Electric Current Sparking Connections…
Welcome to my blog.
The purpose: To whet your appetite for my writing and for us to explore creative ideas and ways of being—together. To write with clear purpose and intense focus. To examine anything and everything that piques my interest.
On my mind.
I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. If you asked me when I was a child, I probably would have said I wanted to be an artist (of the amorphous and unspecified variety), because my mother, sister, and brother were all artists in their own ways.
The ‘normal’, pragmatic people told me that artists would never make a respectable living in the world, and I was jarred by the idea that I might not be respectable if I turned to art. I already had some distant examples of creative people as scary, irresponsible, and sometimes selfish human beings. But at the same time, I knew that Frida Kahlo, E.B. White, Shakespeare, and Jimi Hendrix were all gifted and revered spirits. I’ve spent the last few years trying to reconcile the dissonance. I have family members who are and were creatives. Some of them were tortured souls, some denied their gifts, but others figured out how to be makers of beauty and strived for balance and happiness in their lives.
For me, being a writer/poet/creative person comes down to accepting that my life is a constant and beautiful struggle. Some days, I win, some days, not so much. But I keep showing up.
What to do when you’re stuck.
Writer’s Block. I have a writer friend who simply doesn’t believe in it. He says that when he’s supposed to write, he writes and when he’s not supposed to write, he doesn’t. That seems so reasonable to me, and I envy his confidence. He’s written most of his life and has quite a few published works to his credit, so I believe him.
It doesn’t work that way for me, though. I think we all have our own processes, hurdles, and rituals—the lessons. The trick is to discover what those mean for us and then employ them when we get stuck.
Some of the lessons I learned were steeped in pain, and none of them were easy. But the exploration was essential and taught me to just keep trying until I found the right pathways. As creators, we must be relentless, and that takes muscle. Please keep in mind that these are a few tricks that work for me—your mileage may vary.
Travel somewhere alone and unplugged - Purely by accident, I spent 8 days in England on my own, getting lost and asking for help and advice. It was quite a shift in perspective to rely on the kindness of strangers and allow myself to be vulnerable. The strangers I encountered surprised me with their compassion, sense of humor, and/or willingness to help me out of the jams I found myself in. Granted, these were calculated risks and did not put me in danger. Some of the risks were fruitful, some were not. All of it was an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything.
Find a teacher - Ask an old person to mentor you. Ask a young person to mentor you. Bask in the joy of learning things from someone with a completely different perspective. It is eye-opening. So much of what we think is always true is not. As humans, we all have similar needs and desires, but what’s important shifts depending on where we are in the cycle of our lives. Learning from someone of a different generation drives the point home quite quickly.
Try something different - Give your brain something new to chew on. Learn a language. Change up your music. Light a candle or burn incense. Try meditation. Write with your non-dominant hand. Write down the truths in your heart you cannot tell another living soul and burn the letter when you’re finished. Write postcards to people you care about. Start writing to a pen pal who creates something different than you do. Don’t be judge-y. Even if the changes aren’t your cup of tea, you’ll learn something new about yourself. The other evening, my husband came into the office wanting to go up to a nearby lake. I was irked when he interrupted me because I was in the middle of writing. But you know what? I’m not good at stopping work when I should, so it was really important for me to go along with him. The air was cool, the stars were out, and I felt better getting away from my desk.
Community - Find your people. Although not exclusively, I hang out with a LOT of writers and belong to a writer’s group in my little town. I love being able to go to face-to-face meetings, share work, and see what my friends are up to. I also have a wonderful community of writer/poet friends on X (Twitter). They are more supportive than I could ever have imagined and I happily pay it forward any time I am able. I belong to smaller (but mighty) communities on Medium, Instagram, and Threads and I’m grateful for the folks there. In all of these spaces, my friends have bolstered my confidence when I was Blue, celebrated my accomplishments, laughed at my bad jokes, and commiserated with me during tough times.
Face:Palm
Recently, I was talking with a friend, telling her that although I was happy with my author site, there were things about it that I needed to change, and I’d been stuck for so long feeling like I was wasting my time, energy, and money on something that I’d convinced myself was broken beyond repair. She paused for a beat, then replied something like, “You were just hustling, trying to get everything done. The time wasn’t right, but now it is, and you’re going to fix it.”
What she said was so free of judgment, so compassionate, so much kinder than my own self-talk, and I got kind of weepy about it. But she lit a fire under my ass, and it inspired me to get things done. This all goes back to item number #2 above.
There is wisdom out there. The trick is to believe we can tap into it, do the work, and then pay it forward. And always, always, always say thank you.
Some of my Favorite Creators
John Cooper Clarke—If you like your poetry with teeth, humor, and ugly-beautiful verse, he’s your man. He's a punk poet who speaks to my crooked little heart. I’ve come to admire him late in the game, but still, what a find!
Richard Holeman—Whether you read his poetry, memoir, or fiction, this author is someone to whom you should pay attention. He weaves heart and honesty into every line and reflects powerfully important lessons back at us.
Stunning Poet Laureates—Joy Harjo and Billy Collins. I didn’t know the work of either of these poets when I began reading them. They inspire me to keep pushing myself and help me know where I want to go in this poetic life.
Jacqueline Suskin—When I was reacquainting myself with my love of poetry, I took an online workshop with Jacqueline. Her craft is part revolution, part magic. She taught me how to tap into my poetic side. The door opened that day for me.
Michaela D’angelo—Somehow, her work understands my super-secret heart.
Housekeeping
The intent is for there to be a new blog once a month. It is a place for me to post my thoughts about the creative life.
Check out my website to find out my latest news about new books and where you can buy them.
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In all of this outreach, I promise to respect your time and will not send out too much or too often.
Not sure if you realized this, but the connection we made today means you’re part of my journey, and I’m part of yours. I think that’s really cool.
Until next time,
AmyLee
