Join us on THURSDAY 15 OCTOBER at 19:30 for our latest creative wellbeing workshop with certified coach, Caitlin McDonald

Every writer knows the feeling. You sit down to work, full of intention - and then something shifts. Suddenly you're convinced the whole project is terrible, or that you're not really a writer at all, or that now is definitely not the right time and you'll do better tomorrow. These are your gremlins at work: those internal saboteurs who show up with uncanny reliability, derailing your best intentions in ways that, if you're honest, feel pretty familiar by now.

Gremlins are the inner voices that make us act in ways that don't reflect the best parts of ourselves. They can be frustrating, obstreperous, embarrassing, or just plain exhausting - and the more we try to push them away or fight them off, the more firmly they seem to take hold. This month’s Creative Roots, Open Wings (CROW) wellbeing series session helps us get to know - and even get along with - these gremlins.

However misguided their methods, they're not actually trying to destroy you. Underneath the chaos, there's usually a message - an expression of something that matters deeply to you. That critical voice telling you your work isn't good enough? It might be protecting a fierce, private standard you hold for yourself. The one that keeps pulling you away from the desk? Perhaps it's guarding against the risk of putting something real and true out into the world. The messages may be outdated, clumsy, or wildly counterproductive - but they come from somewhere real.

Join certified coach Caitlin McDonald for a session to get genuinely acquainted with our gremlins. Through a mix of reflection, writing, and drawing (no artistic skill required!), you'll explore what your gremlin looks like, when it tends to show up, and what it's actually trying to do for you. From there, we'll think about how to address that underlying need more directly, so the gremlin no longer needs to resort to sabotage to get your attention. Once you understand what your gremlin is really after, you might find it loses some of its power and becomes an ally.

Bring a notebook and pen, or steal one from our magpie stash, and an open mind for befriending your gremlins!

Description supplied by the event organiser.