Tuesday 25 July 2017

Lauren Buxton: Finding your tribe

Lauren Buxton was a previous participant on Write to Work and is now the newly appointed Project & Social Media Assistant at Writing on the Wall.

Ever since I was young I always loved writing. There is something magical about spilling my thoughts onto a page and witnessing a story beginning to take shape. It never occurred to me that I could turn this from a hobby until by chance I discovered the Write to Work course.



It took over 12 months of struggling trying to find work - no thanks to my dyscalculia (numbers aren't my friends) and lack of experience. However, on one Tuesday in January I found myself not only enthralled with a group of 15 strangers, each giving their insight into their writing as we set the ground rules of how we wanted the course to be (a supportive, encouraging environment) while also being told about the broad spectrum of the curriculum I knew there and then the age-old adage patience is a virtue to be true. If this was just the introductory session then I couldn't wait to see what else was in store.

During the next twelve weeks, I immersed myself as tutors from diverse fields such as traditional creative writing to the gaming industry came into deliver sessions, each one of them with a common thread of parting wisdom to the group, yet with their own varying perspectives on how to take our writing and make it pay. Each week we would take part in writing exercises to condition us into the right frame of mind, sometimes pairing off in twos or threes relaying ideas back and forth. At the end of a session I would come away feeling inspired. Having those hours of study, I learnt more in-depth about the craft and techniques of sensory writing, structure, characterisation and tone of voice, along with the benefits and usability of social media, blogging and how to capitalise upon it. Ultimately, I learnt that this is a process which will ultimately lead you towards your end goal, but to remember to always have fun and to be attuned to your surroundings. That being said I noticed I'd also accumulated copious amounts of notes and handouts ready for me to delve into and pick apart at my own leisure. Knowing that further down the line I would have them safely tucked away, if I ever fell into a rut in my writing arises.

I have to admit there were times on the course when I felt a sense of Imposter Syndrome, but my insecurities were always dispelled, finding that not only do other members of the group share the same thought process as me; so do the tutors. It was a normal part of being creative. This resonated with me particularly during the session with award-winning Welsh writer Manon Steffan Ros when she said, “From now on when you sit down to write, it’s okay to call yourself a writer!”. With this new-found knowledge, I dove head first into the homework which was set each week by the tutors, allowing myself to be fine with the challenge that it presented. Especially the week of the copywriting session with Matt Cook, because I knew the following session we would review and discuss our struggles and achievements with the group.

Over the duration of the Write to Work course I have explored avenues of the writing sector, I never dreamed I’d be interested in, I mean if you would have told me on my first day that by the end of the course, I would be sitting here in the office of WoW as Project and Social Media Assistant, let's be real, I would've laughed in your face… But here I am!

It is thanks not only in part to the brilliant tutors who encourage, challenge and allow you to tap into your hidden potential. It is also being surround by a group of supportive, respectful and inspiring writers, knowing that yeah these are my people!


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