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The writing is for you
As Write the Wise Way Home slowly transitions to Writers' Sanctuary, I want to share a few guiding principles I'm working on. I hope they will inspire you. 1) I believe that writers with urgent stories are often reluctant prophets and that their messages are necessary...
Why you read
Do you ever think about what you read at a given moment or why? For example, sometimes you might read to feel understood and feel drawn to books that echo your specific experience in the world. Sometimes you want to enter someone else's world, to gain understanding or...
Wait for the Words
Wait for the words. They are never far from you, Often lingering just below consciousness. You can feel them rising, But you can't force them to the surface, Like fish on a hook. You wait for that first line, And when you write it down, You discover another one. You...
Decluttering for writers
A few months ago, I started a decluttering process, sorting through detritus from the last twenty-five years. As pat of the process, I had moved a basket of notebooks from my studio into my bedroom. For weeks, every time I got out of bed, I found them staring back at...
One way to write
This is for anyone who was ever told that their way of writing or creating wouldn't work. For anyone who ever believed the promise of the magic book writing formula or the perfect movie plot or that getting into a particular school would guarantee success. For anyone...
Walking through fire to write
What kind of book are you trying to write? Why haven’t you written it yet? Are you procrastinating? When you walk away, what are you walking away from? The book you are writing? Or the book you think you should be writing? What do you really want to write and how will...
What’s running your writing life?
Last week, I promised to share more valuable lessons I learned from Natalie Goldberg. This one might be the most significant, at least it was for me: If something is running you from behind, you won't be free of it until you face it. A few weeks ago, I shared my story...
Reflections on Prompts
Over the past few months, a lot has shifted in my writing process. As I'm stepping into new territory, however, both as a writer and a writing guide, I am keenly aware of the lessons I bring forward from my years of study with Natalie Goldberg. I found myself...
The inner work of writing
As many of you know, I took a sabbatical from teaching and coaching during the last six months of 2021. I needed time to grieve for my father, to rethink the book I've been writing, and to get clear about where I want to go as a teacher and guide, what we might build...
Surrender
I woke up yesterday morning, opened my computer to write the weekly message and realized I had nothing to say. I opened Mailchimp anyway, but couldn't access my account. The Universe has it own ways of speaking to you. Friday, I announced to the Continuous Practice...