During conference season, we writers approach the well of inspiration to draw ideas and encouragement. Sometimes we drag home with what feels like bricks in our roller bags, discouraging loads of “you have to” and “you can’t.” Other times we float home, buoyed by refreshing new approaches to the art, craft or marketing of writing. We’ve been pleasantly reminded about why we are willing to sing the blues–the highly emotional call and response of writing scratches a creative itch.

I drew much inspiration from this year’s Tuolumne Writers Retreat.

Storyteller Cynthia Restivo involved us physically with our work. In preparation for performing a story, I walked around the 49er church courtyard reading a section out loud, kicking an empty box every time I uttered a word that wanted emphasis. Magically, that practice pepped up my presentation.

Author and educator Dimitri Keriotis helped us analyze interiority in writing samples and then add details to our own writing that satisfy a reader’s desire to connect more intimately with our characters.

We played with metaphors with performance poet Denella Kimura and experienced new ways of presenting a work of literary art with Joy Willow, who recited her poetry to the wails of a Harmonium and the resonant beat of an African thumb drum. She also sang some of her poems. Try that!

Have the courage of your connections

It takes courage to put yourself out there, to lean into the microphone instead of away from it, to press hard into the consonants, emote on the vowels, and let your hands fly around in the air to illustrate a point. Here’s a secret. Courage builds when you tap into the well of your connections.

My friend Mary Anthony published a book about her experience as a flower child during the Sixties. She and I commiserated on how hard it is to sell our books. Recently, she and her husband registered their home on Airbnb. Foreign tourists flocked to their door. In a warm and hospitable atmosphere, the conversation turns naturally to Mary’s colorful experiences in Berkeley and Big Sur. Very few guests leave without asking if they can purchase copy of her book.

My friend Marie Sontag taught middle school. Now she publishes YA historical fiction as fast as she can research and write adventures that enthrall sixth graders, who have to read period history anyway. The bonus? She gets invited into school libraries and classrooms to make history come alive for a rapt audience.

Both these writers are doing what comes naturally to them. Instead of merely promoting their books, they are telling their stories with zest and joy.

What are the wells you draw from for inspiration? Where might your courage take you?

photo credit: Water in a dry place via photopin (license)