A scene is a unit of a story. It helps bring the writing alive for readers and is very immediate. When we're reading a scene, we can often imagine ourselves in the story and can see events unfolding.

How to write a restorative litany poem using 'Litany' by Billy Collins as an example. Good for grey days in January. Learn how to begin with a list and then turn that list into a poem using a frame from an existing poem. Writing a list of restorative things can be a good journalling prompt and exercise in itself. With an example poem written by Mel Parks.

Beira is a cailleach (or old woman) archetype and is so powerful. She was the mother of all gods and goddesses in Scotland. She was tall and old and everyone feared her. Queen of winter writing prompts.

Alyson Bowcott interviews Mel Parks from HoneyLeaf Writing on Meridian FM. Starts at 1 hour and they talk about creative writing and Mel’s new courses: Bringing Characters to Life, Wistful Winter and Gentle Book Writing Club.

A scene is a building block of a bigger story (used in short stories, novels, creative non-fiction and memoir) and moves the story on somehow. In a scene, I like to be taken into the story, so that I can feel as if I am there, not in the character's head necessarily, but in the action and world. At times, in a key scene, you may want to slow down the action for heightened emotion. And at other times, a scene might be brief but drive the reader from one place to another.

Creative writing and storytelling games to play in groups - I’ve divided them into three sections - the ones where no paper is needed (no writing needed either, just imaginations), the ones where you write, fold over and pass round the circle and the ones where you don't fold over, just write and pass round.

Welsh Word Series 3 | Cynefin | Habitat or sense of belonging to a place, particularly in nature. The word I’ve chosen for this week’s creative writing workshops, cynefin*, (pronounced: kuh-nev-in) is an old Welsh word that was used in the past to describe the way that sheep territorialise their own piece of land to graze. It can also describe the habitual tracks and trails worn by animals in hillsides. For Welsh hill farmers cynefin is a feeling and ‘you can have cynefin for more than one place’.

Hiraeth is a Welsh word meaning a deep and nostalgic longing for a time, place or person that you can no longer see or touch. It is wistful, melancholic and can encompass grief. It is often linked with a homeland or home you can never return to or maybe one that never was. It represents a sense of belonging, connection and familiarity and is rooted in Welsh culture.

Last weekend, I saw British rock climber, Pete Whittaker, talk as part of the Speakers From the Edge tour. He spoke about free solo climbing in Norway, which is climbing up a mountain without ropes. This seems terrifying. One mistake and it’s over. You’d think that he would be on the edge of his nerves for the entire thing. But what surprised me was that he talked about cultivating two states of mind during a climb like this:

Gift giving and receiving is part of this season for most of us but not something we all have an easy relationship with. It’s a rich source for writing and journalling. I began to think about what gifts I’d like to give myself and I’m not talking about wrapping up something to leave under the tree…

Self-care for writers when writing therapeutically for memoir, autobiography, or journals. This also helps with writing for wellbeing.