why you should join a writing group...or start one

 

 

 

Here are ten good reasons you might be interested in joining a narrative medicine writing group:

1.      You're a health care provider or a therapist in any field. You have been a patient at some point in your life, or you know someone who has been. Trust me: you have plenty to write about.

 

"Anybody who has survived his childhood

has enough information about life

to last him the rest of his days."

~Flannery O'Connor~

 

2.      People keep telling you, “You really should write a book…” because of all you have endured and overcome, or because of your special expertise, or exceptional courage, or unique perspective.

3.      You keep telling yourself, “But I’m not a writer,” even though there’s a story chiseling a hole in your heart…something that caused such sorrow, or anger, or despair you can’t bear to revisit it, or such relief, or gratitude, or inspiration you can’t imagine how you would put it into words.

"There is no greater agony

than bearing an untold story

inside of you."

~Maya Angelou~

4.      You keep telling yourself, “I wouldn’t know where to begin,” even though you’ve been over the details in your mind a thousand times.

5.      You keep telling yourself, “My life (or work or experience…) is so ordinary, I have nothing interesting to say, nothing new to add, nothing helpful to share.”

 

"Write what disturbs you, what you fear,

what you have not been willing

to speak about.

Be willing to be split open."

~Natalie Goldberg~

6.      You like to write, but convince yourself you’re not good enough at spelling, grammar, or punctuation to share what you have written.

 

"If you hear a voice within you saying:

you are not a painter,

then paint by all means, lad,

and that voice will be silenced."

~Van Gogh~

The same can be said for writing.

7.      You think you’re too busy. (You’re not.)

8.      You’re afraid you’ll offend someone if you write the truth…the surgeon who botched your operation, or your uncle who abused you as a child, or the colleague you don’t trust.

 

“All you have to do

is write one true sentence.

Write the truest sentence you know.”

~Ernest Hemingway~

 

9.      As a patient, you sometimes feel like giving up. If you’re a provider, you sometimes feel like quitting.

10.  You harbor questions you can’t answer…doubts that won’t go away…pain that nothing can heal.

 

"While medicine creates material for writing,

perhaps even more important is that

it also creates a psychological and emotional

need to write."

~Daniel Mason~

 

If you’re still not sure writing is for you, I’d like to recommend a couple of good books for beginning writers, especially those who are reluctant to get started:

"The Artist’s Way" by Julia Cameron

"If you Want to Write" by Brenda Ueland

"Writing from the Heart" by Nancy Aronie

If you’re interested but can’t find a narrative medicine group near you…think about starting one. I am.

jan