The future?

For a number of years I have drifted along not knowing exactly what I wanted to do in my life. It was only in my mid-30’s I discovered my ability and interest in writing; and in my late 30’s I achieved my BA Hons degree through the Open University. I can safely say that studying has saved my sanity. I am still learning new things and attend a workshop for writing, not too far from where I live. This has helped my confidence grow and has been a fantastic way to meet fellow writers and generally having fun. I have made a number of friends too, especially the course tutor – Sue. Its great being able to sit uninterrupted and write something very awe inspiring; or something that is dire tripe – it gets your thought processes working. That is what the whole thing is about.

Back to my point though, I was fortunate to have a coffee with Sue, it lasted over two hours; I think we successfully put the world to rights. During this time Sue came up with the idea of me running my own writing classes/groups for abused women; to help them to come to terms in their own way – with guidance. So I could combine my two passions – writing and domestic abuse together. This is only in its embryo stages, but it has given me something to work towards. Writing has certainly helped me along the way, and if there is an opportunity to help others – I am always there to try and help.

Writing Competition

A friend of mine recently ran a writing competition with the theme 'Domestic Violence'. It was interesting to note that all of the abusers - in every entry - was a male - even those entries written by men. It was quite difficult to choose a winner, as all the entries conveyed the true understanding of domestic violence, even those written by people who had not experienced it directly themselves. (There was a tick box asking this question on the entry form).

I was humbled by this information, somewhere, somehow the general public are becoming more aware and proactive where domestic violence is concerned.

I have a twitter account, 'writer_cwebb', and I follow a number of groups concerned with domestic violence, as well as writers. It is a fantastic source of information for anyone who is interested in domestic violence and the eradication of such a heinous crime. 'Pixelproject' is one such cause and it also has a webpage 'http://www.thepixelproject.net', please go and have a look; even if you are not directly affected. It might give you some information to use in the future.

I have experienced domestic violence through two marriages, both of differing types of abuse, the last marriage ended four years ago and even now I am still learning new things each day. I also still get surprised/shocked about things and unfortunately I am still haunted by past events. Wounds may heal, but scars are a permanent reminder. Through my writing I hope to make the past more positive so it can not affect my future, as well as trying to help others.