Writing has been my passion since puberty when I discovered that my creative expression came through best with words. I pursued prose since and have been a professional writer and writing instructor for decades, receiving my MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College in 2005. I published two books with independent presses, a novella and poetry chapbook, as well as short stories, poems, essays, book reviews, listicles and a few pieces of “real” journalism. I have taught at colleges, writers’ conferences, high schools, camps and more. I have directed writers’ programs, curated readings and coached writers. Basically, if you can make a career out of writing, I’ve tried it all. 

Yet concerns about my career surfaced in 2020 at the peak of my success. I was making good money and just published my second book, but I felt dissatisfied with my work. I was disenchanted by the publishing world, which required 20 rejections for every publication. The industry that I had spent decades studying and serving, shapeshifted in my perception from a benign conglomerate of book lovers to a devilish social hierarchy. Suddenly, all I could see was a vicious cycle of underpaid published writers teaching novice writers struggling to get noticed by gatekeepers who could publish them in journals that only other writers read. Teaching writing craft entailed revealing insider tools and tricks that comprised "good" writing, relying heavily on a paradigm of critique.

 

I believe that our writing shines when it is authentic to our own voice, not a voice that has been finely edited to meet industry standards. I believe in validating writers, not conforming them to specific rules. In order to do this, we must return to our bodies. Tapping into our sensory experiences and locating our center of inner stillness, allows us to supersede the analytical mind and become a clear medium for creativity free from our inner critic and the epidemic of "writer's block." The Schoool of Intuitve (Eco)Writing does not ask you to critique or edit or conform to any standard or rule book, instead it asks you to break the rules, embody your own language, channel the muse directly, trust your inner voice and don’t look back.

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This does not mean that I want you to keep your writing hidden away in a journal or a computer file or that I don't want you to publish your writing. The opposite is true. The world needs to hear your words. If that sounds scary to you, consider why. Consider all the constructs in place that make it difficult for you to share your voice; the comparison and criticism, the standards and gatekeepers, concerns about what others will think of you. Can you let that all go? Can you dismantle those societal concepts that shape the world into a pyramid of a small group of the best and most important on top who are allowed to have a voice and the majority of people on the bottom who should shut up and listen. 

Your audience exists all around you. Your friends and chosen family are your first audience. They are the ones who love you and cherish what you have to say. Your audience is your community, the people you live amongst who gather together in coffee shops to hear people speak or at town halls or local radio stations, your writing group and book club. They care by proximity with open listening hearts. Many people nowadays have a voice on social media as well. Even if you only have 10 followers, they are 10 people interested in what you have to say. This  is not about quantity, but quality. The quality of content that you put into the world is your integrity, your values. 

 

The great thing about Intuitive (Eco)Writing is that you don't have to be an experienced writer to practice it. And experienced writers will find that they are able to get their mojo back that might have been lost in the hustle of the publishing and academic complexes. We write for the sake of writing, not to impress anyone or with any goal in mind other than to tap into our creative spirit because it feels good. Nature writing adds the benefit of connecting with nature in a new way and with a deeper understanding of our place in the world. Intuitive (Eco)Writing reminds us that we are not separate from nature, we are nature. By spreading the word about the power of the natural world through our unfiltered creative voice, we can inspire others to seek out nature too and hopefully cause a ripple effect toward healing our relationship with the earth. #intuitiveecowriting