The future belongs to writers who work with energy.

Here are some notes from my journal this month, in no particular order…

1. What are you writing for? Why do you want to write? How do you want to feel, and how is writing key to this desire? What impact do you want your words to make when someone else reads them? Why do you want that impact? 
   
   
   
2.  a) At the AfterWords Literary Festival authors dinner in Halifax, I had a fascinating conversation with a group of picture book authors, cartoonists, and graphic novelists. Wow - these were joyful, curious, and happy people!
   
   One writer said to me, “You know, the more books I write, the fewer words I use.” She had recently published a book that was entirely illustrations (done by someone else). She was named on the cover as the author. There were no other words in her book.
   
   Q: What had she written? 
   
   b) Before I could get her name and the title of her book, we were interrupted and I lost track of her. Who was that mysterious literary spirit? If you know, please email me!
   
   
   
3. I know two brilliant writers who are completing their PhDs. When they connect to the energy of their research, they light up. When they talk about writing their dissertation, they grow heavy and dark.
   
   Q: If they enjoyed their writing process, would their degrees still feel valuable to them? 
   
   
   
4. What you want to write wants you to write it. It’s on your side. 
   
   
   
5. Reading about the UBC/Galloway case ten years later brought up a lot of old feelings and memories. Not so much about the case itself, but about the consequences of my life choices. I graduated from UBC and published my first book—I knew the traditional path. Then I created the Story Course as an independent alternative to MFA programs. 
   
   MFAs were expensive, complicated, and gatekeepey (for lack of a better word). They were part of an established system, but it was already starting to crack apart. 
   
   I wanted to give writers permission to connect to a different source of authority: the work itself, their mastery of the craft, and the power of connecting to their own creative energy. This energetic connection still feels important to me.
   
   Q: Is this permission even more relevant, now? Because… 
   
   
   
6. The writers who will thrive in the future are those who know how to work with their own energy. Writers who believe their work is an entirely intellectual process will have a (valid) fear of AI, because they have disowned the intelligence of their body, the intelligence of their emotions, and the intelligence of their energy.
   
   
   
7. In ancient history, like in Egypt and China, being able to write was a rare and sacred skill. Scribes were incredibly powerful, and writing was considered close to magic. Also: it was done by hand. Today, young students write secret notes to each other in cursive, because it has become a rare skill to decipher the code of handwriting again.
   
   Q: Does a writer’s power still come from the special relationship they have with language, the shaping of consciousness through words?
   
   This power outdates the MFA, the publishing industry, the printing press. It’s ancient. 
   
   
   
8. When you practice your creativity and curiosity, you build your capacity to respond to change. Today’s world is unpredictable, and this is as stable as it will ever be again.* Knowing how to write creatively is a rare and sacred skill to have, especially now. 
   
   
   
9. Success has many different forms. Your life design is a creative choice. 
   
   
   
10. Make choices that please your heart, your mind, your body, and your vibes.

With love,

• If you’re ready to learn craft and build your writing life on your own terms, you might like the Story Course. 
  
  
• *Today’s world is unpredictable, and this is as stable as it will ever be again. — Seth Godin

Photo credit (top): Annie Spratt on Unsplash.