CREATIVITY
As a new mother it’s easy to become so completely consumed by looking after your tiny, infinite baby, that your self-identity can feel compromised. Mothership Writers is about nurturing your own creative spirit. It’s about finding the pockets of time that you perhaps didn’t think existed, and filling them with good things. It’s about taking a moment – amidst the chaos – to find your flow and hear your own voice.
Through friendly and accessible teaching, and fun and engaging writing exercises, we’ll help you hit your stride as a writer. At the end of one of our 8-week courses you'll not only have a collection of writing that documents your experience of new motherhood but also an understanding of key aspects of creative writing craft. And, who knows, maybe even an idea for a novel too.
COMMUNITY
When you join Mothership Writers you’ll become part of a supportive, rejuvenating and inclusive community. With a maximum of 16 participants per course, the Mothership workshops are an intimate and safe space, where you can make connections and share stories – and fall in love with writing.
In addition to the weekly workshops, held over Zoom, you’ll have access to a closed Facebook group for sharing work with fellow Mothership Writers, and keeping up the dialogue with your newfound friends. If your week turns hectic and you can't make a session, you can catch up with what we covered in your own time. While Mothership is all about inspiration, it's also a pressure free zone.
We’d like mothers everywhere to be able to connect with the Mothership Writers philosophy. Sign up for our free newsletter here, for inspirational tips and shared stories.
WELLBEING
New motherhood is seismic. Studies have shown that 10%-20% of women experience postnatal depression in the year after birth, and for those who don’t, it’s still a time of vulnerability and contradiction. You’ve a constant companion, yet you can feel lonely. You’re witnessing an unfolding miracle, but the days can seem the same. You are your baby’s world, but your own can shrink to a set of walls. Everyone tells you the time goes so fast, but sometimes it’s as if the days, and nights (oh the nights) are never-ending. And your body can feel like it’s no longer your own. Writing encourages us to embrace such complexities, to go deeper into contradictions, and file dispatches. The health benefits of journaling are well documented; in our sessions we draw upon personal experience as we focus on aspects of creative writing, and take pleasure, as a group, in the learning process.
Maybe you just want to think about something else in your day other than feeding schedules and dirty nappies – and connect with other women who’d like to do the same. Perhaps you want to create a personal record of this time in your life. Or maybe you’ve always liked the idea of writing, perhaps you’ve already scribbled in a notebook or two, but haven’t yet followed a regular workshop programme. Let Mothership Writers be your creative fuel. Let us be inspiration, laughter, and some time in your week that is just for you (with your baby along for the ride). And if you're still wondering if Mothership is for you, take a look at what some of the women who took part in the pilot programme had to say, over on our Testimonials page.
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A big thank you to those who made the 2019/20 pilot programme of Mothership Writers possible: our project funders, partners and friends.
