Roadblocks to Renewal

So here we are at the tail end of spring, and the brink of summer--a season of activity. And for writers, what's better than a summer spent writing? Recently I've talked with you about the energy of renewal that spring brings and harnessing that in your writing practice. It's such a perfect time to cultivate the seeds of fresh stories, or to give new life to those you've buried or set aside.

photo by Positive Images on Pixabay

I've heard from some of you about how challenging it can be to engage in this way. One of you writes, "What's most challenging for me with my writing project(s) is continuing or picking up my work through the bumps and interruptions in my life. I suppose I'm not swimming alone in a revolving flux of idiosyncratic secondary characters and distracting self-defeating jargon." That is so powerful! Not only is this an accurate portrayal of how life tries to besiege our writing practice, sometimes on a daily basis, but this writer nails it by calling out how we're not alone in this predicament. This distraction can also present as the feeling of not having enough time, or even a general malaise and lack of motivation, as another writer friend of mine is struggling with. It can also present as the tremendous weight of grief or other trauma that we're enduring as part of life.

I actually want to design some kind of live virtual writer's gathering specifically around grief and trauma later this year, so stay tuned for that.

But for now, let's hone in on working through these and any road blocks. At the crux of these roadblocks is really one thing—our inner connection to our work, and to our process and practice. When that connection is strong, nothing gets in the way for very long. When we re-enliven this connection, we'll take the time to write, even if it's only five minutes at the end of an exhausting day. Our excitement to do our chases away the malaise of boredom and inertia. We'll even be able to write as we wade through the deep waters of grief and trauma, because as the first writer who shared her thoughts with me so wisely put it, "that's where all the Spirit Guides like to hang out." So true, my wise and wild woman writer friend!

The good news is that anyone can access this connection at anytime—right now, today even! It really just starts by taking a few minutes to listen to your writer's spirit, and then writing what your soul tells you to write.

In my Writing As Renewal experience, we'll move gently into this space of access and renewal and build on it, bringing these stories of our heart to life!

I'll share one more post with you before I launch this experience on May 21, in which I'll give just a few examples of how others have vanquished these road blocks to writing and plugged into that connection to their writer's spirit and those stories waiting to blossom and grow.

As always, I'd love to hear how you're resonating with your sense of renewal. You can leave a comment here, or reach me by email at anne@writeranne.net, or give me a shout out on social media.

I also invite you to join my mailing list to receive a FREE guide on story magic!

Talk to you soon!

Your Summer of Writing!

We're officially two months into spring—folks are freshening up their homes, dusting off their patio furniture, and preparing for a summer of fun activities.

Some people are really into gardening too, either planting new seeds, or anticipating the return of the perennials that have been dormant all winter.

Your writing practice is a lot like a garden. In order for it to flourish, the soil needs to be turned and enriched. And even if you're trying to revive those perennials—those stories that have lain dormant for too long—you still have to prepare the soil and be ready to nurture new seeds and old bulbs alike.

The Writing As Renewal experience can help you do just that—feed and renew the soil of your writing practice by connecting you with your writer's spirit and discovering the stories your hearts wants to tell. Beyond that, nurturing those stories to full germination as you prepare for a summer of writing.

I've talked to several writers, some of them good friends who are going through this process now. And it always boils down to one thing—the writer's connection to their practice, their art.

Over the next few days, I'll share more about how exciting it can be to give birth to a new story, or to excavate a long-buried story your heart wants to tell. I'll also talk about some of the roadblocks to this work and how you can eliminate them.

I'm still putting the finishing touches on this experience before it launches on May 21, so now's your chance to share what's most challenging for you about starting a new writing project (or dusting off one that you've set aside), and what's the biggest hindrance to maintaining a fulfilling writing practice. Drop a comment here, hit me up on social media, or email me: anne@writeranne.net.

Meanwhile, join my mailing list for a free guide on story magic!

Talk to you soon!

Writing Restoration: Gratitude

Image by cocoparisienne, Pixabay

I am humbled and beyond grateful—less than a week out from my first event for the International Women’s Writing Guild—Writing As Restoration—and the event is already full! How fitting then, that I’m posting today about the fourth topic of the 4-week writing circle, GRATITUDE. The synchronicity is blowing my mind!

Gratitude quite often begins from within, by acknowledging what we have to be grateful for in our immediate experience. And if we can treat each thing as a precious seed to plant in our figurative gardens, rather than just one item in a random list, so much the better.

Image from Pixabay

These seeds become even more powerful when we include others. At some point during the pandemic, I read an article in a wellness magazine about writing letters—not emails or text messages—of gratitude to others. I started last year, and it’s ongoing. Not only did this project allow me to reconnect with some people that I’d lost touch with, but it reminded me of how much love, grace, and support I have in my life.

All of this creates an energy that reverberates back to us, enriches the soil of our gardens, and waters each seed of gratitude until it blooms into a full blossom of vivid abundance and love.

If you’re reading this, I’m tempted to say that I’m sorry you’ve missed out on my Writing Circle this time. But really, it creates an opportunity for you to be part of the next one. Keep an eye on my upcoming workshops here, and check out what else I’m up, like the novels I’m working on, my coaching and mentoring services, and the upcoming launch of my podcast.

In the meantime, keep writing…I’m so grateful you’re here.

I’m a writer of magical realism, a mentor to women writers of all ages, and a story magic archaeologist. I hold an MFA in Creative Writing, and I live in Los Angeles with my husband and our two Imp Muses (cats) Stanley and Sofia. Join my mailing list for a free guide on story magic!

www.writeranne.net ⁎ anne@writeranne.net ⁎ Twitter @wildwriteranne ⁎ Facebook Wild Woman Writer

Writing Restoration: Celebration!

Coming out of the dark, and into the light. Yes, celebration is part of restoration! Recovery and healing may not be reached in an instant. But we don’t have to wait until we feel the process is complete to celebrate. It’s important to recognize our milestones along the way, as well as our ultimate victory.

Have a look at the lyrics to Gloria Estefan’s “Coming Out of the Dark:”

Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay 

Why be afraid if I'm not alone?
Though life is never easy
The rest in unknown
And up to now for me it's been
Hands against stone
Spent each and every moment
Searching for what to believe
Coming out of the dark
I finally see the light now
And it's shining on me
Coming out of the dark
I know the love that saved me
You're sharing with me
Starting again is part of the plan
And I'll be so much stronger
Holding your hand
Step by step, I'll make it through
I know I can
I may not make it easier
But I have felt you
Near all the way
Coming out of the dark
I finally see the light now
And it's shining on me
(I see the light)
(I see the light)
I see the light (I see the light)
Coming out of the dark
I know the love that saved me
You're sharing with me
Ever (I stand on the rock)
I stand on the rock of your love
(Forever) ever
(And ever) and ever
Can't nobody stop me, watch me
(Forever) ever
(And ever) and ever
Stand on the rock
Of your love is all it takes
No matter what we face
Coming out of the dark
I see the light
I feel your love shining on me (shining)
(Shining) Yeah, shining on me (shining)
I know the love that saved me
You're sharing
You're sharing with me (I see the light)
Sharing with me (I see the light)
Sharing with me (I see the light)
Sharing with me (coming out of the dark)
I cannot be in the dark
Making it into the light, yeah
Your love's shining on me (shining)
Shining on me (I see the light)
Shining on me (I see the light)
(Shining, I see the light)
(Coming out of the dark)
I see the light
I see the light (I see the light)
(I see the light)
Shining, shining on me
(Shining, shining)
I didn't think that I could take it (shining)
But your love helped me to make it (coming out of the dark)
Coming out of the dark
I see the light now
Yes, I see the light
(Shining) (I see the light)
(Shining) (I see the light)
(Shining) (I see the light)

You can also have a listen here.

Celebration is a powerful thing, and it’s the focus of the third session of my Writing As Restoration event that I’ll be doing next week for the International Women’s Writing Guild. As of this posting, there is only ONE space left, so there’s still time to learn more and grab that last spot here.

And if it’s gone, not to worry, I’ll be doing it again in early 2022. You can find out exactly when, also learn about what else I’m up to (novels in the works, editing, and mentoring and coaching), here. And I can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Meanwhile, keep writing, and keep celebrating!

I’m a writer of magical realism, a mentor to women writers of all ages, and a story magic archaeologist. I hold an MFA in Creative Writing, and I live in Los Angeles with my husband and our two Imp Muses (cats) Stanley and Sofia. Join my mailing list for a free guide on story magic!

www.writeranne.net ⁎ anne@writeranne.net ⁎ Twitter @wildwriteranne ⁎ Facebook Wild Woman Writer

Writing Restoration: Excavation

Excavate: 1. to make a hole or channel by digging. 2. to remove earth carefully and systematically from an area in order to find buried remains.

One of the most difficult parts of restoration, recovery, healing---and probably the most crucial---is going within. Digging deep. Excavating the raw origins of our wounds. Without this part of the process, as painful as it is, we can't move through our difficult times and heal them.

credit: dahlia art

Globally and individually, we’ve experienced unprecedented personal stress and loss. On the restorative power of writing, Julia Cameron is quoted as saying "Writing is medicine. It is an appropriate companion for any difficult change." With this in mind, I felt inspired to create a writing circle based on writing as restoration.

Excavation will be the topic of the second session of my online Writing Circle for the International Women's Writing Guild for four Thursdays this October (7, 14, 21, 28), right after Meditation, and preceding Celebration and Gratitude. 

It's been my experience that in order to do this important inner excavation work, we must access a part of ourselves that's always been there, but that we're reluctant to call upon it: what Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes describes in her book Women Who Run With the Wolves, as the wild self. Our most primal nature is unfettered and uncensored. It's my feeling that it's only in this deep place that we can find our authenticity as writers and in our writing itself.

Whether we're releasing into a journal entry, writing a cathartic memoir or poem, or crafting a novel that will be a balm for the wounds of the many, we need to access that part of ourselves that, as Estes describes herself as well: the "disguised criatura, creature... I swagger-staggered on high heels, and I wore a dress and hat to church. But my fabulous tail often fell below my hemline, and my ears twitched until my hat pitched, at the very least, down over my eyes, and sometimes clear across the room."

And in her Mother Night audio course, she goes on to say that accessing this wild self as creatives "strengthens you and excites your soul.. [and takes you] straight into the heart of what excites [you]." I might also add, straight to the heart of what heals you.

There's still room in the Writing Circle, but not for long! I'll be doing a giveaway of Estes' book during the second session, and the Guild is including a 3-month trial membership with registration! Learn more and register here.

Meanwhile, if I can help you in your journey to the wild writer spirit and the soul of the stories you have to tell, visit me here, and check out my current projects and upcoming podcast launch as well. 

I’m a writer of magical realism, a mentor to women writers of all ages, and a story magic archaeologist. I hold an MFA in Creative Writing, and I live in Los Angeles with my husband and our two Imp Muses (cats) Stanley and Sofia. Join my mailing list for a free guide on story magic!

www.writeranne.net ⁎ anne@writeranne.net ⁎ Twitter @wildwriteranne ⁎ Facebook Wild Woman Writer

Writing Restoration: Meditation

Globally and individually, we’ve experienced unprecedented personal stress and loss. On the restorative power of writing, Julia Cameron is quoted as saying "Writing is medicine. It is an appropriate companion for any difficult change." With this in mind, I felt inspired to create a writing circle based on writing as restoration.

In my upcoming event for the International Women's Writing Guild (IWWG) starting on October 7, I will explore writing restoration as meditation, celebration, excavation, and gratitude.

The first of these subtopics, writing as meditation, has long been part of my writing practice. It all started when I read Natalie Goldberg's book Writing Down the Bones. In it she writes: "In 1974 I began to do sitting meditation. From 1978 to 1984 I studied Zen formally with Dainin Katagiri Roshi (Roshi is a title for a Zen master) at the Minnesota Zen Center in Minneapolis. Whenever I went to see him and asked him a question about Buddhism, I had trouble understanding the answer until he said, 'You know, like in writing when you . . .' When he referred to writing, I understood. About three years ago he said to me, 'Why do you come to sit meditation? Why don’t you make writing your practice? If you go deep enough in writing, it will take you everyplace.'"

When we write as a way to meditate (and vice-versa) we are forging a connection to our inner writer, or writer's spirit if you will. It has been my experience that this connection alone allows the kind of freedom and authenticity to write what's most important to us, the stories we simply must tell--the stories of our soul.

In my workshop, these "stories" may be anything from conversations in a journal; poems; the birth of a new character; memoir; the snippet of a new novel or screenplay---the possibilities are infinite! The important thing to focus on is the connection to our writer's spirit and the acceptance of the writer within. In other words, process before outcome. 

I once read that Hemingway would spend entire afternoons in cafes writing, but the first several hours were spent freewriting before he even began to work on any specific story or novel. When I engage in writing as meditation, I lead myself down into what I refer to as "the zone," which is highly meditative, but hardly quiet---on the contrary, it's teeming with light and color and ideas. I rarely have the kind of time to spend on this process that Hemingway enjoyed, but I often start out my writing practice with a few minutes of freewriting or journal writing such as Julia Cameron's morning pages in The Artist's Way. 

Some days I may be writing under deadline or so pressed for time that we can't afford the luxury of morning pages or anything else---I've got ten minutes to jot down the next few sentences of a novel, or the next few lines of a poem I'm working on. In those cases, if I can pull those few minutes into that mental space of listening and intention, I can still connect with my writer's spirit, and make those few minutes a writing meditation. 

I hope you'll join my writing circle next month. Space is limited, so don't wait too long! Even if you can't make the live sessions, you'll have access to the recordings as a registrant. The fee includes a trial membership to the IWWG. And those who attend sessions live will be eligible for drawings for free gifts, including copies of Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg, a Writing Down the Bones writing prompt deck, Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way, and Clarissa Pinkola Estes' Women Who Run With the Wolves.

In the meantime, if you'd like help connecting to your writer's spirit, establishing a writing practice, or working through a specific project, learn more here.

I’m a writer of magical realism, a mentor to women writers of all ages, and a story magic archaeologist. I hold an MFA in Creative Writing, and I live in Los Angeles with my husband and our two Imp Muses (cats) Stanley and Sofia. Join my mailing list for a free guide on story magic!

www.writeranne.net ⁎ anne@writeranne.net ⁎ Twitter @wildwriteranne ⁎ Facebook Wild Woman Writer

Ekphrasitic Explorations

This is the second ekphrastic poem I've ever done, which is a poem written in response to a work of art.  Henry Tanner's "Salome" has long been one of my favorite paintings. I am drawn to the deep blue hues in several of his pieces, without really connecting to the religious theme of the subject matter at first. Neither did I know the story of Salome, who is King Herod's daughter. Researching that story further for this poem not only led to a deeper appreciation of the painting, but gave me multiple perspectives from which to frame my poem.

Blue Note

By Anne Eston

(After Henry Tanner’s “Salome”)

I danced for him

but did not become

the lover I thought myself to be.

I step into the half-light.

Moonlight shimmers

on my nudity…

Waiting for a lover

who can see

the filmy hesitancy of my 

womanhood.

My hidden eyes will tell you,

my mother’s prize is not my own—

ignore the dead man in the corner.

I’m a writer of magical realism, a mentor to women writers of all ages, and a story magic archaeologist. I hold an MFA in Creative Writing, and I live in Los Angeles with my husband and our two Imp Muses (cats) Stanley and Sofia. Join my mailing list for a free guide on story magic!

www.writeranne.net ⁎ anne@writeranne.net ⁎ Twitter @wildwriteranne ⁎ Facebook Wild Woman Writer