WELCOME to 36 Words – freedom writing
Welcome to this Freedom practice of getting lots of ink on the page!
A practice of being fully human, fully imperfect, fully ourselves.
I offer in-person classes and online classes. See below.
The NEWS includes a regular writing group; the Autumn Circle to deepen your writing AND a Day-Retreat to unwind and replenish mind and body (all in Portuguese)
About me
Hello! My name is Patrícia and I love to write.
Writing has been part of my life for so long now. First as a teenager, then as a journalist, editorial coordinator, author and co-author, even as a mom!
At home we have two adorable dogs, we read stories and poetry, riddles, we make rhymes and tongue-twisters. These things I didn’t put on my resume, and there are others that I didn´t put… here.
As the world becomes increasingly more complex we need practices that nourish us. Writing has been such a practice, especially since the pandemic began in 2020 and having had to stay at home with my kids.
Without caring about what people might think of us, the page is ours alone. Friend, confident, it doesn’t judge us. We can all write in an honest and simple way, and create absolutely beautiful stories. In fact, the more we let go of the idea of “writing well”, the better we write. The path to beauty is not through perfection.
New on the Blog – Why we tell stories. We write stories for so many reasons.
One of them is to stay alive and sane.
About freedom writing
Poetry has changed my life. In our Freedom Writing practice we begin with a poem to inspire us and open the doors of our minds. Then we use timed periods of writing as quickly as possible, not allowing our inner critic to jump in and block us. We just follow our intuition and all we can hear and see is one word after another and we keep saying yes to the next word and to the next. We keep digging with the pen and with some luck we strike some place inside us that has been long waiting to tell us something. Are you brave enough to hear it? Are you brave enough to share it?
Key to our practice is vulnerability. After writing, we share what we wrote. Yes, this may seem very scary at first but in time it becomes a full part of the practice and its beauty. Especially because the group does not offer any comment or critique. We just listen to each other, we hold each other in safety, silence and appreciation. And we can learn so much with one another if we allow this openness and flow to take place.
CLASSES
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ONLINE
Oh, we’ve got to love technologies! It’s so easy to be together from different parts of the country (of the world even!)
Paper, pen and 15-minute periods of just writing non-stop, telling our stories, our themes, telling the world as we see it and feel it. By writing so quickly we bypass self-criticism and perfectionism, allowing intuition, flow, and lightness to surface.
You can keep the work to yourself as a quiet reflection or go ahead and share it with the world by shaping it into essays, blog posts, poems, articles, memoirs, novels, you name it!
Online classes with English and Portuguese options – see below which language is the next group in.
The groups are small and intimate, with a max. of 8 people.
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IN PERSON
Yes, we write together in person 🙂
We start the day writing. Sitting at the table, with pen and paper only, we make the writing even more powerful by being with other people. There’s just something magical in writing in the presence of others in a cozy family environment.
A 90 min class, with English and Portuguese options.
See below.
The groups are small and intimate, with a max. of 7 people.
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Autumn Circle: starting Oct 16th. Until Dec 4th – IN PORTUGUESE
These circles are for those who wish to deepen their practice. They are precious moments of poetry, lots of ink on the page, reading and silence.
8 weeks (1x/week) | Price: 120 euros | Sundays | 17h-19h |
Small intimate group of 8 people max.
No writing experience needed.
REGISTRATION until Oct.10th. E-mail us at palavras@36palavras.pt
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Regular writing group: Ongoing! – IN PORTUGUESE
Let’s navigate these tough waters of the world together. The world outside is divided. Here, let’s create union, and love.
Let’s be our tender and vulnerable selves.
We gather fortnightly to write live. In the off-weeks we write using a short recorded video that will inspire you to keep up the practice. This is group is always running and you can join at any time. No writing experience required
and we write with whoever is online.
Fortnightly on Wednesdays | 19h30-20h30 | Free
REGISTRATION: e-mail us at palavras@36palavras.pt
Mondays 9h30-11h (Portuguese) |Tuesdays: 9h30-11h (English)
By donation. We suggest 5 to 10 euros
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Day Retreat in person – in Portuguese: Oct. 9th (Sunday)
A one-day retreat with Free(dom) Writing, Yoga/Dance Fusion and Meditation to pause and reset. In the beautiful country side of Carvalhal, just 1h from Lisbon. We have this idea that to rest we need to stop everything but that’s not always the case. With nourishing well-paced activities we can find rest within movement.
There’s no cost. Just register by Sept. 30th.
E-mail us at palavras@36palavras.pt
Program
10:00 Arrival
10:20-12:00 Freedom Writing
12:00-13:00 Yoga/Dance Fusion
13:00 Lunch (bring vegetarian/vegan food to share)
14:15 Period of silence, rest/nap (or you can go for a walk)
15:30 meditation/Reflection
16:30 Clean up and goodbye
The day-retreat is sold out
Please e-mail palavras@36palavras.pt to join the waiting list
ALSO
Schools
Would you like to bring Wild Writing into your school? Write us an e-mail.
For 10th, 11th and 12th graders.
Classes for full-time moms
Do you have a group of moms who’d like to write together?
These classes focus especially on self-care and are a wonderful resource
to replenish yourself for having the toughest job on the planet.
Drop us an e-mail!
Testimonials
“I have been writing weekly over the past month with Patricia Dias and have found the experience to be life-changing. I love the safe space Patricia holds for me to explore whatever wants to be expressed onto the page. I have never considered myself a writer at all but through her gentle presence, I have enjoyed writing without pressure, and am often pleasantly surprised at the words that come. Patricia chooses beautiful poetry to read and uses the pieces as inspiration. It is a such a soul nourishing activity to do and my life has become enriched because of it. I would highly recommend writing with Patricia if you ever get the opportunity. It is a real gift.”
Gaye McPhie
AUSTRALIA
” I did a one day in-person workshop with Patricia in Lisbon.
I was curious as I had heard about Wild Writing and thought I understood the concept.
I was however very surprised by the subtle yet powerful way the prompts and the carefully selected poems unleashed onto the paper.
Not only myself but these ten unrelated and unaware group of persons that saw themselves a bit shy but reading out loud quite personal things. As if we were in a group of friends but without any expectations as there were no comments, just empathy.
I do recommend that you put aside all the things you think and expect or hope out of these sessions. Go in and let yourself be surprised.
Patricia’s kind ways and patient manners will help you find what you have inside that needs to come out of the pen and into the world.
A strange sense of relief stayed for the following days.
JoãO SANTOS
PORTUGAL