You Are A Writer

Unleashing Your Writer Within

We all have a story inside of us. There’s a tale of how you became the person you see in the mirror today. There are challenges you have overcome; some are visible and others are only for you to know.

• You had hopes, wishes, and dreams.

• Some came true.

• Some faded away.

• Some are still out there waiting for you to capture them.

I don’t know every Older, Bolder & Better! reader personally. Why am I so confident you are a writer? According to Pat Schneider, founder of the Amherst Writers & Artists™ method, “If you write, you are a writer.”  It is one of five essential affirmations of the method. Reading her book, Writing Alone and With Others, (Oxford Press, 2003) I interpreted it to mean, that everyone’s voice deserves to be heard.

I met a poet in an essay writing class a few years ago. Somehow, we made a connection via Zoom. We met “live” a year later. My friend was a long-time AWA enthusiast and encouraged me to join her 4-week writing group. She and her daughter experienced writing with Pat Schneider before she died in 2020. I began the training program the first month of my retirement and became an affiliate facilitating writing groups.

Among the things I hope to accomplish during retirement is to help others have that A-HA moment when they write without apology. My dream is to assist others in dropping negative preambles:

• “I know this isn’t good”

• “You know, I’m not really a writer”

• “This is all I could come up with”

Next month, AWA begins our biggest fundraiser of the year, Write Around the World! 

Join a writing group for a suggested donation of $20 or buy a discounted package and attend several programs. The donations support our social justice programs. I currently have two workshops available. My theme is Happiness!

This link will take you directly to the AWA events page. https://amherstwriters.org/write-around-the-world/#!calendar/r

If the May 15th and May 23rd classes fill; I will offer an additional writing group in May.