Your Living Book: How To Stay Committed to Writing a Book
What most people imagine when they commit to writing a book is the traditionally published book. You know, the 200-250 page thing with the glossy, artistically rendered cover that's mass-produced. It's distributed by a publisher—ideally one of the big five publishers....
3 Touchstones of a Creative Writing Practice
There are three touchstones that are the foundation and starting point when creating a writing practice. I choose to use the word "touchstone" rather than "steps to follow" because this isn't a linear process you go through once and never have to do again. The...
Choosing to Follow the Soul-called Writer’s Path
Choosing to follow the soul-called writer’s path is not always easy. To write is to lay yourself bare on the page by following your desire to express something of your soul and share it with the world. It requires that you learn how to navigate the complex and...
How to Support a Restorative Writing Practice
Writing is a solitary act, but there are many sources of support available to you if you look for them. It’s important to orient yourself toward seeing and embracing the visible and invisible support available to you, rather than focusing on what you don’t have or...
Being a Soul-Called Writer
"The design set in the soul has more value in the long run than any plan cooked up by one's ego or career sanctioned by one's culture." —Micheal Meade, Fate & Destiny: Two Agreements of the Soul You are here for a reason. You're not here at this time by mistake....
The Restorative Writing Cycle
It’s not enough to dream about writing, you actually have to show up and do it, which can be the hardest thing, even when it’s the very thing your heart desires most. And it’s even harder to develop and share your writing once you do it. Yet if you’re here, you know...
Why I Prefer ‘Writing Guide’ to ‘Writing Coach’
I was fired by my first writing coach. Yes, you read that right, she fired me. Her words, "There's a window of opportunity that you've missed, you're not ready. You don't have the right mindset." Working with her was the first time I'd ever worked with a "coach." At...
Reluctance is a Doorway to Change
Eighteen years ago, I sat around a table at Dolan’s Seafood restaurant in Boulder, Colorado and learned for the first time that I had White privilege. It was an enlightening and difficult moment, and it changed the trajectory of my life. My first reaction was...
Being in a Writing Group is an Exercise in Democracy
I lead writing groups and I participate in writing groups. They are essential to supporting life as a writer, and they are a powerful political act. A member of one of my writing groups spoke to this beautifully when she said, “Being in a writing group is an exercise...
The Art of Finding Spaciousness in a Chronically Busy Life
Most mornings, I wake up in the dark, before sunrise, before the tasks of my day are expected to begin. I lie down on the musty area rug in my living room, rest on the earth, and make a practice of connecting to the immeasurable spaciousness that is at the heart of...
“When your write what wants to be written, you stop rejecting the life you have made.
You stop imagining some other place, some other lover, some other career, some other you. You take your life into your arms and call it your own.“