The very first writer’s workshop I ever attended was in a room with pale walls and lights that were too bright. The tables were arranged in a square. I don’t think I said anything other than my name. I was not familiar with most of the terms being used and felt intimidated by just about everyone and everything. I wasn’t even sure why I was there. We had just moved to Providence, Rhode Island and I was a new, full-time mum. Our house was old, and the bath had recently fallen through the ceiling. Snow permeated the gaping cracks. Builders. Sleeplessness. Nail guns. Constant banging. My husband had gently nudged me out the door. Try it, he said. You’ve always loved writing.
It was one of the few evening classes available that I could attend and not too expensive. I didn’t go into it thinking, ‘I want to be a writer’. I didn’t have any kind of outcome in mind. I think I just missed being creative and at some point realized that I would likely be a better/happier mother and all-round human being, if I could somehow find time to make that happen. Even if it was just a few hours a week.
A decade later, I am still writing. I am now familiar with all of the terms the teacher used in that workshop and I’m reading Craft in the Real World by Matthew Salesses - a thought-provoking book that challenges much of what I experienced. It has been something of a journey.
jour·ney /ˈjərnē/ noun
an act of traveling from one place to another.
"she went on a long journey"
If I could go back in time and talk to my younger self, sitting in that workshop, self-conscious and quiet, what would I tell her to pack? What would she need for a journey that was only just beginning? She would need a number of things: imagination, determination, empathy, humility, the willingness to listen, flexibility of mind, curiosity, perseverance, courage, a case full of emergency laughter, and most importantly - heart. Then I would tell her to forget about maps and travel guides, and to be wary of ever fixating on one particular destination.
Writing is a journey. It’s easy to get discouraged, especially when you are also juggling parenting, a day job or any of the other million complexities that go into being a human in 2021. But if you keep returning to the page, if you keep questioning and exploring, listening to what’s inside your unique self, then you will keep moving forward. And that’s all it takes to get from one place to another.
I cannot recommend this book more highly, whether you’ve been to your first ever and only workshop / class or if you’ve been to lots.
Matthew Salesses official author website
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New York Times review of Craft In The Real World by Matthew Salesses