29 Writing Prompts
in a downloadable PDF (all designed to help kickstart the creative process)
Hello and welcome! I am Mel Parks and I run creative writing workshops in Sussex, UK as well as online. I began this Substack, Awen, in 2022 as a gathering place for my thoughts about the writing process and to share some stories and creative inspiration along the way. Awen is free to read and share.
Dear all
I’ve done so many new and brave things in the last week, I don’t even know where to start with this newsletter!
My biggest achievement was hiring a car and driving my 16 year old to a campsite in Dorset (from Sussex) for the weekend. If I’m going a long way on my own, I usually get public transport. I love being taken somewhere, sitting back enjoying the journey, looking out of the window, thinking, reading a little maybe. Driving is scary. All that concentrating. All those fast cars on motorways! But the place we were going (famous for bouldering) wasn’t an easy place to get to on public transport so I braved a hire car. I’m proud of myself for doing this and I’m now thinking of getting a couple of driving lessons to improve my confidence in a couple of areas. I don’t want being scared of something to hold me back from the things I want to do.
And it meant I could swim in this beautiful tiny cove, which I loved:
Writing is also scary at times.
We face our words on the page.
We fight off our inner critics or work out ways to calm down that voice which says: You are not good enough. Who do you think you are to be writing this? Your writing is rubbish anyway.
We face the things we know need to be written but we don’t really want to go there.
We come up close with ALL of our emotions and ALL of our selves.
And then sharing that process makes us feel vulnerable. But when it goes well, supported, validated and reassured at the same time.
And when we’ve done it, it can feel brave, cathartic, contained, done. And that is such a good feeling.
This week, I’ve explored the idea of one-to-one support with a few people who want to write a book. I’ve been thinking about the type of support I can offer and what will help them with their goals. I’ve talked about fear as part of the journey.
Here are some thoughts I’ve had following those conversations:
There are three aspects to writing a book or longer project - all of which I can help with:
Mindset - creative blocks, fears, confidence and belief that you have a right to tell your story, to write the words that need to be written. I have a range of journalling and writing for wellbeing techniques that can help with mindset.
Practical skills - from my 27 years writing professionally and 20 years writing creatively, I can work with you on practical skills such as bringing your writing alive, character development, and story structure - in narrative non-fiction, memoir or fiction.
Magic - this part is about trusting the universe or the flow of the creative process. It is the awen. Your book or story is asking to be written and it is up to you to say yes to it wholeheartedly. While you are writing, if you trust the process, you will know what it needs to contain, which parts come next. My creative exercises, prompts and activities are all designed to access and harness the magic of creativity.
I recognise that writing a book is about more than getting the words on the page in a systematic way. It is a personal journey of transformation, it is the achievement of a long-held goal and it is a container for personal experiences.
I value the writer as a whole person with a messy process and an, at times, messy life. Writing a book doesn’t often happen in a linear way with a set word count for each day from the beginning of the book to the end.
Even if most of the work is done alone, there is still huge value in the support of a group at different stages of the writing journey and for different purposes (whether you enjoy writing together or want feedback on a work in progress).
I have decided that when working with someone on a one-to-one basis, this is how I would work:
All one-to-one agreements will be in 3 month seasons (Sept-Nov; Jan-Mar; May-July) to make it manageable for both of us.
We have a deep dive into your current work in progress or idea in development. I will read it beforehand and then we’ll get together (online or in person) for a 2 hour session of planning and setting goals.
I will do some work behind the scenes - looking at the structure of one or two published books of your choice that are in a similar category to the one you are writing. I will identify some techniques and practical skills and mindset exercises that could be helpful for you to work on. Then create essentially, a short programme of bespoke support that can be done in bite-sized chunks alongside the work of your book to help it along.
You get on with writing to agreed milestones. We will have 2 progress meetings with email support inbetween and agreed deadlines for feedback on extracts from the work in progress.
End of 3 month review. We’ll catch up to see how far you’ve come, what’s worked well and decide on next steps.
I’m currently working out a price for all of this. But if you’re interested in receiving an email about it before it goes on my website, do reply to this email to let me know.
Writing Prompts
Here is a whole PDF I’ve made of summer prompts as a gift for my Awen subscribers! There are 29 so you can do one each day for a lunar cycle if you wish. Begin on a new moon if you’d like to do this.
Otherwise, pick one at random to write whenever you get five minutes. They are all numbered so you can choose a number before you open the document.
Enjoy!!
Creative Writing Workshops with me (Mel Parks)
Haiku to Haibun: The Japanese Way of Nature Writing
A nature-based creative writing workshop at Sussex Prairie Garden (in-person) on 1 August 2024. 10-1.30pm.
Book a place by clicking this link.
Tuesday afternoons on Zoom (2-3pm UK time)
£8 per month or £80 per year with a paid Awen Substack subscription.
NEXT SESSION: New season begins on 10 September.
You can come to as many as you are able to.
If you are not able to subscribe (or don’t want to!), then please email me for alternative ways to join.
Becoming a Writer
Monthly Tuesday evenings in East Grinstead (7-9pm)
A monthly creative writing workshop for beginners. Plenty of fun writing prompts, games and activities to get your creative juices flowing.
The Writer’s Notebook
Thursday mornings in East Grinstead (10-12noon)
Series of five weeks beginning on 19 September (19 Sept; 26 Sept; 3 Oct; 10 Oct; 17 Oct)
If you attend my face-to-face groups regularly, you can also attend the Zoom group for no extra charge.
Until next time…
This newsletter was created by Mel Parks, a writer, researcher and workshop facilitator based in Sussex, UK. Mel runs writing workshops locally and on Zoom and researches creativity in midlife as well as her personal connection to nature. She has been widely published and is currently working on a series of moon and plant-inspired essays.
It is free to read and share, but if you value my work, please do stop by my virtual honesty box and leave a handful of loose change.
This newsletter may contain affiliate links.
Well done on the driving! Pat yourself on the back! Would be interested in your prices for one to one Mel 😊