Safe space

Originally published in The Nyngan Weekly

A new writing group is encouraging women and non-binary people in Nyngan to take up space and enjoy a creative outlet.

The Nyngan Writing Group, created by Alex and Bethany Butchers, welcomes marginalised voices to be heard and appreciated.

“This writer’s group is for marginalised voices to be heard. I feel like in our society women, queer, and non-binary people are always being spoken over.

“So, I think it’s very healthy and helpful for people to create a space where they’re not being forced to share something but it’s very much, we want to hear what you have to say and you’re not going to be talked over,” said Alex.

The group meets semi-regularly at the couple’s home and runs on a share-as- you-feel basis.

Writers sit down and chat before writing to a prompt, which they are encouraged to interpret in a way that is meaningful to them.

“It’s whatever you want it to be, like you can write fiction or non-fiction, it doesn’t have to be creative,” said Bethany. “It can literally be writing about a dream you had once and in whatever structure you want. You can mind-map, you can draw, you can doodle, you know, you can do all these things, there’s no requirements.”

For Bethany, who is working towards their PhD in Native Title Law, the group gives them an opportunity to move away from academic writing.

“My PhD is very literature-based and factual, and it is big issues that I’m looking at. This writing group, I feel, is much more personal in the sense that it’s like an outlet and also a creative space.

“I feel like, particularly in a group environment, it is good for connection and empowerment of people’s voices and stories that often don’t get told.”

Alex, who teaches at Nyngan High School, finds she enjoys using the time to journal.

“I was actually holding onto something for a week and a half, then I just kind of wrote about it in the writing group. I ended up saying it out loud, which isn’t a requirement, but I ended up reading it out loud and I haven’t thought about it since.”

The pair understand that journaling can seem cliché and that it is something that people can struggle to find time for, so hope that the group also gives participants the time to look within themselves and process their own thoughts.

“You have to live with your brain 24/7, you’ve got to take care of it,” said Alex. “And nobody else is going to take care of it for you,” Bethany added.

“Without being all life’s too short, life is too short to not let Hashbrown (the dog) on the bed,” said Alex.

After the topic is discussed amongst the group, writers spend 15 minutes writing. This time is silent and writers are encouraged to take their time.

There isn’t any expectation on length or quality of writing, there’s no set standard for how someone writes or the way they present it.

For some writers, they enjoy reading verbatim what they’ve put on their page, for others, they wont share at all, or will provide a synopsis on how they have interpreted that week’s prompt. Sharing work also provides an opportunity for personal growth within the group.

“Women and non-binary people, queer people, people of colour, often get spoken over by cis-gendered, heterosexual, white males who have the confidence that the patriarchy gives them.

“There are not many safe spaces in this town for women and for non-binary people and for queer people,” said Alex.

“We just kind of wanted a space where people knew they were going to be safe, and they knew that, it was a place where they could say things and explore topics where they weren’t going to be judged or where they weren’t going to have to silence themselves or censor themselves for anybody else’s ears because it was with their people.”

The group welcomes all women and non-binary people to join them for their sessions, having welcomed people of all ages and from a range of backgrounds.

“It creates an empowering space and for people to realise that potential that, you know, drive your own life.

“We’re in the patriarchy but we’re still here and, you know, we can make life what we want to be,” said Bethany.