I hadn’t been to a Monday morning yoga class for months, but one particularly bad day in March, I found myself on the mat with my toes together, head pressing down in child’s pose. Then, the tears started. The second my forehead touched the floor, I started to cry. And because I was face down, my eyes filled with tears quickly and there was no way to stop it. I blinked and they splattered on the mat. I closed my eyes again, but they keep coming. “Set an intention for your practice today,” …
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Notes from a Writer’s Journal
Excerpts from my recent journal entries: I am finally getting excited about writing my memoir. I don’t feel as much fear around writing my story and digging around in the past. Before, in the memoir class I quit two summers ago, I told the teacher I couldn’t write that story and still be in it. But what I should have said was that I couldn’t write it while I was constantly reliving it. I knew I’d write about it eventually, but I was rushing things. -- I heard on a podcast this week …
Why Writers Should Keep a Journal
When I think about the Joan Didion quote, “I don’t know what I think until I write it down,” I think about keeping a journal. To me, this quote embodies everything that journaling should do: reveal what’s going on below the surface. It’s scratching at the inner life, not just writing a log of daily activities (though that can be a part of it). Keeping a journal is asking hard questions, probing for answers, letting your messy thoughts run free on the page. In your journal, you can be your …
3 Simple Strategies for Writing a Book
My number one goal this year has been to build a writing habit. Last year, I spent too much time thinking about writing and not actually doing it. I scribbled in my journal every day, but when it came to crafting sentences and stories, I spent too many months not doing the work. I’ve always wanted a writing life. When I was younger and someone asked me what I wanted to do with my life, I said I wanted to be a poet and a painter. I also wanted to live by the sea. I’ll admit my perspective …
Discernment in Using Your Voice: February Recap
For being such a short month, it seems like February should have flown by. I feel like I should look up surprised that March is here and wonder where the time went. Instead, each week of February felt like a month unto itself. The weeks felt disconnected and I got to the point where all I could do was ride it out. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, only that my expectations for the month (if I really had any, honestly) were nothing like what happened. Nothing. The theme for the Literary …