Six weeks ago I made the wildly improbable promise to give twenty hours a week to my verse-novel. Between writing classes, French classes, and subbing grades K-12, my life is already packed to the rafters. But I decided that if Varian Johnson could write at 4:00 in the morning and finish multiple books while working fulltime as an engineer (my agent tipped me off), so could I (well, except for the engineering bit.)
I’m missing a lot of Facebook posts, I go to bed a lot earlier, and my family doesn’t see me much on Saturdays, but those blissful hours are the curative for the low-grade malaise I’ve carried around since I started working fulltime.
Writers need to write 
. We need to plot 
and dream 
and stare 
into space until we hear the exact right word and pluck it out of the ether. That takes significant time. But when our souls are nourished, we’ve got a whole lot more to give to the rest of our lives.
The bonus is that teaching, which has always brought me joy, is even richer now. I can’t wait to share with you the aha writing moments, born of those twenty hours, that have made plots and subplots slide into place.
Want to join me? We’ll be plotting, we’ll be listening and we’ll be healing that restless writer in all of us so that the words can do their work.
The Plot Thickens, Thursdays beginning January 8 at Bellevue College*, North Campus
Poetry and Healing, one-day workshop, Saturday, February 14 at Bellevue College*, North Campus
TEENWrite: Advanced Fiction Writing, Tuesdays, January 13-February 24 (Session A) and March 3-April 7 (Session B). Teens and college-age, limited enrollment, apply with a writing sample. Deadline for Session A: January 3. For Session B: February 10.
Fancy some live-action roleplaying? My son, Aaron directs EpicWrite. Here’s what they’re up to. (You might run into me there, too.)
EpicWrite Winter Events: Epicwrite Beyond “Sundermoon Kickoff” (ages18+ NEW!) January 3, Winter EpicWrite overnight “Elegy” (ages 11+) January 30-31
*to save the $10 registration fee, sign up for Bellevue College classes by December 28.