Finding depth in simplicity

I haven’t been writing for a few weeks. I decided after ‘Summer Sessions’ an extended ‘Inspire, Write, Repeat’ for June by Fiona Thomas ended that I would take some time out to rest, read and be with my children during their last weeks of summer. What I’ve found however is that if I’m not writing, I’m not myself. I feel lost. I have been feeling so lifeless, like I just don’t know where I’m going or what I’m doing, it’s been very overwhelming.

I needed a jump start for some creativity to spark within me again and found ‘The Breakfast Club Creative Writing’ session by the lovely Laurie Bolgier. I decided to give it a go and to make it even more fun, I turned it into a date morning with my husband who is not in the slightest a writer but it was about fun and challenging ourselves.

Laurie’s session this morning was something very different from others I have attended, I really enjoyed her enthusiasm and she reminded me of an important lesson in writing; Simplicity can lead to the most depth when it comes to creativity. We often have a tendency to overcomplicate, as someone who has ADHD, I find it difficult to shake the feeling of needing to get things right, to always do well and to produce something that is perfect. It is not easy for my mind to step out of that zone but today I pushed it to do so and I’m so glad I did. Writing to write, using simple words to kick start a spark, to have random words become something of meaning and profundity.

I had so much fun in this class, the theme this week was ‘Flowers’ and even though I’m not a ‘floral’ person, I made it my own. I loved that it wasn’t just writing, it was exploration of all the possible ways to let your creativity appear on the paper.

I’d like to share some of the work I came up with today, hopefully to inspire but more so for myself, to show myself how far I’ve come already this year on my year of exploring writing and my abilities.

To start we doodled on the page just to let our pen and mind flow. This was my interpretation. I found a flow that I only usually find with writing and it was really satisfying.

Laurie gave us some random words to write something about which was fast but so much fun. One of the words was ‘spoon’ and this really resonated with me as a chronically ill, neurodivergent person.

“Spoon” — Spoon, I need another, I have been so lacking in spoons for quite some time. A spoon to scoop up more energy, to dig into the ice cream of life.

Laurie challenged us to write a few lines down and use a random word that had been spoken in the chat or in the session so far. I chose the word ‘shoes’.

“Shoes”

Protection for the feet they say, but I wonder if they are a barrier?

To stop us from grounding to ourselves.

They want us to be encased.

The next challenge was to link a scenario or feeling to a flower. I wasn’t as confident with this task initially but I just started writing and I was really please with the finished result. It is not my usual style but I surprised myself.

Growth, something that is inevitable and striven for. We battle through the hardships of life; the heartbreaks, the trauma, the scars that always remain and we grow. We grow through joy, sometimes fearfully, with apprehension we move, but stop. Look at the flowers in the wind. They are being moved against their will. They are being moved with ease and yet they do not resist, they go with the current of their reality. They do not stop growing, living, moving, being what they are. They bend without breaking and they come back to standing still, being bold, exuding beauty and resilience.

The last part I want to share with you is the task that was the most challenging for me however it reignited an old flame. When I was younger I used to write poetry all the time, I was even in a poetry collection at the age of sixteen as a winner of a competition with our local library. Laurie asked us to write about a flower and incorporate a person. I haven’t strictly followed this as my person appeared first but I was inspired by an image in my head and I just went with it.

“Lovesick”

He bought her a single rose,

A year of love between them,

The sharpest thorns sticking out a stem so strong.

It has so often been near to snapping.

The petals all together, overlapping,

And yet, so free, each one a separate entity in its own right.

The colours merge and the sweet smell overwhelms,

like those first days and weeks of being lovesick.

But the reality sees.

This flower is more fragile than we know.

I’m so grateful to Laurie for this awesome session, it has really shifted something within me. It was so freeing to not be fearful of what I write on the page, to allow mistakes, to allow the blank page to just be filled no matter the quality. If you are looking for a challenge or for something to ignite your creative juices again, give Laurie’s sessions a try. I definitely got more out of it that I thought I would.

All words and work are my own and are owned by me.