Cindy on March 3rd, 2009
“Planning to write is not writing….Writing is writing.” — E. L. Doctorow
Ready to start writing this spring? Limited space is available in my April workshop, First Person Singular. Whether your goal is to write for pleasure or publication, this three-week personal essay class will help you conquer your fear of self-expression and flex your creative storytelling skills. (Registration deadline: March 25.) If you live in Oakland County, please visit my newly updated “Workshops” section for dates and details on this and upcoming writing workshops. — CL
Cindy on January 31st, 2008
“I will write myself into well-being.” — Nancy Mairs
I swear, the folks who write the Daily Om are looking in my windows and rummaging through the secret corners of my mind. They’re spying on my life. Each day’s essay speaks to an issue I’m wrestling with, or a project I’m working on. Here’s a line from today’s Om: “Expressing ourselves fully on paper is a safe way to begin exploring the murky territory of the unconscious.” It goes on to discuss the need to uncover difficult truths we’ve been avoiding; to dig under the dark places under which we’ve buried old hurts and wounds.
Writing by hand in a journal produces material that is so much more raw and tender than what I usually type on my keyboard. When I type, I edit and censor myself. (I’m doing that right now.) I’m overly conscious of how my sentences flow — and how they break into paragraphs on the screen. It’s as if I can sense that people are already reading what I’ve committed to the page; I’m like those vain young women who are always glancing over their shoulders to see if other people notice their power and beauty. But journaling by hand — at least in the early stages of a writing project — coaxes the real stuff out from our dark places. I have notebooks to fill. — CL
