Some women think when they join my writing circles that I will be the fierce taskmaster to their reluctant inner writer. “If I don’t write,” they ask “will you pin me down to hold me accountable?” They think fear motivates. It does, until we rebel or find it just one more task we are kicking ourselves down the road to ... continue reading
Why Retreat? Four Powerful Insights from a Cancer Survivor…
Why attend a writing retreat, people ask me. Is it to finish writing pieces? For inspiration? To meet people? I smile, and then try to find words. How do you explain that really my retreats are about deep creative and spiritual renewal? Anyone can sit down at home and write something. They have an idea, they sit, they ... continue reading
Finding Your Quotable Self
I use quotes a lot. When I wrote my Backyard Pearls book, I started each chapter with a quote. I read quotes in my writing process teleclasses. I have whole files of quotes categorized by topic on my computer. So when I started creating the schedule for my next writing retreat, of course I began looking for quotes for just ... continue reading
Going from Dreaming It to Doing It
It’s rather predictable. When I coach people, everyone gets off to a flying start. After a session or so, a massive amount of energy is released and they are giddy about their process, writing when they’ve been blocked for years or spinning out poetry when all they’ve ever done is technical writing. It’s heady stuff… until ... continue reading
How to Finish
Do you know the difference between a finished and unfinished project? I can tell you in one word. Staying. I know that seems rather obvious. If we throw up our hands and quit, whatever we are writing or doing just doesn’t happen. But it’s even deeper than that. Author Leo Babuta says that the key to mastering and finishing ... continue reading
A Winter’s Creative Hibernation
It is 72 degrees right now, in January no less, and I am sitting in paradise. In my own back yard, with the rye grass a spring green, a bee strolling across my day planner, my dog laying next to the patio sniffing the air. Ahhhh… It feels like such a long ahhhh… because it feels almost as if I’ve been in a 3 month ... continue reading
Letting the Writing Take You
A couple of weeks ago I started writing my newsletter about a topic I love – pleasure. As I wrote, I was frolicking with words, playfully tossing them up to see where they’d land. And then I got sidetracked. I left my pleasure article holding a knapsack on the side of the road as I went off in other directions. Each day, ... continue reading
Finding Your Creative Wellspring on Retreat
I hear it every time. When I mention a day-long writing retreat, the first response from women is often a sigh and a dreamy look, like wouldn’t that be heaven. Then reality takes hold and the excuses begin. They don’t have time. They really aren’t “writers.” It sounds intimidating. And I always smile, knowing that when ... continue reading
Following the Colorful Bird
“What if, on the first sunny day, on your way to work, a colorful bird sweeps in front of you down a street you’ve never heard of.” -- Mark Nepo Well, it wasn’t a bird that swept down in this case, but a dog. I was walking by my window when I spotted our neighbor’s miniature schnauzer George gleefully racing ... continue reading
A Room of One’s Own
I just had lunch with a memoirist friend of mine and we had a great discussion about stoking the flames of creativity. We are both working on a big project right now – she is writing her memoir and mining her past for details, while I am creating a new brand and also mining my past for clues on what it needs to be and what ... continue reading