ONLINE 5-week Short Course: Writing From or About Trauma (September 2023)

With Abda Khan

Wednesdays, 7-9pm, live teaching via Zoom Online Meeting

Starting 13 September, then 20 and 27 September and 4 and 11 October 2023.

[Zoom link in ticket confirmation]

Writing from a place of trauma, or about trauma, can be difficult to do, however, doing so can have many advantages, both for the writer and the reader.

Writing about your personal trauma has many benefits, including:

– help to process emotional wounds

– help to deal with unresolved feelings

– lead to improved emotional health

– help others who have gone through similar trauma

You can develop a story about trauma from your own experiences, or, without first-hand experience of the said trauma, but the latter will need thorough research, and in both cases, the matter will need a large degree of sensitivity.

We will explore:

– how good fiction reflects reality – your story should not seem implausible, or worse still, offend your readers.

– the pre-requisites to embarking on writing which incorporates personal trauma

– writing sensitively, ensuring you do not overwhelm or affront your reader

– how writing about trauma can give others hope and even change lives

Please note that this workshop is for WOMEN ONLY.

Biography:

Abda Khan is an author and lawyer, and a passionate advocate for women’s rights. She won the Noor Inayat Khan Muslim Woman of the Year Award 2019 and was highly commended in the 2017 NatWest Asian Women of Achievement Awards in the Arts & Culture category. Her first novel, Stained, was published in 2016, and her second novel Razia was published in 2019.

Details:

The workshop will take place online via Zoom Online Meeting software. It is free to download and you will only need the free version to attend. Please download it and check it is working before the day of the workshop.

Please try and be somewhere you can concentrate and won’t be interrupted. Headphones can be useful if you have some, to cut out other noise.

Short courses 2022/23:

We are running a mix of short courses and workshops online and in person, so you can choose to attend the session you are the most comfortable with.

All our short courses and workshops are priced at £15 per taught hour.

We understand that not all writers are able to pay for their writing courses to further their career, and we run a Bursary Scheme as a consequence. If you feel you need a bursary, please contact us: info@writingwestmidlands.org.

Please note: you must sign up for the full course even if you cannot attend all dates. No partial course ticket is available.

Short Courses are for over 18s. If you are a young writer, you can sign up for our Spark Young Writers Programme.

All Writing West Midlands short courses are collaborative, and you will learn as much from your fellow course attendees as from the tutor. You will be expected to play an active role in group tasks, and you will also have time to reflect on your own writing during sessions.

Course handouts are sometimes (but not always) available, and notes may be available in advance upon request. If you have any additional needs, please contact Writing West Midlands in advance of the course starting and we will try to assist you.