About Us

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The benefit to people attending the group is to enhance and develop their own writing skills as well as to encourage each other.

 

I am offering this group for no fee because I understand the dire financial situation that family members are left in following the fallout of the Knock.

 

Of course, there is no obligation for members to publish their work, nor to share publicly. Sometimes it can be beneficial to write for ourselves, or to work on a particular writing skill.

 

Members don't have to write about the Knock. They can write about anything, and will be supported in doing so.

 

We discuss ways to use our writing to benefit our own life circumstances, as well as those of others. We explore ways to monetize our writing, and to ensure that we are valued for our time, as a lived experience community.

 

We also talk about ways to protect ourselves when sharing our stories, and how to decide whether a media, charity, or organisation might be a good fit for our writing, and what safeguards we should expect from those seeking to utilize our stories.

 

Whilst my expertise is in fiction, blogging and nonfiction, the group is open to people wishing to write poetry, script, and experimental forms too.

 

Anything goes!

 

The only criteria to join is to be a family member of a person who has been convicted of a sexual offence, ideally past the sentencing and media stage of a loved one’s offending.

 

I have experience of co-facilitating a support group for family members for fourteen months. During this time I supported a variety of people in diverse circumstances, running the group on occasion single-handedly. I also have experience of supporting and signposting a large number of family members on a 1:1 basis and on forums over the past four years. I am also the helpline co-ordinator for the charity Next Chapter Scotland, and helped to write the content for the website.

 

Therefore, I understand how vital it is that people are made aware of the support available from various organisations.

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The aim of the group is to talk about and focus on writing although where people are writing about their experiences, this may of course be triggering. I am very well aware of the huge trauma experienced by family members and how trauma impacts us, and therefore I am always mindful of what individuals have been through and may still be going through.

 

On this basis, I recommend that people who join the group are further along in their journey, ideally post-sentencing of a loved one, and post-media coverage, so that they are in a position to be able to consider writing about what they have been through without being exposed to the worry of what might be ahead based on the experience of others in the group.

 

Although I certainly won’t discriminate against anyone who is early on in the journey and really wishes to join, I can only advise that it may be triggering.

 

The introductory Zoom group took place in April 2023, with the second session, about blogging, having taken place in May.

 

Our June 2023 session featured special guest, Emma Wells, author of Unseen Victims. 

 

In our July 2023 session we discussed considerations when writing about trauma and how to protect ourselves. They were all successful sessions, and well-attended.

 

Sessions take place on a Saturday morning between 10:30-11:30am

 

We welcomed Michael Sheath, author of ‘Crossing the Line’ to our first session back after summer break. It was a great opportunity to hear about the evolution of Michael’s work, and to ask questions.

 

Our October 2023 session was a 'Showcase', where members (if they wished to) had the opportunity to share their writing with the group. This was a powerful session and it was a privilege to hear members speaking their own written words, and written words that have inspired them along the way.

 

Our December 2nd session 'Fiction, Faction or Nonfiction?' explored benefits and challenges of each genre.

 

In January, we hosted special guest John Reed, 'The Storyteller Fellah', and it was a very helpful session, with group members able to hear all about John's vitally important work in prisons, and ask questions.

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Our March session was all about finding structure in our writing. 

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Our next session in May was a poetry session with John Reed, which inspired us to write our own poems.

 

The final session of 2024, in July, was about routes to publishing, and important things to consider. We heard from group members about their experiences.

 

The next session will be 14th September, and will be a planning meeting, where we will look at the results of a recent group evaluation, and members will plan content for the year ahead.

 

If anyone is worried about attending a group and meeting others, please be assured that your privacy will be protected and it’s a safe space. I’m happy to talk this through with anyone beforehand.

 

If you would like to come and trial out the group, please know you are welcome, and it would be lovely to see you. Please email me anniehopewriter@gmail.com.

 

At this stage I am running just one group  for family members of those who have sexually offended. I would consider expanding provision in future to cater for additional groups. I am open to funding suggestions.. A barrier to Writing Strong becoming a CiC or charity is the inability to retain anonymity -and I must always consider the protection of my family.  The current group will run until summer 2025. Beyond that, the future is uncertain for Writing Strong.

 

For anyone who doesn’t meet the criteria to join Writing Strong, I am able offer 1:1 mentoring. My fee is £40 per hour, with generous concessions offered for students and those on a reduced income, depending upon individual circumstances

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Please contact me by email: anniehopewriter@gmail.com

 

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