Authorpreneur Dashboard – Lucy Ann Adkins
Writing in Community
Self-Help
Writing in Community is a book of inspiration and encouragement for writers who want to reach deep within themselves and write to their fullest potential. There is magic in a successful writing group. This book helps writers tap into that magic, and with gentle wisdom and humor, experience unprecedented breakthroughs in creativity.
Book Bubbles from Writing in Community
How we empower others in our writing
When we write, we are working not only for self expression and to share our side of things--that is to empower ourselves--but to illustrate the universal nature of the human story, and thus empower others. That's not our intention, of course, when we pick up our pens. We just want to write, to get down the story. But that is the result.
We are not alone
When we write out of our deepest emotions, expressing feelings of love, loss, disappointment, despair--all the passions involved in being human, we create the potential for connection. It can be lonely in this world. When we write, we never know when a particular piece will resonate with another, and we can help someone through a hard time.
The Power of the Pen
Too often we feel powerless in the face of injustice which surrounds us--when the world goes the wrong way. When we see our country caught up in corruption and greed. Holding a pen in your hand and using it to express what you value, what you hold dear in your heart is one of the most effective ways to make a difference in the world. Let's put hopelessness behind us. Let's not allow cynicism to take hold. Let's write.
Finding Personal Power
We as individual writers, as citizens of the world face aspects of our lives in which we feel powerless--we have love relationships that fall apart, personal disappointments, and everywhere, there is injustice. In the face of all this, we are just one person. But we are one person with a pen or a computer keyboard, and through writing, I strongly believe that we can make a difference. We can become empowered.
Silence for Your Creative Soul
Sometimes the best part of the day is when there is silence--when our minds are at peace and the seeds of inspiration can swell and break open and begin to grow. It is not always easy to find those times. But no matter how busy our lives, we can look for small moments in which to take a deep breath and experience peace. We need it for our souls, for our creative selves.
Silence and Writing Time
I am always looking for ways to clear the mind and allow myself a little space for inspiration to find its way to me. Strangely enough, one way to achieve that is within the circle of a generative writing group, shoulder to shoulder with my writing friends. The ritual of silence provides the quiet we need, the peace, for creativity to flourish. And then when the silent time, the writing time, is over, more often than not, we have a fine new piece of writing.
Your Next Poem as a Small Animal
We know there are poems and stories inside us waiting to be imagined into the world. But when we face the blank page and the words won't come, we need to give ourselves a break. Take a walk or a shower. Leave our writing desks and allow a little silence into our minds. Then with renewed heart and a fresh head, we try again.
Through the Eyes of Children
I have found that when I am actively writing, and by that I mean writing almost every day, the world becomes fresher and more exciting. It's like regaining for a while the eyes of a child--when imagination is at its peak , and wonder is everywhere. That's one of the great thrills of writing, and one that keeps pulling me back to the empty page, my pen poised, waiting to see what wonderful new thing will come my way.
On the Outside Looking In
Too many times in this life, we may be on the outside looking in. That was me in my early writing days--wanting to belong to a writing group, be part of a tribe and grow. I wrote Writing in Community to show how this can become a reality, and how a good generative writing group can help transform your writing and your life.
Flex the Muscles of the Imagination to do Your Bes
One of the greatest joys of writing is the way in which words and ideas appear out of nowhere. How does this happen? Sometimes, of course, we are stuck--we can't eke out a decent sentence to save our lives. But sometimes, we put our pens to paper and feel the muscles of our imagination come alive. It's a great feeling, one we yearn for, and one which I have found occurring frequently in the circle of a writing group, your fellow writers, the generative process making it happen. This is what I hope for all writers, and why Writing in Community was written.
Let Your Writing Take Off
In my early years as a writer, I struggled. I didn't write very often and when I did I was often dissatisfied with the results. It wasn't until I joined a writing group, a generative writing group, that my writing began to take off. I wrote more, I wrote more easily, and was happier with the results of my efforts than ever before. There is magic in a writing group, I believe, and I wrote Writing in Community to help others find that magic, and make it part of their lives and their writing lives.
A Little Help from our Friends
It takes a village, it has been said, to bring up a child. I believe that it takes the writing community to help a writer grow to his or her full capability. There are all sorts of elements in this community, but nothing has been more powerful to me than my writing group.
Finding Your Writing Tribe
For many years, my writing was something I rarely mentioned to my friends. It was a little too odd, I thought, too different--and how do you broach a subject like that anyway? It was only when I joined a writing group that I found my tribe. Those who understood as I did, how meaningful and demanding and exhilarating the writing life could be. And then I began to grow.
A Homesickness...A Lovesickness
I think all writers know the feeling--there is something inside you that wants to come out, to be expressed. We put pen to paper, but the words don't come. Or if a few manage to dribble out the ends of our pens, they are lame and inadequate. It wasn't until I became involved in a generative writing group--a group which meets for the express purpose of generating new writing-- that the words started to flow. From there came poems and the beginnings of novels...and now this book!
That Certain Energy
For years I have been fortunate to lead and be a part of a generative writing group...that is, a group which comes together for the express purpose of generating new writing. The group has been a life-changer for me, that "certain energy," the magic of the group, helping me to do my best writing.
Staving off Loneliness in the Writing Life
When I was a new writer, I struggled to find my way into the writing world. I had trouble keeping to my writing schedule, I knew something was missing from my writing, but I didn't know how to get better. And I was lonely. It was only when I found a writing group--others who were on the same road as I was--that my work began to improve; and I began to live the life of writing I had always longed for. This book tells a little of the story of that journey, and how a writing group can make all the difference.
When the Words Don't Come
Like many writers, after an early start in writing, I "came back" after a long time away. But it wasn't easy getting started again. Writing can be lonely, and facing the blank page frustrating. And then there is the "Internal Critic" that berates your best efforts. It was only when I found a writing group, in particular a "generative" writing group (in which new work is generated each time the group meets) that I found peers, and with their help, found a way forward.
Let the Universe Work For You
Many times in my life, it seems that through synchronicity or luck or being in the right place at the right time, I have found what I have been looking for. Usually this has involved two things: (1) putting voice to what I want, and (2) paying attention when the universe seems to shift in my direction. Finding a writing group worked that way for me, and so did writing this book!
