Don’t be alone.

It is natural to retreat when things get tough. Recently I wrote this sentence — I’ve had to learn to write through dark times.  I know uncertainty has the potential to destroy a writer’s mojo…I also know writing can be one of  the best ways to process uncertainty.  This is especially true when you are part of a writing community.

Maybe it feels like an epic battle to write a blog post. Maybe Thursday (and Friday and Saturday and…and…and…) slip by and you are left wondering if writing matters anyway, and maybe you’re a pretend-writer after all.

Maybe it isn’t like this for you, but it is for me.

Today, let’s take some inspiration from Maya Angelou. In 1975 she penned a poem, “Alone” that is as true today as when she wrote it. You can read the whole poem by clicking here. Filmmaker Andy Delaney explored the alone/together theme in Maya Angelou’s poem “Alone” in a delicately moving short film shot as the world fell silent in lockdown. You can read more about this project on Caged Bird Legacy.

Even if it’s a struggle to clack a few words in a post box, I hope you know that it matters. Even when it seems minute to read and reply to blog posts from people you’ve never met in person, I hope you know it matters. This writing community matters because nobody, but nobody/can make it out here alone.

write

Open your blog and write a post. It doesn’t have to be a heart stretched story…it just needs to be written…and shared.

share

Reply to this post, jot a note and paste your URL.

comment

Pop around and visit some other blogs. Leave a comment about the ideas or the craft…encourage and soak up the magic that will find you.

grab an image for your blog

Use one of these images so we can find each other…and you can invite others to share their stories with us!

Offer an invitation to others.

I’m joining an open community of writers over at Sharing Our Stories: Magic in a Blog. If you write (or want to write) just for the magic of it, consider this your invitation to join us. #sosmagic

Sometimes you don’t feel like writing. Do it anyway.

Being a writer can seem magical…until you sit down to write. I started my career as a middle school language arts teacher. I assigned writing. I always thought the assignments were interesting and easy.

By dumb luck, I landed in a workshop with Katie Wood Ray on a September Saturday, just a few weeks after I started teaching. Katie said teachers should always write what they ask their students to write. On Monday I took her advice and attempted the Monday Journal Assignment with my students. I sat with a blank page, and I agreed when my students boldly proclaimed that it was terrible and hard.

It was the moment that I decided to quit assigning writing and start teaching writers.

We abandoned the assignment, and talked about how to make notebook entries not-terrible. The first rule was we could write anything we wanted, especially if the prompt seemed ridiculous. The second rule was to write, even if we didn’t feel like it.

Writers throughout history would agree that this is an important rule. Someone once said, “I hate writing, but I love having written.” It’s nearly impossible to trace the origin of this quote. It resonates with many, therefore, there are many versions of this lament.

The same is true for all of us. There will always be a time when we don’t feel like writing. Do it anyway. It doesn’t have to be “good” writing, it just needs to be written.

write

Open your blog and write a post. It doesn’t have to be a heart stretched story…it just needs to be written…and shared.

share

Reply to this post, jot a note and paste your URL.

comment

Pop around and visit some other blogs. Leave a comment about the ideas or the craft…encourage and soak up the magic that will find you.

grab an image for your blog

Use one of these images so we can find each other…and you can invite others to share their stories with us!

Offer an invitation to others.

I’m joining an open community of writers over at Sharing Our Stories: Magic in a Blog. If you write (or want to write) just for the magic of it, consider this your invitation to join us. #sosmagic

Sometimes things don’t go as planned. Write anyway.

There’s a quote that goes —

Don’t sweat the small stuff.
It’s all small stuff.

Richard Carlson said that. It’s actually the title of a book he wrote in 1997. I remember it being a popular phrase when I was in undergrad, and it wound its way into my long-term memory. I tell myself it a lot.

I’m telling myself it today when things didn’t go as planned. (Do things ever go as planned?) Even more importantly, I’m telling myself:

Write anyway.

I do hope you’ll do the same.

write

Open your blog and write a post. It doesn’t have to be a heart stretched story…it just needs to be written…and shared.

share

Reply to this post, jot a note and paste your URL.

comment

Pop around and visit some other blogs. Leave a comment about the ideas or the craft…encourage and soak up the magic that will find you.

grab an image for your blog

Use one of these images so we can find each other…and you can invite others to share their stories with us!

Offer an invitation to others.

I’m joining an open community of writers over at Sharing Our Stories: Magic in a Blog. If you write (or want to write) just for the magic of it, consider this your invitation to join us. #sosmagic