A place where you can be human.
“A brave life is 15 hard conversations a day.” -Brene Brown
As writers, this is exactly what we sign up for. Well, maybe not all writers, but this is what writing is for me. I like finding creative ways to have hard conversations. I don’t like having hard conversations with just anyone; I prefer to have them in places where I feel safe. I’m not against them, though. And wow, 15! That’s a lot. I don’t think I even talk to 15 people a day.
Do you talk to 15 people a day?
“The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery.” -Anais Nin
Writing for me has been this mysterious journey. Now that I’ve been doing it for a decade, it’s still got some mystery to it. But a lot of it has been demystified through habitual behavior. In writing, like most masteries, you have to learn to share your craft with those around you. Technique is wonderful, but most readers don’t care about it. Your only job is to be so good that it transports them to another world. Now don’t get me wrong, writers are great readers and do understand the skill it takes to apply different techniques. For me, I get ragefully excited when I read several pages of prose. I can’t control myself. I have to put the book down and immediately go write. That’s what I want to share. Deeply inspiring work is my goal in all that I do.
What are some of your goals as a writer or creator?
“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” – Vincent Van Gogh
I’m learning how much comes from just writing every day. I’m not someone who locks themself in a room to get a bunch of words out of me in one sitting. I’m here to enjoy this process. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to finish a decent novel in a year and sell a bunch of copies. Maybe I will pump out a bunch of novels a year some day. As for now, writing at a gentle pace is working for me and you know what I love about this process: I love that I get to perform all the different parts of the writing process at once.
What’s your favorite part of the writing process?
“Turn up for work. Discipline allows creative freedom. No discipline equals no freedom.” -Jeanette Winterson
There are days when I’m dragging myself to the computer and days when I can’t wait to get my creativity out. Yesterday was one of those days when I was eager to write. Either way, I have plenty of wiggle room to write new things, to play with genres and words, and to chat with other writers. I don’t really have much to complain about when it comes to my commitments. I’m in this for the long run; discipline is invited to this gig.
“I am happy to be alive as long as I can paint.” — Frida Kahlo
This is me but writing. All day, I have literally been so excited to get home and write. I had a good day and I was very present, but the thoughts were flowing in. All I can think about is getting to the good part of the story. Some writers skip right to it. Maybe I should, buuut I have learned to pace myself as a writer. So I am staying focused on character development, build up, and I could scream from anticipation.
“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
How’s your writing going?
“Novelists are people who, in my experience, hang on, well past when others would keep hanging on.” -Alexander Chee from First Fiction
Hanging on is a bit of an understatement, and I think hanging on is only one part of the process. I understand, though, we stick it out. It takes quite a bit of resilience to write a novel and see it the whole way through. Thankfully, there are enough writers that came before us to light the way. I hope that I also light the way. I hope my writer’s life is a reminder that you can write. You have full permission to choose the writer’s life with your whole heart, and I will support you the entire way.
I’m not sure why that’s so hard to find. I’m not sure why the world is always trying to snuff out the dream of a writer’s life. I’ll tell you right now, regardless of what the world thinks, you get to choose the writer’s life. They don’t need to understand. They don’t need to know how you do it or how you’re going to make it work. The writer’s journey is yours to claim, to own. Make it a mystery. Tell it all. Write in secret and share it everywhere. Be your own kind of writer.
“In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books through your skin, without even opening them.”
― Mark Twain
Why is this? Just reading this makes me want to get back to the library. I haven’t always been a big reader, but I have always loved the library. There’s so much more than books: museum passes, toys to borrow, DVDs, comics, and resources you may need.
When’s the last time you went to the library?
“You can’t eat beauty, it doesn’t sustain you. What is fundamentally beautiful is compassion for yourself and those around you. That kind of beauty inflames the heart and enchants the soul.” – Lupita Nyong’o
Lupita Nyong’o is an actress in movies like The Woman King, Black Panther, and Wakanda Forever. She is the first Kenyan and Mexican actress to win an Oscar.
Speaking of Wakanda, if you know me, you know I love me some Marvel. But I also loved Woman King. Woman King made me feel more like a woman than any other female warrior movie I’ve ever seen. I just don’t connect well with the female characters that Stan Lee created. But Woman King by Gina Prince-Bythewood, that was for me.
Have you seen Woman King?
“Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere who bravely bears his country’s cause.” -Abraham Lincoln
Thank you all for the sacrifices you’ve made for our country.
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney
There’s no good reason to waste time doing things you don’t love. I’m a big believer in chasing your dreams. I think there are safe and secure ways to live, yes. I’ll always support that. But we can’t let safe and secure keep us from chasing our dreams. We’ve got to do our part to keep our dreams alive.
This is a gentle reminder.
What kind of things make you feel safe and secure? I’ll go first: My writing friends.
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