Writing Workshop

Last weekend I participated in my first ever workshop, in my ongoing quest for self-improvement. :-) The workshop was called 'Simply Writing II: Completing it on the Page'. As the name implies, it is focused at helping you finish a piece of writing. The aim is to write and complete (the first draft of) a personal essay during the course of a weekend. Why a personal essay? Because it's short and manageable (and scalable!), and because it is based on personal experience, it makes it easier to know what to write about. Apart from that, I also learned more about writing technique itself, which helped me in understanding better what I'm doing when I'm writing. More importantly, it also helped me in letting go of the idea of writing 'perfectly', whatever that means. The main thing is to just keep writing without worrying about structure or finding le mot juste or whatever, until you actually start editing. The trainer was also very good in my opinion. She had a very bubbly personality who infected us with her enthusiasm (although I didn't really show), but at the same time, she also helped us in understanding the technical side of writing better.

Anyway, I don't want to talk too much about what I've learnt, but more about my feelings and impressions during the workshop (hardly surprising if you know me at all!). For me, it was an inspiring experience. Each of us had to finish an essay to bring in on Sunday. We then talked about the essays anonymously, focusing on what works and what we would like to know more about in a future draft, without resorting to any negative commentary. That really helped to put everyone at ease, and also to remove any preconceptions that might have existed otherwise. Amazingly, each participant was not only able to finish an essay, but each of us was also able to create something which is heartfelt and powerful. Something magical. Something authentic. Each and every piece evoked some kind of emotion within me, be it sadness, happiness, loneliness, belonging, hope or any other feeling. I now make it sound so sentimental, but it was nothing like that. More than anything, I think I felt a deep respect for everyone in the workshop. At times I even felt intimidated, in that I felt my piece was qualitatively inferior to the other ones. But I guess that's nonsense; my essay was far from perfect, but it contained many elements which I am justly proud of.

There is only one thing I'm worried about. I still find it very difficult and uncomfortable to be around other people. I hardly spoke at all during the sessions, and I often wondered if the others thought I was strange. so that's something I need to keep working on. I'm still happy I participated anyway. It's one of resolutions: despite my fears and anxieties, I'm just going to try and do the things I want to do, and to stop letting them control the way I live my life.

So now what? I definitely discovered a lot of new inspiration within myself; I probably haven't felt this inspired in writing since my childhood. The important thing is to keep the momentum going, to keep writing. I have been doing that for the last few weeks. Just write something every day, even if just for a few minutes. Ignore all the destructive tendencies. Just let the creativity flow onto the page without worrying too much. And it does work. The more I write, the more I want to write. Surely, things can only get better from here.