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I write because the words need to come out and, when they do, that’s when I feel my best. Centered. The most like myself.

When I had my own children I moved to Long Island. In the summer, I felt nostalgia, trapped in the airless frenzy of traffic, the earth paved over, asphalt heat waves, car exhaust. I dreamed of moving to the country, but didn’t see how I could uproot. I wished it would happen miraculously. Then it did.

These late summer sunflowers stretching to soak up the light, lifting their heavy heads to the sky, sturdy stalks like tree trunks--there is an easy metaphor here. What sustains you?

As a writer, your task is to make everything you write sound like it came from you and only you. Here is a four-step exercise to help guide you in the process of defining your unique voice as a writer.

Without some thoughtfulness about the fear or anxiety you encounter when writing, you might not be able to get any words down.

I am here to tell you is that if you spend some quality time staring at the wall, or the stars, or a field of flowers, with absolutely no agenda or motive other than to exist with your breath and your senses, you will be a happier human and yes, a better writer for it.

It seems to me, amidst our tragic circumstances, person to person, we are connecting with one another, that there is a new world coming forth. It may take time, this birth. But I believe it is happening...

The art we make. The work we do while others move around us, oblivious, indifferent, or simply too busy to notice. The traps we set. The very idea of a web, a network, a series of connections, attempted or established. Our fears. Our intentions. Our efforts, day after day, night after night.

What do you think of when you look at this image? Write about it.

Monthly photo prompt writing contest for email list community members!

If you aren’t currently enrolled in a Center course (or even if you are!) but want to write with us, we host a community-building photo writing prompt project through our email list.

How it works

We can get up every morning with a clear idea of what we want to write, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we have a well-conceived plan for getting there. So what if we break our goals down into more manageable steps?

We have all had to revise what "focus" means during this pandemic. When you find yourself in a rut with your main writing project, use the new reality of split focus to your advantage by establishing alternate writing projects to turn to for some relief.