Is it still ok to use the word ‘Brainstorming’?

July has seen ideas for this guide overflowing at our editorial meetings and it’s simply just fantastic!
Some people have joined in for one session and others continue to come to each meeting. But that’s the real beauty of this project, people are able to engage as little or as often as they want, because no matter how many times someone engages, every idea, every word, every opinion is worth its weight in gold! This book will contain the words of survivors and that is so valuable.

Our first meeting of July was full of discussion and debate AND some incredible bits of ‘note booking’ work that a few members of the team had done at home. Some of the themes, ideas and words captured were:

• When is it safe to talk?
• Legacy feelings
• Isolation
• Anger
• Neglect
• Getting in trouble and Prison
• Suicide and deliberate self harm
• Talking
• Counselling
• Seeking help
• Understanding
• Learning to love yourself now and yourself as a child
• Identification of ones own self and identity
• Revenge – what is revenge and what does it mean?

In one fanastic moment of meeting of ideas, one individual was telling the group about how he reflected on the fact that he used to wear

“my jacket as my shield”

when one other individual spoke up

“thats what i used to do too”

This moment really caputured the essence of the guide project, 2 people thinking they were the only ones that used a particular coping strategy and then through conversation, finding someone else “like me”!

Click here to see the 12-07-2012 Survivors Guide Notes.

At the next meeting, more ideas on particular pages were being discussed, such as:

• Body image
• Creating a page for partners/families and friends of survivors
• Challenging the myths, such as the famous the abused go on to abuse (also known as the Vampire Syndrome) – something that every member of the editorial team felt needed smashing and for people to see this is a myth.

Discussions centred on the style of the guide and how it was important to ensure we use real words, are clear about what we’re saying and its a cohesive message that healing from abuse is very real and possible.

Click here to see the 26-07-2012 Survivors Guide Notes.

The project is really taking shape and soon we’re going to be at the stage of making our first full pagination draft.

Now that’s exciting!!!!!