Writing asks us to cultivate wonder. That state of mind that allows us to approach the unknown with curiosity and awe. In wonder, we become open, present, more susceptible to being astonished. I’ve been teaching about this all month, and today I want to affirm: Writers need to nourish our own curiosity. We can learn… [Read More]
Stop making sense.
The point of creative writing is to transmute the ineffable. We use words to communicate all the things we can’t put into words. Language makes it possible. And language can also lead us astray. (Particularly the English language, which is so good at fixing experiences into nouns and verbs, confident that it knows what it… [Read More]
How to write with wonder and tune into metaphor.
We are all interconnected. Made of the same universal fibres. Woven into the same fabric. Life mirrors itself in infinite directions. Energies. Colours. “Coincidences.” At all scales. This numinous web is the ultimate source of metaphor. When we tune into this source, we can more easily spot patterns, echoes, hidden meanings — the seemingly random… [Read More]
What satisfies most writers: it’s not what you think
The most satisfying part of writing is making contact with the unknown. Since we were young children, we writers have been enchanted by mystery, drawn to that place where we glimpse something greater than ourselves. It still gives us a sense of wonder, astonishment, and deep belonging, doesn’t it? As adults, getting through that portal… [Read More]
The courage to transform through story.
To close this month’s theme of courage, I’m talking about possibly the hardest thing we undergo as writers: Transformation. When we’re truly moved by writing that amazes us, what we are actually feeling is the transformation the writer experienced through the creation of her work. Even when we write about characters who appear to be… [Read More]