Writing as I want

I almost forgot that was the whole point

If you have read some of my other articles during 2025 you will know that I have been writing poems for poetry competitions over recent months. Some with no prize beyond being published and the prize is validation and a different readership. Most of these competitions have a set theme. And often I won’t have a poem on that them already written so I write a new one. Rarely does this type of writing excite me. But I work at it and I do find the challenge interesting. I am writing for this purpose as I have told myself I can’t write with the intention of performance if I am not able to go to as many open mics as I used to right now. So I must write for the page. But what has been happening in reality is that I am not writing what I really want to write about. If it doesn’t truly connect with me, why should I expect it to connect with a judge of a competition. Plain and simple, it isn’t. So I am stopping writing in that way. Life is too short. I’ll write what I want to and find a way to share it.

I have had over 20 of these kind of emails this year.

This revelation has dawned on me over the last 5 weeks after taking part in

Kate Ireland

‘s recent online writing workshops ‘Write Your Self’. Through a series of prompts I unlocked my storytelling part of my brain and stories I needed and truly wanted to explore and write more about. More than that, I was writing in my own voice, which is where I am most happy. And that counts for a lot.

When I first started writing I jumped all in without even thinking of publication and competitions. I did think of connection. I wanted to tell stories. I wanted to connect. I did this on open mic’s and created fringe shows and soon enough I collaborated with other artists creating events. I learned so much from being around others. This is also what I got from taking part in these workshops. And this is what I want to get back to more of.

Coupled with spending snatched hours of time at the wonderful creative festival Focus Wales in Wrexham last weekend, I felt more connected to creativity in a way I haven’t for a long time. Watching musicians, filmmakers, event makers, photographers, poets, stall holders, grass roots venues, all collaborating to bring out the best in each other whilst showcasing incredible talent. Seeing what that event did for the Town, was magical. The atmosphere was buzzing and people watching grassroots artists ,from all over the world, in about 25 separate venues at any one time, filling local venues. Being around this feeling, seeing people who have worked hard in private to create magic in public, switched another light bulb back on in me creatively.

Focus Wales

What I love most about writing is sharing it. That is always the start of a new adventure, a new story, a new connection. In the final session of the workshops I read a really personal piece and got really useful feedback from all my course mates. I want to do more with it now. It was the first time I had read new work to anyone in 2025. I had read old work promoting my book, but sharing newer, rawer work than usual, was just what I needed right now. Writing stories I want to tell is also what I have always needed to do and I am so grateful that I have been reminded of that.

Gruff Rhys at Focus Wales

I first saw Gruff Rhys around 30 years ago when he was part of the Super Furry Animals. They performed a few times at the local indie club, the Buckley Tivoli and they were the coolest most psychedelic, fun, irreverent, ‘AUTHENTIC’ and talented band. I have seen them and Gruff too many times to count since, and I saw Gruff at Focus Wales festival again. First I saw him being interviewed ahead of a showing of his film ‘American Interior’. I had heard the album but for some reason had not found the opportunity to see the film before and it left me further in awe of Gruff as an artist. The film follows him as he traces and tells the story of a long lost distant relative John Evans who went to the USA in 1792 to try and find a fabled Welsh speaking Native American tribe who got embroiled in true adventure, discovery and colonialism and espionage. The story was astonishing and told in such an inventive way fused with footage of live shows where new music, inspired by John Evans, was created on the way. I was entranced by the whole film. Welsh history, American history, colonial history, the loss of native language and spaces was told in a way I wish all historical stories could be told. With warmth, inquistiveness and a sense of humanity. Later that evening I saw Gruff and his incredible band play songs from the film live to a field full of people who were as enchanted by Gruff’s spell as me. It was a beautiful feeling. Gruff is one of the most consistently inventive artists I have ever seen, and watching him develop that over decades, is a true privilege.

As the currently popular meme says ‘I almost forgot this was the whole point’.

Thank you for reading - to subscribe if you enjoyed reading this, as I return to writing stories I want to tell. I will still write about what I have learned through sharing my poetry, but I feel that I have more stories to tell beyond that and I will start putting some of them here.

My poetry collection ‘PROVING I EXIST’ is available here and all royalties go to Choose Love and Refuge.