A reminder for you today

I've just returned home from the first class in a series I teach at the local Community Education center called Writing Life Stories & Memories.

I'm so energized because it's always amazing to meet other writers. Like every class, people find their way to the course for a whole host of reasons. Some recall writing as a child but left it behind, others have lived full and adventurous lives and are starting to think about telling their stories, and more.

And like every first writing class, there are doubts. Some fueled by past attempts at writing that haven't worked out or others by worries they don't have what it takes.

In my classes I always share what Pat Schneider, founder of the Amherst Writers and Artists (AWA) said: "A writer is someone who writes."

I found the words below that I wrote about that shortly after receiving my certification to facilitate workshops in the AWA manner.

I want to share them again with you today in case you need a reminder.

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I’ve just come off an amazing, intensive training in the Amherst Writers & Artists methodology, developed by Pat Schneider. This idea that everyone is a writer is a cornerstone to the approach.

If you write, you are a writer.

It doesn’t matter if it’s on paper scraps or in book margins. It doesn’t matter if it’s on a social media post or in a journal kept in your nightstand. You don’t have to be “working on a novel” or have a career in writing. You don’t have to have an MFA, or a degree in English. You don’t have to be published. You do not have to be paid to write.

If you write, you’re a writer.

In a society that bestows more power, more legitimacy, and more status to certain voices over others, this is revolutionary.

Every person has the ability to write. Every person has a unique voice. Every person has a story to tell.

Each of those stories has value.

So, what do you want to write today?

Writing Invitation

I encourage you to open your notebook and answer this week's writing invitation with whatever wants to come through.

Online Writers’ Studio for Women

If you’re interested in receiving more writing invitations and having a place to write on a more consistent basis, you can find a new one every day and the space to see where it takes you in my daily co-writing sessions, which are just one part of the Online Writers’ Studio for women. The Studio also has regular writing workshops, weekly intuitive energy readings, and meditative writing sessions.

Otherwise, come back next week, and I’ll share another one.

Banner photo by Anita Austvika on Unsplash