Why am I here?

Coming into the Bendigo Writers Festival I honestly didn’t prepare like I had intended. I didn’t really know what to expect but I had an undeniable sense of excitement with in me that I didn’t quite understand. Perhaps it stemmed from the fact that this time I would be embarking on this intensive subject relatively alone. Unlike my previous trips to Bendigo for Exhibiting Culture Subjects: Ink Remix and Marilyn Monroe where I came up with a group of gaggling Uni friends, this time, I only have myself. I have a single room at a noisy backpacker lodge, I have a cute little hire car and am feeling a little out of my depth. Writing has always been a struggle for me, it’s never come easily, but it comes in waves. I am fascinated by writing and the use of vocabulary to express ones thoughts, desires, stories, and fantasies. It’s a craft that I have always wanted to hone and therefore my interest in this festival peaked. I knew I had the potential for creative writing when I wrote a play that was handpicked by legendary Australian playwright Patricia Cornelius to be produced and performed. Then when I wake up sometime in the morning with the urge to write a song be it good or bad. I think that the writer with in me is bursting to come out but for some reason I keep stifling her. This is why this festival is so important to me. I want to entice her out of her dungeon to join me on my creative plane. I want to engage with people like Hannie Rayson and Robyn Archer, and learn what it’s like to be a female theatre maker. To sit in a workshop with Darren Middleton sharing his song-writing process. To sit in awe of the likes of John Bell and hear how he keeps re-inventing Shakespeare. To become impassioned by Tim Flannery’s conservational mission. To be challenged and shocked by Julian Assange and his epic imprint on the world. These are the calibre of people that I hope challenge my anxieties about writing. That get me thinking about my voice as a writer and what I can offer to the creative world.