How To Write Better

FAQ - Why Do I Need A Weekly Live Writing Group?

• What is the purpose of the weekly live writing group?

To provide a regular time each week when you can commit to doing some writing just for you. In that time, you are guided to learn the art of using writing to complete the feedback loop that perception opens.

• How does writing help with trauma and stress?

Writing records confusing feelings, thoughts, and reactions, so that you can discover why things bother you and find a better way to respond. Emotions are the feedback. But it's only a feedback loop if you find a healthier response. Suppressed emotions, on the other hand, cause physical tension, stress, and diminished health.

• What issues does this group address?

The point of the group is to provide support for you to use writing as a way to complete the somatic feedback loop in a way that lifts you up, instead of tearing you down.

• How Does Internal Narrative Work?

People tend to unconsciously narrate experiences they are having in the world in the privacy of their own minds. That narrative is an accumulation of stories that attempt to make sense of life. Yet, for many, especially in recent times, such as during the isolation of lockdowns, the succession of fearful and difficult experiences has led to such an accumulation of negative experiences that it has rewired their thinking in negative ways.

• What Can Learning To Write To Change The Narrative Do For Me?

People need extra skill to navigate the turmoil of recent events which keep changing the fundamental beliefs they grew up with as self-evident and seem to make life seem more precarious and the world a more dangerous place to be than in any other time in human history.

A concrete example of this is extreme intimate grief, such as that which follows the death of a child (something no parent ever wants to experience). It can negatively rewire your brain over time to think according to an increasingly negative internal narrative that sets you up to expect the worst. You can change this kind of self-talk more easily in writing than any other way.

• What is a somatic feedback loop?

A somatic feedback loop is completed when you respond to signals from your body.

A good example of a functional somatic feedback loop is this: if you put your hand over a hot flame, your nervous system acts immediately to protect you from burning your hand. In the same way, your nervous system responds immediately to human interactions which may be disturbing by giving you a sensation such as: feeling like you've been punched in the gut, or feeling as if your heart dropped, or as if something was suddenly tightening around your throat. If you do not do something to alleviate those feelings, they remain in your nervous system as tension that impedes health, mental clarity and wellbeing.

Most people ignore the initial information the body provides because they have been programmed to avoid rocking the boat. This means that most people shove their immediate reactions under to avoid controversy or confrontation or even displeasing people they have to live or work with. It's a somatic broadcast of important information about what's going on that doesn't become a completed feedback loop until you pay attention to what you're feeling and try to find a healthy response (which is the opposite of ignoring it).

Here's another example. Let's say your supervisor says something completely inappropriate. To ignore it for the sake of keeping the peace is fine, but if you go home and it bothers you still, writing about it gives you two things: an opportunity to vent in a way that hurts no one, AND a chance to brainstorm how to respond in a way that allows you to feel better, such as deciding it's not worth your energy and deciding instead to focus on what you need to do for yourself at home and do that rather than give that person another moment's thought.

• What Can Be Accomplished By Writing About Difficult Situations?

Anything from negative experiences, heartache, mental overwhelm, physical tension, depression, lethargy, distrust, isolation, deeply personal grief and trauma can be processed by writing about it. It won't fix it. Yet, it's powerful because it's a way to go from confusion to clarity, from upset to serenity, if you are pro-active and learn to use it in that way.

• Who can benefit from this group?

Anyone feeling stuck in cycles of stress, negativity, or self-doubt who wants to reclaim vitality, creativity, and self-respect can learn to use writing as a way to complete the feedback loop of input from the nervous system. By acknowledging what's going on, and then using writing to come up with alternative responses, you can discover how to act instead of react. You can brainstorm how to feed your soul, satisfy your mind and ease your tension. It's a very practical skill, which, in and of itself is a creative process that gives you greater autonomy.

• What happens during the weekly sessions?

Each participant is given a chance to develop internal motivation and problem-solving skills by coming up with an intention that is shared out loud with the group. After a brief discussion of possibilities based on what comes up, the group writes in silence for an hour. This allows the innate wisdom of each person's subconscious to bubble up to the surface. At the end, we debrief with a short conversation about what works and what doesn't, giving each participant another chance to make decisions about how they want to live their lives going forward.

• How does this improve my health and wellbeing?

The act of writing stimulates parts of the brain that activate movement and memory, since the neurons are close to each other in the brain. By processing emotional baggage, you reduce physical and mental stress, which can alleviate back pain, neck tension, and immune system suppression, boosting vitality.

• Do I need writing experience to join?

No, the group is designed to help people realize that anyone can benefit from using writing to provide greater clarity and sense of personal confidence. The focus is on self-directed self-expression and healing, not writing expertise.

• Why Make A Commitment To Participate?

The group works because the harnesses the power of the age-old adage that wherever two or more are gathered with the same intention, consciousness is amplified. It works even better when people show up every week, because you get to know people better and we learn from each other. Plus, when you show up, it demonstrates that you are taking your own needs seriously and that you have made a commitment to your own growth as a person and as a person who is part of a community with a positive impact.

• Why Is It Free?

It's a peer group, not a class. The host is there to hold a safe space for mutual respect and to help people understand how to become self-responsible rather than offering advice or people-pleasing. The basics of group interactions are the same as in any twelve-step group that similarly provides a space for self-reflection and sharing of mutual experiences in service of self-growth and wellbeing. Intrinsic accountability is better than extrinsic accountability. When you attend voluntarily, you become more accountable to yourself. It's free because self-agency grows more easily when no money is changing hands, and because it's in helping each other that we are helped most of all.