In the busyness & burnout of modernity,
writing is a gentle form of resistance
a burrowing-in process
toward your own guiding light,
a means to better hear yourself
through the noise.
The physical ritual of putting pen to paper
& thought to page
is a shamanic act.
You are deliberately inside-outing and laying bare
all your psychic stirrings and innermost dreamings.
Whether through poetry or prose,
chicken-scratches or raving dialogues,
each serve as vitalising modes
of soul contact and self actualisation.
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You see, writing is a form of old magic.
The human equivalent
of the universe's miraculous function:
the ability to create something out of nothing.
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Through writing,
you're able to pull your sleepless ideas
from the unseen realm into the seen,
converse with the many characters,
archetypal forces & indwelling potentials
who populate your interior landscape,
alter your very consciousness,
become a more articulate version
of who you truly are
& with a child's wild abandon,
enjoy the endless expanse
of your imagination.
That's why I launched
the Creative Writing Mentorship.
To help you carve out a sacred space for creation
& celebrate your birthright as a storytelling animal.
"Josh is an exceptional mentor, who holds a safe, collaborative environment where creativity can flourish.
What impressed me most was his skill in challenging me to push beyond my comfort zone while remaining supportive
and encouraging. He has an intuitive sense of when to offer guidance and when to encourage experimentation.
Under his mentorship, I explored creative territories I never would have discovered on my own."
Guillame T
Is This for You?
Do you desire to take authorship over your personal narrative?
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Are you interested in reclaiming your attention and imagination
from the overstimulation of the digital era?
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Do you crave a space to commune with your soul?
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To make visible and give voice to your humanity
in all of its complexity and contradiction?
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To slow down, introspect and contemplate,
clarify and refine your thoughts?
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Are you looking for a way to meet your resistances?
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To embrace imperfection as part of the creative act?
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To follow curiosity over results &
enter into the unencumbered spirit of play?
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Are you ready to birth the story
that has hungered inside you for years?
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To craft a work which develops an intelligence
and being all of its own?
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To carve out entire otherworlds,
sculpt soul-shaking storylines
& give life to never-before-seen characters?
If any of these ring true,
then the Creative Writing Mentorship
is designed for you.
What to Expect
One-to-one sessions online
featuring
considered instruction, inspiration & guidance
to honour your individual writing journey.
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Inside our sessions:
short-form writing initiations, deep dialogues,
reflections & revelatory feedback.
Outside our sessions:
long-form writing compositions
tailormade for you & set up during each session.
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Meaning: the larger bulk
of your writing practice
you'll do alone,
in the privacy of your own heart.
&
In the privacy of my heart,
I'll read your work, to review, respond to
& envisage the next foot forward.
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Think of your time alone
as building a body of work
& plotting the map.
Think of our time together
as the place we rendezvous
wherever your creative powers have taken you
& chart the next course accordingly.
And as we journey together,
these are the different territories we're likely to explore.
Poetry
Experimenting with form
from rulebound villanelles,
sonnets & haikus,
to the unrestrained possibilities
of surrealist, dadaist
& free verse poetry.
Consciousness
Giving your unfiltered consciousness the talking stick, in order to mine
the gold hidden within,
through rituals such as
morning pages, automatic writing
& active imagination.
Prose
Transcribing your heartfelt
expression in the classic
transmission of mind to page.
With little metrical constraint
to hold back your raw, creative outpouring.
Archetypal Exploration
Myth-mapping & myth-making, dreamwork (recording & deepening our discourse with dream) &
writing in different states
of consciousness, to access the archetypes playing out in your life.
Play
Stripped-back scriptwork
as the bare-boned back-and-forth of characters in conflict or conversation. Suitable for stage & screen, but also
an amazing method of holding court for your internal dialogues.
Writing Instruction
Getting comfortable with the power
of rewriting. As well as guidance
to help you hone in on your voice, refine your self-expression,
improve your technical ability
& clarity of meaning.
"Josh is a passionate storyteller and a terrific guide. He will help you open doors, explore worlds, and get in touch
with your multidimensional being. His engaging ideas and thoughtful exercises really challenged me and helped me connect more deeply with my creative voice. I highly recommend him for your writing endeavors."
James B
Why me?
I've been writing ever since I could stick a pencil between my teeth. Writing is as necessary to my existence as clean air, good food and conscious conversation. I've by no means mastered the craft. If anything, I best relate to Kurt Vonnegut's description:
“When I write, I feel like an armless, legless man
with a crayon in his mouth.”
This is to say: I know the glorious mess of writing. I know the highs and the lows, the loving challenge and compulsive graft involved in attempting to articulate our inner universes.
Over my messy years of earnest scribbling, I’ve written plays for theatre companies, abroad and on home soil; had my poetry published; and worked as a freelance writer on a range of projects, including: creating a novel, writing an online comic book,
and developing & editing scripts for short films & more.
But, putting aside the worldly accolades, my best credential is in
my lifelong commitment to writing. It's been the place to meet and gain a closer look at all parts of myself. A means to order the chaos of existing as a sentient being in the unpredictable stream of life.
As we live through a time of accelerated change, our ways of connecting with the world are transforming faster than our
nervous systems can keep up with. The only way to offset this
is to slow down and truly know ourselves.
Writing then is my form of resistance, and protecting the human in this most human of acts is my vocation. I meet every student — every collaborator, every creative partner — as the irreproducible human being they are, and adapt entirely to their unique needs, desires and personality.
"We've been working with Josh for over a year and he’s had such a great impact on our son.
Josh has a really natural, calm way of getting students to open up and express their ideas without pressure.
Whether they were working on characters, dialogue, or just brainstorming wild ideas,
Josh was fully engaged and supportive. We saw Matty’s confidence in writing improve a lot.
He even started writing more on his own."
- Matty R's parents
Book Your Session
Booking either option
grants you access to my calendar.
Choose a slot that works for you,
answer a few, short questions
& I'll see you very soon.
1 hr
35 British pounds
1 hr 30 min
50 British pounds
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If you're anything like me,
you might like some face-to-face contact
before booking your first session.
So, I'm offering a free (20min) Connection Call.
It's an opportunity for us both to connect,
see how our individual universes play with the other
& envision a path together.
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Any burning questions?
Send me an email ...