When I met Nancy Slonim-Aronie I was a shy writer. I said I “just” write in my journal. I said, “I’m not sure who cares what I have to say.” I had written for a newspaper, loved human interest stories, opinion pieces and reviews. I kept writing my own “stuff” in my diary. But I didn’t know if or why my own memoir mattered.
What I didn’t do was trust my voice, my life experience and my own instincts. At Nancy’s workshops, the emphasis was on honoring the story, telling the truth and believing in the healing power of sharing words.
I’ve never been the same. I don’t share everything I write though I share quite a bit. I believe in the healing power of truth-telling. Every single soul has a story. There may be writers who are similar but no two have walked the earth and planet at the same time and in the same way. The way one person has to dunk her head in cold water upon waking and another has to sit reading for an hour before she can engage with the world matters. The internal dialogue people have is crucial. We all narrate our own days to some extent. The voices we hear from those we love and/or fear also shapes us as our voices shape others.
The best writing I heard at Nancy’s workshops was the writing that was gut-level honest, detailed with dialogue or description grounding me in the story, and revealing an emotion that wasn’t cliche or expected – just honest and real. Contradictory feelings, complex stories layered with meaning – it was all welcome.
I was so encouraged. It was a shot of inspiration and a dose of hope. The stories I had to tell at the time I met Nancy were not funny. They had been called (and were) bleak, heavy and serious. At Nancy’s workshop I learned I could throw a joke into a story of despair. Writing, like life, doesn’t stop being funny or absurd or beautiful even while people are victimized by crime or fighting a chronic or terminal illness. She taught me that a true story could heal. But not just because she said so but because everyone at her workshop was lighter and more vulnerable and less guarded after each piece written and shared. “Tell the human what you like,” she’d say after someone read.
After her workshops, I felt affirmed about writing and life. I’d have the sense of finding my tribe, people who need to use words to digest life experiences, and feel less shame about being introverted or “deep” or whatever I felt wasn’t acceptable but was who I was. I’d be with people who honored the truth and the telling of it and who were fearless in admitting things one isn’t “supposed” to feel. Transformed. I’ve been a die-hard fan of Nancy’s ever since. After one of her workshops, I started a writing group because I knew whether or not I ever published or not writing had to be central to my life. Our writing group has been together for six years. We share this – the need to write.
Nancy herself still has her amazing book on the market, WRITING FROM THE HEART: TAPPING THE POWER OF YOUR INNER VOICE, her workshops remain full no matter where she teaches them. She has a radio show on Lime (channel 114) and a blog (for those who want to marinate in words or who don’t get satelite). I’m thrilled to have helped launch the blog which I hope will be a place where writers connect and readers enjoy. The blog is at” www.writingfromtheheart.wordpress.com
For three weeks, one topic will be covered. Each week, eight or nine new writers will read on her show (I’m honored to be one). New work will be posted each week after it airs (on Sirius Lime at 4am and 7pm on Sundays). ALL of the time she will have regular bloggers posting to her topics. See my friend Kathy’s posting on “Tiny Murders” for a sample or visit her site to read her other writing: http://kaleidoscopereflections.wordpress.com/
Follow the prompts and use them to inspire your own writing.
