It’s been a while since I’ve posted.  Happily, I’ve been busy writing.  Seat to the seat and “never a day without a line” and all that (see earlier posts).

And now I’m looking up from my work-which-is-not-work and wondering about you.

What are you up to?  What have you written lately?  What characters are chattering away in your head?  What bit of nonfiction is niggling to be explored and expressed?  What thread wants to be followed?  What scene has spread itself out before you and waits for you to get it down?

Writers can’t not write.  Odd little sentence, I know.  But, isn’t it the truth?

Let this be a brief and gentle reminder.  No one else can give your gifts to the world. No one else can tell your stories.  Why not put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard right now.  Let go and let it flow.

Let us know when you can what you’re up to; then get back to your masterpiece of the moment.  Surprises await just a few paragraphs ahead.  Write your way to them …

After a wee break, I’m back and blogging from my updated website.  With this new format, it is easier than ever to post comments.  I invite you to do so. Often.

This blog is not just for writers.  It’s for all creatives (you know you are one!).  The intent of this site is to encourage and inspire — to be a constant reminder that the work of the heart deserves priority.  We owe it to ourselves and to the world to honor our talents and gifts and deepest passions.  We owe it to ourselves and to the world to put our “seats to the seat” routinely and get down to it.

In my very first blog post, (see archives) I wrote:

How important is your writing to you? …  If it’s an integral part of who you are — if it’s the thing you would do if you had all the time in the world — if you can’t not do it — then make it a priority … .

At the end of that post I offered this:

— ask of each thing that comes between you and your writer/creative self: “Does it fill me up or drain me?” If it drains you, say, “No!”

Then put your seat to the seat and get down to it.

            Welcome to my new blog site.  Feedback encouraged.

 

 

I’ve said yes to a new project. Not because it pays well — it doesn’t. Not because it will bring me recognition — it won’t. I said yes because it presented me with a unique writing challenge.

Translation: I’ve committed to submit a children’s story (serialized or stand-alone) every other week to a daily journal. (They wanted a story a week but I had to re-negotiate!)

I write for adults as a rule. I have a novel in progress. I already have a regular writing practice — seat to the seat, never a day without a line, and all that. And yet, I said yes.

Why? Because I’m a writer and because it scared me. To commit to biweekly deadlines was pause-worthy. To commit to writing for a new audience in a new genre — with biweekly deadlines — was unsettling. But, at the same time, the prospect was intriguing, … enticing, … enlivening.

How could I not say yes?

So why am I sharing this with you, my dear creatives? Because I have a question I’d like you to consider: when was the last time you said yes to something that challenged you creatively?