Are you still writing? by Sharon Espeseth

Yes, I’m still writing, but. . .

Are you still writing, Sharon?

When I run into friends or acquaintances I haven’t seen for a while, they often ask me, “Are you still writing, Sharon?" Then the person might refer to a story of mine they read in a certain publication. I feel,  apologetic--to them or to myself--for not having a book of my own out there.

In conversation, I may add that I write a blog for InScribe Writer’s Online once a month. That doesn’t seem like much, but it is an accumulation of work. The present period of my life has been busy, but then each decade of life has had its time gobblers. That’s what I’ve always told myself. But I come up defenceless, against Julia Cameron’s chapter, “The Time Lie” in the Right to Write.

Cameron claims, “The myth that we must have ‘time'--more time--in order to create is a myth that keeps us from using the time we do have. If we are forever yearning for ‘more,’ we are forever discounting what is offered.” Single parenting, along with full-time teaching and full-time writing, she says, taught her “to grab for time to write instead of wait for time.” As prolific as Ms. Cameron is in several art forms, she has learned to live beyond the convenience of the “'if-I-had-time’ lie.” (pp. 14-15)

But I write not to criticize myself, but to celebrate! 

Today, being November 9th when I’m writing, I am celebrating my birthday and I am also celebrating what Susan Barclay referred to as my “oeuvre." Today's blog is my 82nd blog on IWO. I have written, I believe, each month since I began on June 10, 2012, except for two months when I was ill.

Celebration: Photo by Frame Harirak of Unsplash

I do have a body of work. My blogs above, for example, all 82 of them, but what should I do with them? I wonder. I have stories published in six anthologies.

Stories in Six Anthologies

I have five hefty binders filled with my stories, anecdotes, articles and poems that have been published in Western Producer, Grainews, Edmonton Journal, Western Catholic Report--which no longer exists, Devo’zine, and other places. I worked for four years with Alberta Distance Learning, where I worked on developing primary course material. I have a box with stories that I hope to develop into a memoir. And I have a start on a devotional book for writers.

Potential Memoir

Where did all these ideas come from? 

Julia Cameron, in The Right to Write, wrote a chapter called, “Let Yourself Listen.” She talks about listening rather than speaking, about getting things down on paper rather than straining to think things up. “Julia,” one of my favourite writers on writing, claims that writing then becomes "the art of taking dictation rather than giving it.”

Listening: Photo by Luve Christian of Unsplash

When one's writing becomes an act of listening rather than an act of speaking, “. . . a great deal of the ego goes out of it.” We become less self-conscious about our writing. We write with more ease. And we become “the vehicle of self-expression.” I like the conclusion to her chapter on listening: “When we are just the vehicle, the storyteller and not the point of the story, we often write very well--we certainly write more easily.” (pp. 10-11)

I try to listen before I write. Sometimes it’s a quote I’ve read, a book I’m reading, a discussion I’ve had with a friend or writing buddy. I scratch things down in my notebook. Then I hear something else and it connects to what I’ve just discovered or a theme I keep bumping into. A blog, devotional or an article may start to gel. It’s  not quite set, but I pick up my pen or settle down at the keyboard and I begin to write. At that point, I might hear, or feel,"This is the way. Write about it."


Adjustments and Moving Forward in Faith and Writing

Hank (aka Dad and Pap) hanging out with some of the crew

Some of you know my husband has been ill the last few years, so the two of us continue to make adjustments to our lives and habits. While Hank was in hospital recently, my early morning writing and devotional time didn’t work. Now, he’s home and feeling somewhat better. Mornings allow a more reflective pace. I’ll try again to write and use my time wisely, while remaining mindful that I am a caregiver and a writer.

I’ve been reading and marking up my copy of The Right to Write, as far as I’ve read. I knew I wanted to refer to this book in my blog. Previously, The Artist’s Way, also by Julia Cameron, energized my writing. Following the exercises and activities helped me get back into writing then. I plan to do the same with this book.

For me, “Julia’s" writing provides spiritual insights as well as writing perspective. Devotional time works well for me when I read the Bible, pray and write. Writing often becomes prayer and prayer often turns into writing.

Closing Thought: “Few souls understand what God would accomplish in them if they were to abandon themselves unreservedly to him and if they were to allow his grace to mould them accordingly.” St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

May it be so, Lord. May it be so.