I am a featured poet at EIL (Escape Into Life) this week, for their Mother’s Day special, and you really MUST visit. I love Hannah Stephenson’s opening poem, “Smash Cake.” My poem, “Making a Bed,” which some of you have already seen, is also included in this selection of words and pictures.
I am thrilled to share with you my post at Writer Unboxed, which has become one of my favorite, go-to blogs for writing advice and companionship on the journey.
On May 21, my friend Margaret Riordan and I will be teaching an all-day, no-holds-barred class, titled, “Writing the Creative Chakras.” Margaret’s got the woo-woo (as I fondly think of it), and I’m bringing the writing. We’ll mix in some art and walking and lots else.
I’ve been thinking (and thinking and thinking) about this class and what I want for the not-yet-defined people who show up for it. The best way to do that, I’ve found, is to imagine what I need at this point in my journey.
First, I want to continue getting unstuck and into flow; I want to LEARN and PRACTICE that. (I can break this down into a looonnng list of things-to accomplish!)
Second, I’d like each student to leave with a framed-up and partially fleshed-out project–writing if writing is the goal, but any creative endeavor can be substituted. This morning I came across this paragraph in Steven Pressfield’s blog, and it perfectly expresses WHY this is so important:
My goals have everything to do with chakra work, as I understand it. I come at these things from a Christian perspective, but I think you can approach from any direction. Before it had names, it was all about standing still and listening. Anyway, I’m excited to learn more about how my body can help me make even more sense of it.
If you’re interested, email me at bethany.alchemy@gmail.com and I’ll send you the flyer. There’s a brief announcement (too) on my “upcoming events” page.
I have been trying really, really hard to evolve. And it is freakin’ hard. For a long time I have been able to write a little bit and get by, because after all I was busy doing other things. Cut me some slack, I told the universe in those days. I’m dancing as fast as I can!
The solution to this “problem” of having more time on my hands, and more time to write must be (a part of my brain apparently thinks) to get busy again. At least, I keep coming up with schemes to be busier, to take classes and read books (and more books). I also come up with brilliant schemes to make money:
The list goes on. If I want to write, my brain is apparently rationalizing, then it can come up with a whole bunch of things for me to write. A mystery novel! A mystery novel for children! A book of writing prompts!
I don’t want to rule out teaching at writing conferences, or coaching struggling writers. I 
think I would get a lot out of doing those things. But I don’t need to busy-ify my life. What I need to do is write the books I’ve been given to write. Write and finish and submit them.
To borrow from yesterday’s blogpost: I need to bloom where I’m planted. Some days I have no idea what that bloom will be. I worry that it is mostly going to be useful for mulch. But that’s the job.