Why me, why writing?
My name is Claire and I'm a Writing and Journaling Facilitator and Coach.
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I discovered free-writing in 2013. It changed my life and has been a massive part of my life ever since, as anyone who knows me will testify (I rarely get through a conversation without talking about/suggesting writing, though I’ve learned to choose my audience.)
I’ve run hundreds of workshops with private and public groups on teambuilding, idea generation, creativity and well-being and previously spent many years working as a manager in both UK and global sales and marketing functions.
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I trained as a coach with the Academy of Executive Coaching in 2011. I chose this course as there was a pass/fail, which not all training providers offer. As well as my own model of exploration and discovery through writing, I work with the Co-active model which holds that you are already whole, i.e. don't need changing or fixing. That only you can know what's right for you, and it's my job to give you space, listen, ask you the right questions - always following your agenda – and to help you have the "aha"| moments you need to make the changes you want. I support direction and intention vs hard and fast goals as it’s less prescriptive and enables you to be more flexible when moving forwards.
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HOW I CAN HELP YOU
I can draw on my experience working with individuals and groups across different organisations and industries to design and/or deliver exercises that will spark creativity, release people from their edited thoughts, and open them up to new possibilities and perspectives. As well as covering several industries in my early corporate career (accountancy Big 4, pharmaceuticals, social care and a touch of retail which I did just for fun, honest,) I've run workshops and coached using writing since 2018 with the public, corporate organisations, coaches and facilitators and universities.
Feel free to contact me at cpsdayoff@gmail.com for any questions or comments.
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More about my story
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My journey is far from over. Life has its own schedule and I don’t believe in forcing outcomes. But I do know I’m on the right path, defining my own version of success, and spending my time doing things that satisfy and fulfil me and that’s what I want to help other people do. Wherever I end up, I know that writing will help me get there.
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In the meantime, I'll continue to keep bringing people together through writing, so if you'd like to join me, find out more here.
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You can read about and hear every day people talking to me about what writing gives them on Instagram @writeenjoyrepeat.
Free writing
Writing stuff* down has been around for a very long time. Some use it for creativity, some for personal reflection by externalising the internal, and others, just for fun. It's also known as stream of consciousness writing, wild writing, or free flow writing.
The main idea is to start writing from some kind of prompt**, then, keep the pen moving - for a short, timed period. Whatever you do, don't edit or worry about grammar or any corrections - just move forwards and don't look back.
Essentially that's it. It can bring up creative ideas if that's your thing, just be a way to start your day and get the first thing in the morning clutter out the way (as in Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages) or insights about yourself and different perspectives which help to see things as they are, not just our version of them.
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"Why can't I just free write on my own?" I hear you ask. You absolutely can, and I recommend it with all my heart. I do it almost every day. There are tonnes of books and Apps with prompts galore, so yes, go for it if that's your thing.
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The reason I'm so passionate about it being a shared experience is that, well, it's a shared experience. It's fun. Your writing can really go somewhere different when you're writing with other people. Finally, and only if you're ever happy to, you can really get deeper insight and broader perspective by sharing what you write. Hearing yourself reading your own words can be really powerful, as well as the connection in being seen and heard whilst doing so. It's incredibly powerful during coaching. You will inevitably write things you wouldn't necessarily think to say, or write things with a different spin; always leading to deeper understanding.
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*'Stuff' is my technical term for the thoughts that scramble around our brains 24 hours a day.
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**A 'prompt' could be something as
simple as a word, or a random sentence from a book or article, a thought, or an overheard sentence from someone in the street.
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