Last week I, along with seven other writers, completed an eight-week memoir writing course. The class was small enough for every one to provide each other excellent feedback and critical advice. The talent in the class was inspiring. The storytelling was open, honest, and daring. I learned a great deal from my classmates and gained more confidence in my personal writing ability. I have shared some of the writing pieces on this blog, however I will keep some private for possible future publication. I believe I have finally found the writing style that fits me best.

I took my first creative writing class back in college. Later I signed up for a magazine writing class that lead to a journalism career. I moved from journalism to public relations writing. In between I wrote my fraternity’s history booklet. I am a writer and will always enjoy putting words together to communicate a thought, message, policy, experience, etc. Every one has a story to tell and I believe we all have a book inside we can share with the world if we so choose. I’ll continue to contemplate the idea and hope one day I can put something together myself.

I attended my first memoir writing class last night. At first I was a bit weary of the group, feeling out of place and wondering if I could share personal thoughts immediately with a group of strangers. But after the go-around of individual introductions we got right down to business. We were asked to conduct our first freehand writing assignment. After hearing every one’s piece and sharing my own, I knew I was in the right place.  There I was, in a small cozy room full of immense writing talent. We expressed creative vulnerabilities with each other in the hopes of becoming better writers. There were some wonderful writers in that room and I felt honored to be among them. I am sure I will learn a great deal about memoir writing from this group and hope to contribute something as well. I am very excited about the class and look forward to the next eight weeks. I have taken writing classes in the past, however never in this style. I hope to share some of my assignments on this blog. Feel free to leave a comment if you feel moved to do so. In any event, I hope you enjoy my efforts. 

It has been a while since I posted an entry and thought I would just check in. I have been thinking a great deal about writing and what it means in my life. My professional career has taken many turns. During some parts of my life writing played a major role and some years it was non-existent. Even when I did take a detour and tried something else, like community and political activism, writing continued to be a part of who I was inside. I feel like there is something, a great piece or story, maybe even a book, that wants to come out. Fear and a lack of confidence has prevented me from exploring this notion. But life is short. A good friend of mine is terminally ill and his life struggle has caused me to examine my own and what I want to make of it. There has not been any consistency in my professional life and even today I find myself looking at other possible paths. No matter what I decide, I need to work on a personal writing project that will combine all my creative efforts. I feel there is something inside me that needs to present itself to the world. I just need to dig deeper into my soul and find the courage to put it out there. I have a few ideas, but the time has come to put the fear I have created aside and let the words just flow.

The writing bug has come back. I tried the communication and general public relations world for a while. Now I feel it’s time to get back to my first great interest. I am a writer by nature and have for so long not fully embraced my talent, or acknowledged it. Enough procrastination. I just need to write.