Let’s write together!
A Joy-Led® Creative Experiment open to all who are curious about taking part (not just women)
Over more than two years I’ve been hosting small circles of women to write together. It does something to me! It does something to them! The women who gather in this space, most of whom do not view themselves as writers at all, create pieces that are extraordinarily potent. We have, with some regularity, made one another cry (in the best possible way).
These are also the times I’ve written poems that surprise and delight me. It’s when my most inspired ideas visit. And very occasionally, quite by accident, there has been just me and one other woman. These micro-gatherings have been just as wondrous.
My belief and embodied experience is that there is a certain creative magic that opens up when we are writing alone, yet together, in this way. Part of me feels like I should write some explanatory essay that somehow justifies this knowing with logic.
But that is not what is calling me! This is:
Intentionally offering the ultra-intimate format of me plus just one other person. It has been tapping me on the shoulder for some time, and now is shouting!
I would also love to write alongside a wider range of people – men as well as women, and those who may not feel called to write in a group – and share this format I've been honing for some time.
The format
We will meet on Zoom, take some breaths together, calm our nervous systems and connect with our creative selves through the same practices I offer in my small group work.
Then, supported by two optional prompts (option 3 being write whatever on earth you like!) we will write in silence for 35 minutes. I've found this to be a perfect amount of time to create. Spacious enough to allow something meaningful to be written, but short enough to ignite our creative fires and not feel overwhelming. A miniature divine deadline if you will!
Then we will come back together, and if we wish to, share with one another. Whether that’s the words we’ve written, or anything we want to say about the process. With zero pressure on either of us to do so. The choice of whether to share, and what we share if we do, is entirely ours.
The total experience will last between 60 and 75 minutes.
I will do this 100 times, with possibly 100 different people, but probably not! You are welcome to join me once, or as many times as you wish.
I will not be coaching you, and nor is this a ‘writing lesson’. This space is about divine co-creation. Whatever lands on the page, we trust.
This feels especially important to say: you do not need to be a writer, or even be interested in becoming a writer. Though you might. There are no rules around that!
You might simply want a micro-structure to help you connect with yourself – perhaps especially your creative self – and feel intrigued by doing it this way, alongside me.
I bring more than a decade of holding deep, transformative spaces. But I'm not bringing that experience in order to ‘take you somewhere.’ There is no list of what you will ‘get’ from this. No bullet points. No promises of outcomes.
This is a creative experiment and I can’t wait to see what opens up, who it connects me with, and what we discover along the way. It is an experiment rooted in the depth, practice, joy and creative wonderment I have seen sprout in the creative community I lead, month on month since June 2024.
I don't know what I'll know by the hundredth encounter that I don't know now. That's part of the experiment. And the urge to do it just won’t leave me alone!
So without further ado….!
If you’d like to participate
Book your place using the Calendly link below. I'll add new slots regularly and at different times where possible, so I hope people across different time zones can take part. I won't be able to accommodate requests for particular dates or times, or make bookings outside Calendly. I’m imagining this creative project will stretch well into 2027. How delicious!
It is £55 to take part, per slot, payable when you book.
Claire Mackinnon is a poet, writer and executive coach who lives in Berkshire, England, with her family.
She believes poetry belongs in kitchens, living rooms and meeting rooms as much as it does in literary journals, and that following our creative longings is a source of essential, underrated joy.
She leads a global community of women who write together to feel more alive: The Joy-Led® Creativity Collective.
You can read more about Claire below.