Discovering the power of writing

Richard expands on using writing as a means of processing past experiences and exploring the world around him in a new way.

Lego Wheel

By Richard

I’ve been part of a car, an aeroplane a truck a bus a lorry, I’ve been thrown around a room and felt the rubber on my outside bounce off the walls and ceiling.

I’ve been fought over by children, they’ve cried when I couldn’t be found, elated when their mother found me, I’ve been bitten by baby teeth I’ve had a pen drawn around me on the outside on paper.

I’ve been tucked away under the bed mattress so their big cousin couldn’t give me a new home.

I’ve been rolled along the carpet, and best of all when I was a lorry I was admired by everyone, I was with five other wheels and we got so excited. We loved being rolled along the carpet. The feeling of speed was just fabulous, we crashed against the wall and I said, “Yes ya beauty!”

The family cat tickled me with its whiskers. I’ve seen other smaller wheels being chewed, I’ve been in a warm bath and floated on the soapy sea.

I’ve heard the children talk about me and politely argue what can be built next.

They’ve shared me, they hide me from the boy next door who also wants me because he’s lost his big Lego wheel.

I’ve been on a table and felt the warm sun, I’ve been put under a pillow, I’ve been kissed, I’ve been inside one of the girls pocket of her dressing gown.

I’m loved.

Richard’s writing journey

“Positive or negative we wrote about it”

Richard’s writing journey began in a community writing group.  He joined the writing group after the previous charity he attended to support people with trauma, had its funding withdrawn. Richard started to write spontaneously about mundane, ordinary events, with the group being given a random prompt as the subject matter. It didn’t matter if the story or poem didn’t make sense, what mattered was the act of writing. From this exercise, Richard found that there is a difference between being articulate and have written proficiency. He became adept at being able to attune his hand and mind, using his writing to create and strengthen a unity between the two.

“Use your five senses when you’re writing”

After becoming comfortable with writing, the next step was to reflect on how Richard felt about what he’d written. To do this the leader of the writing group would ask the participants to focus on a word, expression or phrase and a theme was then explored in depth by the group. From this Richard began to see words in a different way, and asking himself the question, how can I express myself when I see something? To help with this, Richard’s instructor asked him to read books to broaden his vocabulary. Richard delved into books, finding ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ and ‘A Street Cat Named Bob’ particularly moving. He learned to develop sympathy with the main characters, and this reflected in his writing. From this broadening view Richard also realised the importance of using his five sense to write, which opened and broadened not only his writing style, but how he viewed the world around him.

“For the first time I wrote about a trauma”

The writing group became a safe space for Richard and the other members. It was a space to get to know each other, and a space people could connect and share when they felt comfortable. It was in this space that Richard first wrote about difficult past experiences. It took time for Richard to reach this point, but with the support of the group, Richard realised the power that writing can hold in being able to unlock and process past experiences. He understands the need for this to be done in a safe and supported space, but to this day Richard continues to write as a means of processing past experiences and exploring the world around him.  

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