Unsilencing the Voice
I started writing on the first of November using the Nanowrimo challenge site. https://nanowrimo.org/ The goal is to write 50,000 words in one month. I've done it for a couple of years so it doesn't seem overwhelming anymore. But it takes a lot of work. I've been reading Ensouling Language, On the Art of Nonfiction and the Writer's Life by Stephen Harrod Buhner. My daughter, Elizabeth gave it to me for a gift a couple of years ago. Buhner is adamant about the idea of letting the mind and heart lead the way when writing fiction or non-fiction. It's a solo sport. Not unlike snorkeling. I look for surprises in the lake. I don't have to know they're there. Just the idea of finding something is exhilarating. When I write I'm often surprised where my mind takes me. It definitely helps to have an imagination and not be afraid of the hours of silence it takes to create. When I say it takes a lot of work I'm not saying I don't love the work