It’s been a wonderful surprise to welcome many corporate women to the Brave Women Writers’ Circles over the last twelve months.
I wasn’t sure corporate women would sign up given their workloads and team and family commitments. (The circle runs over 12 weeks from 8am to 9.30am each Friday on Zoom and includes two whole Fridays together in person.)
It’s heartening to know that workplaces are becoming more flexible and supportive of their employees pursuing their personal passions, and that busy women are making their creative writing practice a priority.
As an ex-banker of twenty years and a self-employed author for the last twenty-five, I now see that I didn’t need to leave my job to follow my purpose of writing books. I could have been a banker and a writer.
The paradox is that if I’d pursued creative writing outside of work, I would have been a better, more committed, banker.
I left the corporate world, not realising I could have been both. I had no mentors, no one encouraging me to stay and write. Instead, I became a corporate escapee and struggled along an uncertain path without guidance for many years.
I know now that writing stories for pure pleasure (and publishing) would have inspired more innovative practices at work. It would have improved my day-to-day writing and communication in my roles in marketing and advertising. It would have boosted the quality and impact of my stories to persuade my boss to give me a promotion, co-workers to adopt my out-of-the-box ideas and more customers to bank with us.
The single biggest benefit, however? Writing would have helped me find, and finesse, my authentic voice as a woman in the male-dominated world of finance. It would have made me braver and more confident to express myself and ensure I was heard.
In most patriarchal cultures, women’s voices remain suppressed and unheard. Our stories are hidden, untold, obliterated from history. Writing our stories is a way to rebalance the scales, to gain clarity on who we are, what we stand for and what we want to change in the world–and our organisation.
Writing is the way to find our voice at work.
You don’t need to join my circle to free your inner writer and find your voice (although you’d be most welcome!). There are so many ways to balance your creative writing desires with the needs of your workplace and family. Go seek.
Because your voice matters. At home, and at work. Begin.
We’ll be discussing these ideas and more at the Brave Women Writers Dinner on Tuesday 16 April in Melbourne. It’s an intimate dinner for 12 women where we’ll be workshopping and sharing our stories. I’d love for you to join me.
With love
PS Wondering about the relevance of this photo of me standing at the great brown Birrarung (Yarra) river after a swim. Alongside writing, cold-water swimming is a terrific way to find your voice! Trust me.
Brave Women Write Book Orders
For orders within Australia, get your signed copy now.
BUY NOW
Also available as an eBook.
BUY NOW
For orders outside Australia, visit your preferred online retailer.
Join the next Brave Women Writers’ Circle
Beginning Friday 24 May 2024
Are you a woman who yearns to share your story with the world? Do you often suppress your inner voice and wait for that perfect day to write? Or perhaps you’ve begun writing and are feeling stuck? If so, the Brave Women Writers’ Circle is the right place for you.
Carolyn Tate is an experienced author and educator and is the facilitator of the Brave Women Writers’ Circle. The 12-week course guides you to bring your writing project to life while connecting you to a courageous community of other women writers.
