The Word Association

28/04/2026

Still a couple of tickets left for Saturday's walk, if you fancy it? It's free!

Join a gentle guided walk noticing hidden urban nature in Worcester Slow down, write, reflect and rediscover the city around you.

22/04/2026

As part of my doctoral research, I'm looking at unnoticed forms of urban nature that live alongside us in the city. As such, I’m inviting you to join a gentle guided walk exploring the small, often overlooked bits of nature living quietly in the city—plants in pavement cracks, moss on brick walls, wildflowers in unexpected places.

This is part of an arts-based research project about how noticing these everyday details can shift the way we feel about the places we live, and the stories we tell about them.

We’ll walk slowly through an urban route in Worcester, pausing along the way to notice what catches our attention. There’ll be optional gentle prompts for reflection—no pressure, just space to notice and wander with your thoughts.

Afterwards, there’s an optional short creative writing reflection for anyone who’d like to respond in words, fragments, or notes.

Everything is completely voluntary—you can join the walk without taking part in any research elements, skip prompts, or step away at any time.

It's free. It will be lovely. We'll have a short, slow, gentle walk followed by reflection and writing.

You don't need to have attended any of our other writing activities, or have any creative or therapeutic writing experience to attend.

Join a gentle guided walk noticing hidden urban nature in Worcester Slow down, write, reflect and rediscover the city around you.

21/04/2026

This month in the wellbeing studio we've been looking at 'noticing'... using writing to help us pay attention to the present moment. Our poetry group have been exploring mood and Japanese poetic form. Our therapeutic group have been combining markmaking with words as a mindful practice.

Our next Writing Hour (for both communities) is tomorrow at 11am, and our first poetry feedback circle is Thursday evening.

All events happen over Zoom, so distance isn't a problem. All prompts and resources are sent through Substack.

Come and join us!

https://wordstolivebypersonalpathway.substack.com/

https://wordstolivebypoetspathway.substack.com/

15/04/2026

Our very first 'Community Circle' for the Studio is tomorrow night... a lovely, relaxed space for you to share your work and listen to what other people have been writing. So if you were thinking of joining and haven't got round to it, we'd love to see you there!

13/04/2026

What a lovely bunch for our very first Writing Hour! Great to see you all, to write with you and hear your work.

Looking forward to next week's session.

10/04/2026

Don't forget to subscribe to our new Creative Wellbeing Studio before Monday, to join in with our very first Writing Hour...

https://wordstolivebypersonalpathway.substack.com/p/whats-on-next-week

06/04/2026

Our Words to Live By Creative Wellbeing Studio is now live... the first lot of prompts were sent out this morning. Thanks so much to everyone who has already subscribed! It's so exciting to see your names pop up!

For anyone who hasn't joined us yet...

You can join the therapeutic writing community here: https://wordstolivebypersonalpathway.substack.com/p/welcome-email

or if you're more interested in refining your poetry, then you might prefer this one: https://wordstolivebypoetspathway.substack.com/p/welcome-email

with...

* weekly prompts
* weekly writing hours
* monthly community circles
* exclusive community chat spaces
* monthly grounding and breathwork prompts
* a monthly writing lens
* inclusion in our anthology after 6 months membership
for just £12/month

(important dates and Zoom details for subscribers)

31/03/2026

Informal Zoom tonight to talk people through the new Creative Wellbeing Studio that is launching next week. It's gone out to our mailing list, but if you're not on there, feel free to email for the login (info@the-word-association.com).

Look forward to seeing you later and answering any questions you may have!

Holly

28/03/2026

For anyone finding the info about our new Creative Writing Studio a lot to get their head around... we'll be running an informal Zoom one evening next week to talk you all through it and answer any questions. (We'll record it too, in case anyone can't make it). I promise you, it's actually really straight forward!

Basically, all content (including Zoom links to live sessions) will be hosted on Substack, so you need to subscribe to your chosen pathway on Substack. Content won't go live until Monday April 6th when the first load of prompts will be released as well as all the details you need for your live writing hours and community circles.

If you know which pathway you want to join, you can 'pledge' now and payments won't go out until the 6th. (If you'd rather, you can email us and we can send you a link to do this - just let us know info@the-word-association.com)

You can access Substack through your desktop or mobile devices (via the app). Once you've joined, all of our posts will also get emailed to you so you don't need to sign in to Substack every time if you don't want to.

The Studio means you'll get year-round writing prompts and group sessions, and inclusion in anthologies twice a year.

The Personal Pathway is all about therapeutic writing for self-care.
The Poets' Pathway is all about refining poetic technique.
The Practitioners' Pathway is all about using reflective writing to build resilience for people who hold space for others.

27/03/2026

Who has signed up for our Words to Live By Creative Wellbeing Studio? We have three pathways to choose from...
* The Personal Pathway: Supports your own wellbeing and self-care * The Poets’ Pathway: Focuses on refining poetic technique and form
* The Practitioners’ Pathway: Builds resilience and therapeutic writing skills for those who hold space for others

For just £12/ month you get...

* Weekly Writing Hour (during term time)
* Access to your pathway’s monthly Community Circle
* Weekly therapeutic writing prompts (available in text and audio)
* Monthly grounding and breathwork exercises
* A private online community space
* A monthly themed lens – a perspective to carry with you throughout the month
* Inclusion in our twice-yearly anthology (after 6 months of membership)
* A special anniversary gift: a unique Words to Live By Creative Studio journal with prompts, inspiration, and space to write (after 12 months of membership)

Find out more here:

LAUNCHING 6th APRIL 2026 Welcome to The Words to Live By Creative Wellbeing Studio  As we approach the launch of our brand new creative community on Monday April 6th… Here…

13/02/2026

We're so excited to share this with you!

Something huge is coming in April 2026.

Read more here: https://the-word-association.com/words-to-live-by-creative-wellbeing-studio/

Register your interest here: https://shorturl.at/C5jt3

11/02/2026

This was such a beautiful project and a real pleasure to facilitate... meeting monthly with a small group of Worcestershire residents, exploring nature connection with the brilliant and immensely knowledgeable Jon Cree and writing reflectively from it.

Much gratitude to The Bramblewood Project for partnering with us on this one, inviting us into your glorious woodland and the delicious fire-cooked food!

Enjoy the digital version of the book... it's broken down into monthly sections so you can follow us and the changing woodland through the course of a year.

Over the course of a year, a small group of Worcestershire residents explored the beauty of Bramblewood through nature connection and therapeutic writing. From planting trees and crafting with willow to making ink from oak galls and listening to bird song, each session has followed the rhythm of the...