Christine Poole

Scientist. Writer. Facilitator. Artist. Curious about what helps us grow.

writing

  • 📚🐾The First Draft Beast

    I was chatting to my writing friend Anne about first drafts. We both agreed: they are hard. Not just a bit tiring hard. They are a beast of a thing. It feels a little like giving birth to some strange creature that you don’t entirely recognise. You have spent all this time creating it, feeding… Read more

  • 🚲 Creative Growth Spurt

    I’ve been thinking about what happens when we grow. Not the slow, steady kind of growth that is almost invisible while it’s happening. I mean the sudden kind. The kind where, almost without noticing, you find yourself finishing things you would once have abandoned. Writing more. Creating more. Sharing more. Becoming more visible. A Creative… Read more

  • A Small Experiment in Finishing

    Second post of the day, to satisfy the scientist-researcher part of me. Yesterday, I thought finishing would feel like sunshine. Today, I finished. And drew a turd. 💩  I couldn’t help becoming curious about what had actually happened. Why did reaching the end of something I’d worked so hard on not feel like the moment… Read more

  • The Practice of Stepping Away

    Yesterday, I was hopeful. The end was in sight. I had spent weeks writing, thinking, rewriting, questioning, changing things, finding new ideas and occasionally wondering why I had ever decided that writing a research paper was a good idea. But yesterday, I could almost see the finish line. There was a little bit of excitement.… Read more

  • 🌫 The Finishing Fog

    There is a particular kind of fog that arrives at the end of creative work. I have started to call it the finishing fog. It is not the fog of not knowing what to do. It is not writer’s block. In fact, quite often, I know exactly what needs to happen. I just don’t want… Read more

  • Focus is Power

    I’m an eclectic writer – from poetry to children’s stories, scientific papers to memoir- but what I have trouble doing is finishing pieces to a quality I am proud of…or if I’m really honest – finishing pieces….like this post for example, its been sitting as a draft since January (which made me laugh today when… Read more

  • I feel full of myself

    The Writing for Healing workshop was a huge success for many reasons: And now, looking at this list, I recognise that five out of six reasons have meant I’ve successfully cultivated internal (not external) validation. This shift is huge for me. In Ireland, if we say someone is ‘full of themselves,’ its not a good… Read more

  • Published in a paper

    Two years ago, I set a goal – to write a piece and get it published in a paper. Who knew (not me) I would write about camogie, a joy of mine! The piece I wrote that got a full page in the local paper 31.10.2024 My life is in a state of flow. Read more

  • Imposter syndrome

    I haven’t been writing much and certainly haven’t been posting on my blog. My Writing for Healing workshop was a dream of mine from two years ago – inspired by Natalie Goldberg’s book ‘Writing down the bones’ where she talked about how much she learnt about herself as a writer – by teaching. It intrigued… Read more

  • Finish my memoir draft – Day 70 update

    What I learnt from this challenge from Day 1 (06.03.24) to now Day 70 (15.05.24) What next for the memoir project? Great job Christine – now go ahead and do that dance of joy to celebrate your achievements! Thanks for reading/liking and best of luck with your own creative endeavours. Read more