journal Writing Circle is a new writing group for women who want to honor their lives and reconnect with their inner landscapes by playing with words in a flexible, nurturing, non-academic way. 

Different from writing circles that offer constructive criticism for people who intend to publish their writing, this group shares a collective interest in writing as a transformative, meditative practice. We share an interest in the power of independent, personal writing to call us back to our natural imaginations, intuitions, and organic wisdom. Gatherings offer a fun, relaxing, contemplative, democratic space where we are really, really heard and encouraged to give expression to our own truths...and connect with other amazing women!

Our goal is to create spaces that offer a combination of community support and personal writing time where we give ourselves permission to detach from the urge to polish, hone and perfect. We allow ourselves to write from where we are and sit with the very uncertain chaos of creativity. We emphasize the felt experience and practice of writing. As we go deeper and get truer with our words, we take ourselves and the craft of writing back home.

No writing experience is ever required, only a desire to listen to yourself, free your inhibitions and let yourself write. Open to ALL women 18 and up.

WHAT TO EXPECT AT GATHERINGs...

At each circle gathering, members will introduce themselves and share brief thoughts / reflections. Next, we will move into a short centering silence to become centered for the evening. We will typically start with a writing prompt for a short writing warmup. The goal is to get our minds ready to trust the writing process. This is followed by a short meditation / quiet time followed by 20 to 30 minutes of independent writing time.

After the freewriting time ends, our circle will reopen for reflections. When we return from being alone with our writing, there is an inevitable opening in the room. THIS is the heart of the gathering. THIS is when we go from writers in solitude to a community of women writers. Once we have written, we feel able to listen and connect more deeply, with ourselves and others. Some may choose to read from their journals at this time (this is a choice, and will never be required), while others may reflect aloud on insights or challenges that came up while writing. Bringing awareness to our experience of the writing process itself can help us to deepen the practice.

Our group is diverse. We range in age, profession and interests. Some of us have been avid journalers, while some of us are first timers . Some women come with years of professional writing experience. This might mean words come faster to them. It could mean they have writing traumas. Some women come with nothing but a pen and a sheet of paper. Both are welcome here, and both can flourish here. These gatherings exist to create a combination of encouragement, community support and personal space where we give ourselves permission to play with new perceptions of writing, de-emphasizing the honing and perfecting of sentences.

PLEASE review the group philosophies and feedback practices. This is located under pages and is called "Guidelines".
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REMEMBER:

- Please bring your journal and your favorite pen. 

WRITING CIRCLE PHILOSOPHY:

Everyone has a strong, beautiful, unique and necessary voice. We value personal, non-academic writing because it slows us down so that we witness our lives. This group offers a space (time and place) that will allow us to remember the the pure joy of writing for yourself and writing for your own insights.

Writing can be a meditative, transformative process. Writing can be a way of seeing and being, a way of pausing to turn inward. Writing can offer the space to acknowledge personal truths and personal knowing. Writing for ourselves and to ourselves is one of the ways we can bring emotional and physical healing to our own lives and also to community life.