If that all sounds a bit meta, I promise you it’s super practical and packed with ideas.

Join me, Francesca Baker, for a workshop focused on how to market your workshops. Whether you’re running writing workshops, poetry sessions, an expressive arts series or something entirely new and cool, this workshop will help you reach audiences and sell tickets.

We will cover

• Finding your target audience
• Writing engaging copy
• Using social media
• Growing your personal brand
• Potential partnerships

My skillset and experience are varied – covering copywriting, journalism, marketing, research and PR – but always centred around communication and creating a connection. Ultimately, I work with stories – and creating the right messages to resonate with an audience.

I’ve been working in marketing for over twelve years, with a particular passion for the arts. Clients include The National Lottery, The National Trust, Margate Bookie, Lapidus International, Moving Pieces, Fairtrade, Tesco, Mitsubishi, Carers Trust, Lord Mayor’s Appeal, Takeda, Diabetes UK, The Times, BBC, Metro, Stylist, Australia Times and more.

You can find out more at www.andsoshethinks.co.uk and follow me on all social media @andsoshethinks

Thursday 21 January 5pm-6pm

Saturday 23 January – 11am-12pm

Friday 5 February – 10am-11am

Cost is on a sliding scale.

• I’ll pay what I feel, thank you very much
• I’m nailing it this year, I’ll pay full whack – £15
• I know this is worth a lot, so I’ll pay a bit – £10
• Can’t quite stretch, so here’s a fiver – £5
• I’m a creative, I’m skint, but I’ll leave a review – free

Get your ticket here – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-workshop-on-marketing-your-workshop-for-creatives-tickets-132707773523

Dr. James W. Pennebaker, currently chair of the psychology department at the University of Texas, Austin, has conducted much of the research on the health benefits of expressive writing. In one early study, in the autumn of 1983, Dr. Pennebaker asked 46 healthy college students to write about either personally traumatic life events or trivial topics for 15 minutes on four consecutive days. For six months following the experiment, students who wrote about traumatic events visited the campus health centre less often, and used a pain reliever less frequently, than those who wrote about inconsequential matters.

The power of writing for wellbeing is that anyone can do it. You just need a pen and paper (which I recommend, rather than typing, as the temptation is to edit as you go, which isn’t in the spirit of things, and there’s also something pleasantly visceral about pen on the page that is often missing in our technology heavy world) and you can get started. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a wordsmith, or an author, or just write a shopping list. You can write.

There are a simple five steps to WRITE:

• W – What do you want to write about? Name it.
• R – Review or reflect on it – close your eyes, take deep breaths, and focus.
• I – Investigate your thoughts and feelings. Just start writing and keep writing.
• T – Time yourself – write for 5 to 15 minutes straight.
• E – Exit smart by re-reading what you’ve written and reflecting on it with one or two sentences

The latter one really matters. By reflecting on what you have written, you can learn from and build upon it. But don’t feel you have to have come up with anything profound. Just the process is enough.

The feedback from groups, which I have run in universities, prisons, NHS settings, community groups and privately, has always been excellent. People learn new things about themselves, reflect on their personality, relax and calm themselves, and feel inspired.

If you want to know more about my writing for wellbeing workshops, get in touch fbaker@live.co.uk

Come along to the Scout Hut on Forge Lane at 11am on Tuesday 12th September and get stuck in!

For more details see below.

Canterbury Christ Church University World Mental Health Day Writing Competition 2017

This year Canterbury Christ Church University is celebrating World Mental Health Day by raising awareness around emotional and mental health through various events and workshops being run throughout the day.

The university works to include and promote fairness and respect for all, which includes recognising the emotional and mental needs of individuals.

The University invites poems on the theme of “Magic moments” or short stories about “Working on Mental Health”.

This competition is free to enter and open to students, staff and the community in which the university works within.  We hope that this competition enables people to think about emotional health and wellbeing and looking after oneself.

Judges

Poetry: Professor Doug MacInnes, Luigi Marchini

Prose: Janet Lloyd, Michelle Crowther

Prizes will be donated by the University bookshop

Deadline

September 15th 2017

Poems: 60 lines max.

Short stories: 3500 words max.

Entries should be sent

to:

worldmentalhealthday@canterbury.ac.uk

Please read the terms and conditions before entering.

To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the release of Pulp’s Different Class we asked people to do the same with some of Jarvis Cocker’s finest songs.

Jarvis Cocker’s lyrical genius, acerbic wit and perceptive eye are one of the elements that enabled Pulp to connect so well back in the nineties, and continue to transcend the vagaries of time to communicate with individuals so acutely.In his book Mother, Brother, Lover Jarvis (as well as acknowledging that his lyrics are ‘alright’) states that his songs are always about narrative. It’s the story that matters.

Songs may be a story about a character. The lyrics could be shrewd and perceptive observations that make a comment on life. Or they may be an interesting blend of words and phrases that trigger an emotional response in you. You may see a tale within the tune. Or one which goes beyond its final chords. Explore what happens to the character once the song ends. Take the title and spin your own fantasy from it.

Or something else entirely.

This is the result. This is Pulp Fiction.

£25 per person, or two for £35 – price includes a glass of wine/tea and coffee and nibbles. Get in touch with Kate to book.

Join us at this creative writing workshop for adults; a space in which to explore storytelling, learn new techniques, stimulate ideas, channel your creativity – and put some words on paper. Open to all levels and experience, the session will include exercises, prompts, activities and discussion to help get your imagination and pens flowing.

Five Ways To Wellbeing

An introduction to how you can use writing for wellbeing, health and happiness, based on the New Economics Foundation Five Ways to Wellbeing.

Based on research spanning scientific research, organisational frameworks, government policy efficacy and individuals, the government think take have arrived at recommendations for a life of wellbeing:

• Connect
• Be Active
• Notice
• Keep Learning
• Give

Taking the concept of wellbeing as comprising two main elements: feeling good and functioning well – across multiple facets that include mental health, physical health, relationships, social integration and economic wellbeing, these five factors are used within policy formation and measurement across the board.

In this session I’ll share some ways that you can use your pen and paper to address each of these, and have fun doing so!

Writing for Wellbeing

A writing workshop using exercises to help stimulate creativity, explore oneself, be a bit playful, and enhance a sense of wellbeing. Writing has been proven to have physical, mental, and social benefits, and in this session you’ll experience just why and learn techniques to take away and use yourself.