Me, Myself & Myth
Welcome to my first journal entry. Here, I will reflect on a creative writing workshop run by The Jawbone Collective this month. This entry is not sponsored or endorsed by Jawbone, but if you wish to find out more about this non-profit, you can click this link: https://www.jawbonecollective.org.uk/
I hope you enjoy reading some personal reflections and extracts from my notebook in which I scribbled. I will only be including selected points of day to maintain others privacy. All activities produce writing, but it is up to individuals if they share work or not. The act of sharing is done so under the condition that the space is ‘safe’, and all authors retain their copyright.
Chapter I: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words…
On the 9th of May 2026 I felt calm, despite the early start. However, getting into the taxi I was suddenly perplexed by a picture of the Grinch on the back of my driver’s seat. Thankfully, I wasn’t hallucinating, nor had I accidentally entered a time loop. After a brief conversation with my driver, I discovered that the reason for this image, was to reflect their fondness for bright green. This brief conversation made me realise how much our regular discourse, or everyday speech, is caught up in preconceived symbolism or items from popular culture. For example, in this case, I had assumed that my driver held significant emotions related to Christmas due to the well-known myth conceived by the film of the same name. However, the story behind the placement of this symbol was different to what I expected and made me consider how we all project different stories from myths onto significant objects.
This opening conversation almost felt like a stepping stone toward destiny due to the central theme of the workshop being Personal Mythology’s; an opportunity to explore personal histories (or memories) within the framework of well-known myths, or mythological figures.
Chapter II: Between The lines.
The first writing exercise involved reflecting on the journey using a combination of emotions, bodily sensations and objects. It was not about creating order, the aims were to remove any unnecessary anxieties around the writing process, to go somewhere unexpected (in your thoughts) and not to take your pen off the paper for the duration of the exercise. One of the workshop leaders called out words and participants were instructed to write what they heard into their text and keep going.
I’ve done this exercise before. Sometimes it produces writing that is nonsensical, but in others, it creates pieces that have the potential to go in multiple directions. Some writers complete this task solo and just write without deleting anything for a set amount of time, they may have a topic in mind, they may not. This exercise is also known as free writing. Whether alone, or in a group setting, it really helps to minimize overthinking and moves past the problem of multiple blank pages.
Below is unedited extract produced by this task. I chose not to share any writing from this opening section on the day itself. The underlined words are the ones that I heard spoken aloud.
*
Adventure is crowing, calling my name, and in the mirror, I see someone who is free, stepping over the threshold of desire
falling into a new place unburdened by shadow.
My writing hand can impart breath in any way it pleases
Freewriting - 10:10am
Chapter III: What’s in a Memory?
Shortly after the opening exercise we were asked to make a list by our second workshop leader, Rebecca Danicic, current Bard of Dorchester.
(https://bardofdorchester.substack.com/)
The list could contain up to five personal memories. For each memory, we had to try and write a short description, like those you see under a painting or photo in an art gallery. To protect my privacy, I won’t share my list, but I will share an extract which is the result of spending about fifteen minutes expanding on one example. This exploration allowed me to manifest how I felt about the memory in the present moment. It was more abstract than I was expecting…
*
Not everything written in Times New Roman is old. Can I unplug, switch to analogue just for a day? Okay, but remember, yesterday a person made up of DNA actually wrote to you and said they really enjoyed your set, you haven’t written back yet.
Memory Exploration 11:45am (approx.)
Chapter IIII: Tarot & Tea.
At lunchtime I had the privilege of talking to my neighbour about writing roots, current projects and goals for the future. After this general conversation, we examined a few objects that had been placed on our table to aid (if required) the remaining writing exercises.
In front of me sat a pile of purple backed tarot cards. I knew nothing about tarot, so I asked my neighbour if they had any knowledge. They new a few basics, but it had been a while since they had done any readings. With this in mind, I asked if we could start with something simple and see what the results were. They said I could try a ‘three card draw’, past, present and future. I agreed, mainly out of curiosity, rather than hoping for anything in particular.
My neighbour made sure I was able to spread the whole deck faced down across the table. I picked three cards based on a ‘gut feeling’. It was not my deck and I’d never seen the cards before. However, according to my neighbour and some basic research I completed after the workshop using www.tarot.com, my ‘three card draw’ suggested the following…
My first card (past) was The High Priestess. The card stands for personal intuition and wisdom. If it enters a reading upright, as it did in my case, it is meant to signify blocking out ‘external noise’ and trusting yourself. The High Priestess is also a figure that finds small talk a pointless exercise. This description reminded me of myself when I was at university. The second card (present) The Wanderer (also known as the fool). Despite its name, it represents a spiritual seeker and symbolises a new beginning. Importantly, this card is about embracing ‘child-like wonder’. A new beginning is a space I am experiencing now. Finally, I drew The World card (future) which is a really positive card. It is about completion and is an indication that you are exactly where you need to be.
The three cards I drew from a ‘blind’ deck on our table in the lunch break.
My neighbour wished she could have manifested such a positive reading and we both proceeded to quickly finish up our most noisy item of food (which we both agreed we should have led with) by the end of the lunch break.
Chapter IV: Another Step Back.
After Tea and Tarot, we were all given more time to return to our list of memories and either, pick another one or continue with the one we were working on before. I chose a different memory, as this time we had to choose either an object in the room or from another memory to work into the text. I decided to focus on a lit candle towards the corner of the room. Below are some unedited extracts from this exercise. Naturally, the writing needs more work, but as soon as I am satisfied, I will publish the complete poem on this website.
I used to fantasise about the flames
fleeting,
multiple side eyes made the wax drip
collective consciousness,
the will of the many.
It wasn’t something that I could start on my own.
The eldest would be in charge
of this marvel,
this natural force
often contained, never controlled.
*
Smoke cloaked disappointment,
any unexpelled feelings
buried under a volcano of brittle matchboxes
scattered by redirection
*
…my breath a false sense of regularity, safety and stillness.
Untitled Extract - 2:30pm
Chapter V: Endings and Epilogues.
At the conclusion of writing workshops, I often have several aspects to reflect upon.
Below are the most significant:
- Iconic/famous images can have a wide range of meanings to multiple people.
- My piece of free writing (the opening task). Some sections feel like the start of an autobiographical piece.
- A memory can move in multiple directions depending on the positioning of time, objects, and the inclusion of famous myths/characters.
- Don’t be afraid to question what you know about famous figures/characters.
- To consider the nature of my tarot card draw.
- Expand/Edit my untitled poem that references a candle.
- I can change the end of any existing myth/well known stories. I chose not to include my piece of writing in which I changed the end of a well-known myth because ninety percent of it was dialogue. Therefore, I may use some of it for a script project later in the year.
- Sharing space with other writers is always valuable.
~~~
Thank you for reading. I hope you have found this entry insightful. If you are also a writer, I wish you all the best with your current projects. If you want to read something different, my latest Disability Arts Online blog about dancing with my wheelchair can be found here: https://disabilityarts.online/blog/kay-channon/dance-distance-and-disability/
