Tell Me More

It took me months (years?) to start a blog. I finally did it, and now I'm stuck. What to do with it? What's the point?  It's easy to get sidetracked and overwhelmed. I need to remember it’s really not that complicated. I needed a place to share my writing - that's it.  A blog seemed like neutral ground. If you're in the mood for one of my stories, you know where to find it, and there's no pressure to say anything about it.  Simple.  But something about "posting" is intimidating. The permanence? The publicness of it? Whatever it is, I need to get over it.  

Maybe I can start by being honest about my writing, and what I'm doing here.  I spend two and a half hours, once a week, with an amazing group of creative non-fiction writers. Sometimes there are 4 of us, sometimes there are 10. But there is never enough time. Each session begins with a "free write" starting with a prompt. We write without editing, without perfectionism, without any purpose other than getting what's in our heads onto the paper as fast as we can. When the time is up, we take turns reading aloud whatever has poured out.  

I love the writing that comes out of these few minutes.  Where each person is in that moment, the memories they have, the stories they want to tell - it's all fantastic. Each piece triggers more ideas for more stories. We constantly ask each other to "tell me more”.  We're encouraged to linger on the page (sound familiar?) and go deeper with what we've started. That’s what I’m doing here.  That's what my writing is - unpolished pieces of where I'm at, the memories I have, and the stories I want to tell.