Where the heck I've been (and where the heck we're headed)
Hey y’all! I know it has been a good long while since I posted here. Let’s catch up!
I started the year going strong and near the end of March I started losing steam. I was cramming in writing in the late hours of the night while simultaneously nursing our new born child. It felt so important to me that I dedicate myself to consistency more than anything else.
That worked out fine, but I was still missing a degree of fulfillment I used to feel in my writing. I struggled to get far beneath the surface like I used to. I felt like I was writing with my fingers instead of my heart. And something was missing, like deeply missing, and I couldn’t figure out what it was.
I needed more guidance and meaning behind what I was doing. Writing to the void is good for me up until a point.
But I needed feedback.
I needed to know how my words were landing.
I needed to hear what made sense and what didn’t and what the world resonated with and what felt jumbled and confusing.
For years I had read about Gotham Writers Workshop. Gotham Writers Workshop is a renowned creative writing school offering in-person and online classes in fiction, nonfiction, memoir, and more, designed for writers of all levels.
Everything I had written so far in my life had been mostly intuitive. I don’t have a fancy education in English or Creative Writing. I had taken only a couple of classes in high school and community college well over a decade ago, but nothing too deep or long term.
I knew I was teeter-tottering on this life transition. I could either remain stagnant with my writing and keep telling myself “One day I’ll work towards a memoir” or I could finally plunge off of this ledge I’ve been peering over for years. “I could jump…I could do it…”
So where did I go?
I traded in quick consistency for patience and intentionality. I’ve been working on writing through this wall my PTSD had built over several years. I’ve been sharing some of the most vulnerable shit I’ve ever written with complete strangers who have been compassionately holding my words and giving me pointers on how to enhance my storytelling.
And I’m so fucking excited to share with you all what I’ve been writing!
There are three writing opportunities in each class.
Throughout a lecture we’ll pause 1-2 times for a 20 minute writing prompt. These have been some of my favorite writing opportunities. Challenging myself to a short blip of time to say something beautiful and profound, with a few extra minutes tucked in to quickly shape up and edit.
After every class, there is a homework assignment. These prompts are limited by word count. Similar to the in-class assignments, but instead of a limit of time, we’re now limited by how many words we use. Also a wonderful challenge, especially coming from someone who has a gajillion and a half things to say. It reminds me of the Instagram sharing days when I had to make sure whatever I wanted to say was within 2200 characters.
The third writing opportunity is “The Booth”. Twice within the 10-week span, you submit a longer assignment - just under 4,000 words. The class gets one week to read through your piece and submit typed up feedback. You cannot access this feedback until after you “sit in the booth”. The following week, as you sit in the booth, you listen to everyone talk about your piece – what they loved, what could have been stronger, any recommendations they had had, what felt confusing, what took their breath away, any of it! Every student takes an opportunity to talk through your submission and you sit there on mute the whole time acting like you’re not sweating bullets. Then, at the very end of it all, you get to unmute yourself and respond to all the feedback.
It has been one of the best decisions I’ve made in a long time, to sign up for this class. It’s really pushed me in the direction I’ve been longing to go for half my life at this point. I’ve challenged myself in various ways and have written on things I thought would take me ages to get the courage to write about. I have tapped into feelings and relationships and perspectives that I had forgotten about, never knew existed, or thought I had stashed away for good.
As a yoga practitioner, it has been such a wonderful practice of Svadyaya (the study of one’s self). And I’m also stoked to announce that I signed up for the following course Memoir II. Let’s. Fuckingggg. GOOOOOO!
So what does this all mean for this space?
Moving forward I will be sharing my writing from this course with you all. I’m so very proud of my in-class writing as well as my homework assignments. These are the pieces I will be sharing here with you all. Unfortunately, I’m going to be privately holding on to my booth submissions for now, as they will absolutely become sections of my book!
Listen along!
It’s my dream to one day read my own audiobook when my memoir finally makes its way into the world. But first, I want to get some practice in.
So from here on out, you’ll have the option to either read my pieces or listen to me read them to you. I won’t be in a fancy podcasting studio. It will be just me, alone in my closet, talking into my phone and trying to put as much emotion into the reading as I did when I wrote the words.
I expect it to be rocky at first. But starting messy is better than not starting at all. I’d love your feedback! What resonates, what doesn’t, where you felt drawn in or drifted off. Praise, tips, and gentle critique are all welcome.
This is a brand-new thing for me, and I want to get better. And when the time comes to record my audiobook, I really want to get it right and feel like I put my best effort into it!
“Buy Me A Coffee” Buttons
I’m also going to include buttons to “Buy me a coffee” in my posts moving forward. You are more than welcome to sign up for a paid subscription to my Substack - I happily welcome it! But I understand that is not feasible for most of us. But! If you read through a piece and it really hits in a way that draws you to throw me some financial support, these buttons will be placed so that you can do just that. It’s a pay-whatever-you-wish option but I believe the minimum it will let you give is $5. The big difference between that and a subscription to my Substack is that the “Buy me a coffee button” is a one-and-done thing vs an ongoing subscription.
At this time, I do not plan on putting any of my writing behind a paywall. So you won’t necessarily receive extra perks (yet, at least) if you subscribe, aside from knowing that you’re helping me continue pursuing my dream of writing a memoir.
Any money I receive via Substack and Buy me a coffee goes directly towards my memoir classes.
Thank you for being here.
Thank you for your patience while I figured out this space and how I wish to navigate it.
I’m so excited to share with you all everything I’ve been working on!
What’s the difference between a Substack subscription
and “Buy Me A Coffee”?
Subscriptions through Substack are amazing,
but I know they’re not for everyone.
Buy Me a Coffee lets you give once,
in any amount, whenever it feels right.
This sounds like such a fantastic class!