If you’re a creative, teacher, trainer, or coach, should you write a book?
And if you do want to write a book, have you asked yourself why?
I’ve worked with many online writers who decided to write books--and when they start asking me their questions, I often respond with a question too.
“Why do you want to write a book?”
There is no right answer to that question--only your answer.
And, yes, you’re allowed to have many reasons for wanting to write a book—from being passionate about the subject, to wanting to share something with the world, to ‘just having a book in you.’
Today, I’m really excited to share an interview with María Ortega Garcia on the many reasons she wrote her book.
Sometimes, when the world seems like too much, I pull a heavy, fuzzy blanket over myself and disappear into a novel. This month, as the world spins, and wobbles, I’ve been reading The Paris Network--our creative community’s book of the month. I invite you to pick up this story (or another great book) and see what happens when you forget your surroundings, your time for a minute…
Suddenly you’re in France, World War II, the occupation. You pop into a bookshop. The owner writes “poetry prescriptions” to keep the townsfolk strong, runs a resistance book club with banned books. Poetry falls from the sky in airdrops. And it’s all based on true events: the banned books, the resistance publishers, the literature and poetry woven into the novel, like “Liberté” by Paul Eluard.
Under the story, there’s a truth that will, no doubt, resonate with you:
Sometimes, literature (or art) is more important than food.
Are you someone who works with words? Maybe you teach or translate, write copy in one or more languages?
Are deadlines something you’re familiar with? Do they add a certain rhythm to your days?
If so, you know that time to create, to express yourself, to work on your own projects is an issue.
And you’re probably intimately familiar with that feeling of working all day on a big writing, translating or teaching project…and the challenges that come with transitioning into your creative self at the end of a long day. Even if you love your work.
If that sounds like you. I think you’re going to really enjoy reading this interview with Sofia Polykreti. Sofia is an active and inspiring member of our Tip of the Iceberg Writing Community. She brightens our book chats with her insights, brings her energy to writing workshops and shares her unique work in our forum.
When is the last time you stopped to think about your body?
As a writer, a creative…a human.
At our Vagabond Voices Creative Community, our inspiration revolves around creative seasons. And…there’s a ‘season’ that is just about the body—remembering you have one and reconnecting to it.
So, whether the season is one where it feels like winter is melting all around you, or summer is going to sleep--whatever side of the globe you’re on, join me today for a celebration of your body. It’s healing, it’s good for your creativity (and good for your writing).
This year, as we enter the creative season of ‘the body’ I’ve got a blog post for you with ideas for tapping into your body for healing and creativity.
And I’ll have a few words of wisdom from a fantastic book I finally finished reading: The Body Keeps the Score: Mind, brain, and body in the transformation of trauma. by Bessel Van Der Kolk.
How is a book on healing trauma relevant to our writing and creativity?
Here is what I know:
So many of our artforms, our modes of creative expression actually help us heal.
They are a part of what helps us survive as individuals and cultures.
Even when the unthinkable happens. Or when it’s all around us.
They make us strong. They make us whole.
They bring us together--and they are our human tradition.
Celebrate these with me--whether you’ve experienced trauma or not.
Help keep these creative acts alive and share them with others.
For all of us.
Here are a few ways…
Have you been sleepless lately?
Me too.
There was a night last week when I woke up at 3 AM, and could not accept—anything.
It’s the kind of thing that will leave you asking the ceiling overhead, the rafters, the roof creaking in the wind, the sky:
Is it worth being angry at the world?
Does it help anything?
Does it put bread on the table?
Stop madmen in their tracks?
So many questions and one thing I know for sure:
This is what the first creative step looks like sometimes…
Your reader's journal can help you find the shortest path between you and your ideas: the shortest path between you and your English-speaking friends.
I know what it's like to be talking about something that you're passionate about--only to find yourself speaking in circles.
And I think you probably know what I mean . . .
It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.
― Oscar Wilde
I love this quote. It reminds me that when you take the time to read, and to think things over, it shows up later when you are put to the test. When your English is put to the test.
How can you keep your English ready for new situations? By giving yourself time to think before you speak.
It’s a really powerful way to change your relationship with English (or any language you want to make your own).
If you're a book lover, one of the best ways to prepare for challenges is toread in English--and keep a reader's journal.
You need to be yourself in English--to feel at home in the language, to make it yours. And you know that reading books in English is an essential part of that ongoing journey.
You want your reading to help you, not just to understand more, but to actually find your voice in English. And you want that voice to be your own, to be truly you.
That’s a pretty serious transformation.
For the next month, I’ll be addressing these very questions.
And I wanted to kick off that discussion with some advice from some inspiring teachers and coaches.
Whether you’re reading books, novels, short stories in English, keep this in mind.
It’s not about having all the answers. It’s about asking all the right questions.
Think about why you are reading in English when it’s not your first language? Maybe it’s because
Reading is part of who you are and you want to enjoy reading in English like you do in your native language
You want to understand more in English and you want to learn more vocabulary
You know that reading is a path to expressing yourself better in English (finding your words more easily, expressing yourself more like a native-speaker)
Asking the right questions while you read is a way to achieve your goals.
Reading in English is like traveling to a strange land.
Fantastic. . .Yes!
Uncomfortable. . .Yes!!
There will be times when you really notice the discomfort,
Who are we really but what we do repeatedly?
The way we spend our days. The time we spend with our families, the work we do, what we watch (or don’t watch) on tv.
We are what we read. More than anything.
Show me the well-worn books piling up beside your couch, the one peeking out of your bag. And I’ll know something about you.
