Unwind: Creative writing

Creative Writing

Roshni Beeharry is a London-based portfolio Medical Educator, ex-NHS consultant in rehabilitation medicine, poet, writer and Creative Writing for Wellbeing Facilitator. She is a keen advocate of the medical humanities and arts in health movements. Her academic interests are refl ective practice, inter-professional education and professional identity formation, and the roles the Arts can play in these areas.

If you had met me as a child, I most likely would have had a book or notebook, or both, under my arm; the rest of the time you would find me on my typewriter, tapping away happily, writing stories and making mini-books. For some of us, including myself, pursuing a medical career has meant that much-loved creative and other hobbies, have often taken a ‘back seat’ to sciences at school, and then all the studying that is involved at medical school. It was not until I was a first-year senior house officer (SHO), two years after my brother died, that I started writing again; and not just fiction, but reading and writing poetry too for the first time since school. I feel the relative concision of poetic form as opposed to my favoured prose form, helped me articulate emotions and thoughts I had hitherto found difficult. This experience went on to spark my interest in Arts in Health, Medical Humanities, and in using writing for wellbeing and reflective practice with others, and I am trained formally in the latter field.1 I now run workshops in my local women’s mental health drop-in group, ran a public ‘Nature as inspiration for wellbeing’ workshop at Keats House Museum London and I have run my own Special Study Component (SSC) Creative Writing for ‘Personal & Professional Development’ with medical students at Trinity College Dublin Medical School and Brighton & Sussex Medical School. I will be running Writing for Wellbeing Workshops and Writing for Wellbeing for Healthcare Professionals online from September 2020. I joined my first writing group in 1998 and now belong to two others, and these are an enjoyable way of connecting with like-minded people and writing to timed prompts, sharing work, receiving and giving feedback, which along with open mic performances of my poetry and fiction, are all valuable transferable skills to a medical and academic career, whilst doing something fun. In our fast-paced outcome-dominated clinical and academic worlds, we can sometimes forget about the process of an activity, and focus on the product or outcome. What I love and endeavour to convey about writing, is that it is very much a process, and the ‘bonus’ is a piece of writing that you create yourself, from that ‘mysterious’ world – your imagination. It is wonderful to give oneself permission, time and space to drift off into that world. So, if you have been wanting to try writing or get back to writing, or are just curious, here are some tips to get you started:

• Firstly, cast off any doubts of whether you can write or not – you can! • Writing is a cheap, accessible and portable hobby – all you need is a notebook and pen, or your laptop/device if you prefer. • Doctors like writers, are curious people and great observers, so we have a head start! Jot down words and snatches of conversations (anonymity preserved of course) – these can trigger ideas for a piece of writing later. • You might like to record any thoughts that come to you, on your mobile phone or an inexpensive voice-activated Dictaphone. • The process of journaling2 can be helpful for many, and if you keep a diary of some form, then you might find re-reading it, and

noting phrases and words can be a source of ideas for a creative piece, memoir or a reflective piece. • Find a place to write where you can focus on your writing – you may prefer peace, or some ‘noise’ around you; indoors, outdoors, in a public place, or you might prefer to stay at home. You can experiment. • Now, write something. Anything – even it is a shopping list for dinner! That could turn into your first found poem.3 • Most importantly, keep writing. Because you never know where your writing might take you. Enjoy it!

Useful resources

There is a plethora of writing resources in print and online, but a few I have used, include: • The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, Souvenir Press (April 2020) – one of the seminal books for writers and artists; discusses

‘morning pages’ and the principles of free writing • Writing Magazine and Writers’ Forum magazines, are available is available in print and on online https://www.writers-online.co.uk https://writers-forum.com • There are many resources and writing communities on social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, and this is a great way to connect with like-minded people • If you enjoy writing and other creative activities, I would heartily recommend joining cRxeate. This is a warm and welcoming community uniquely for doctors, dentists and vets at all stages of their career, who wish to foster their creativity and share work and ideas. • You can find writing groups by searching online, looking for adverts in local libraries, local papers and writing magazines • Literary festivals, author readings and one-off workshops, are a sociable way to meet others whilst hearing published writers discuss their craft. These are also helpful if you are not quite ready to join a writing group. • If you are interested in the arts for wellbeing, LAPIDUS

International https://www.lapidus.org.uk, has many links to other organisations, or contact me, I would be very happy to help.

References 1 I trained on the MA Creative Writing & Personal Development, Sussex University in 2003-5, the first UK degree of its kind, but the department has sadly since closed down, but similar diploma and degree level courses exist at the Metanoia Institute www.metanoia.ac.uk and Teeside University www.tees.ac.uk

2 American Psychotherapist Dr Ira Progoff, pioneered the Intensive Journal Process https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intensive_journal_method

3 There are a multitude of books /online sources on how to write and read poetry, but Stephen Fry’s ‘The Ode less Travelled’ (published in 2005, Hutchinson), is very readable, thanks to his renowned wit.