"The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt."
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While Sylvia Plath's quote may ring true for writers the world over, a group of local wordsmiths are driving a creative space seeking to encourage and inspire its members to reach their artistic potential, regardless of their style, proficiency or aspirations.
Humble beginnings
The Gloucester Writer's Group began about two years ago as the brainchild of local author, Christine Lawrence, who sought to nurture the literary output of the area's writers.
"If you can read a line and you can put words on paper - you can write. It's just a matter of learning how to bring your craft together like anything else," Christine said.
The idea of the writers group immediately found traction, with 10 people joining the ranks within a very short time.
When Christine was forced to depart the group due to family commitments, other members chose to continue on, though in time the number of active participants consolidated down to five regular members.
Since returning to the fold, Christine has hosted several writing workshops to encourage participation and help members avoid creative roadblocks.
Club meetings
The writers group is held once a month in the arts room upstairs at 25 Denison Street and according to their unofficial charter, the group is "there for anyone who wants to write anything".
"Writing is a pretty solitary thing, but we are quite diverse so the important thing to know is that the group will cover whatever it is you want to write, whether it's poetry or short stories, to genre writing, to finishing something and getting it published," Christine said.
The makeup of the group is varied, covering a range of literary categories and genres, with the members encouraged to pursue their artistic interests without fear of judgement within a supportive environment.
While the path of the writer is by necessity a solitary one, members find the group setting a motivating experience that helps to propel their own work forward. A strategy endorsed by group member, poet and published author, Anne Andrews.
"The best thing is to share with like-minded people," Anne said.
If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word.
- Margaret Atwood
Writing as therapy
A frequent offshoot of the writing experience are the therapeutic benefits it generates.
From the clinically administered Writing Therapy that now occupies a place within recognised psychological methodologies, to the simple act of alleviating stress through daily or regular journaling.
Though any level of personal disclosure is solely the discretion of the individual writer, drawing upon personal experience - even in the guise of fictional characters - can provide a useful narrative device as well as some healthy personal catharsis.
"It helps you to open up and the beautiful thing about looking at your own life and being able to write something down is you get to see it from a different place from where you might be stuck at, and I think that's the therapeutic side of it," Christine said.
It's a point Anne agrees with wholeheartedly.
"There's a lot of angst in a lot of people's lives, and writing about it does help," she said.
With plans to publish a compilation of the members' work - tentatively scheduled for sometime in 2025 and with a working title of Bucketts of Memories - it won't be too long before even more Gloucester writers will be adorning the shelves of libraries everywhere.
For anyone interested in joining the Gloucester Writers Group or just seeking more information, contact Christine Lawrence on 0422 008 041
