Healing

We all write. It's true. We communicate through this medium because it is necessary. We write emails, phone messages; we text message, write thank you cards, and birthday wishes. It's ingrained in us to write down what is on our mind. Writing down what is confusing us, what is bothering us, or how we feel releases the crap that has been built up for far too long.Writing can heal. Once we dig deep inside ourselves, we can let loose what has been holding us back for so long and journaling is a good place to start. If you have the desire to do some journaling, then begin today. It doesn't have to be a fancy journal; it can be a bunch of lined paper. Whatever you are writing or typing on, make sure to go where you've never gone before.

Real Creative Writing

Back in the 70s, I never knew that writing could be an actual career, let alone a lucrative one. Although I wrote many stories at a young age, I didn't think I could take it any further. When I was 12 years old, I began my first novel. This was during a time when the movie The Outsiders was out in the theatres and C. Thomas Howell became the hottest new face on Teen Beat Magazine. Yes, I wrote a romance about myself and C. Thomas Howell. No, I no longer have this book lying around. Some point after high school, the writing thing just tapered off; I had lost my way. I decided that pursuing a career in psychology was the route to take. One day, the writing bug hit me again. Kind of like a reawakening, really. When that light came on inside of me, I knew that writing was exactly what I wanted to do.This is what I want to do for others--find their creative spark by instructing them through real creative writing courses. The kind of courses that actually deal with the creative part and not the theory part. A course that actually inspires writers to find their voice.

What is it...

Flashback with me to the mid-1970s (really, I'm not obsessed with the '70s, I just seem to frequently go there in my stories); this was a time when bell-bottoms were cool and shag carpet was the ultimate in luxury. I think I was in grade 4 when I really started to put pen to paper, make up stories. Words and sentences were interesting at that point because it's a time when you really are learning about the power of writing.

But, back to the story. I would write these weekly stories (some fact, some fiction) about whatever, and tape them to the side of my desk. I remember this particular time when Monty, a kid I used to sit beside, asked me what I was doing. I simply told him I wrote a story about the Titanic. I had cut out the story into a 'ship' shape and placed it where others could read it.

Doing this was something that I enjoyed. It was all about creating. I'm sure Monty thought it was a bit bizarre that I was making up my own school projects. Then again, Monty had a deep fascination with maps; he couldn't stop drawing them. So, I guess in a way, we were both on the page.

What I'm getting at here is we all have these passions that start at a young age. Mine was writing, and it took me many years to figure it out. What about yourself? What gets you going? Is it writing? What kind of writing? And why aren't you doing it? What is holding you back? Is it fear? When you're a kid, you have very little fear and plunge forward without a care in the world.

Get back to that place where fear wasn't even in your vocabulary. Today, write something that happened in the past, or about a person in your life, fact or fiction. It doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that you are writing.

Unlocking Creativity

As I was sifting through some old elementary school report cards (I guess they would be old considering they're from circa 1975 and I am an adult now), I discovered something very interesting about the way I feel about myself today. An English Teacher had written that I was very good at creating stories, but had blatant disregard for grammar and punctuation. Well, of course a grade '1-er' isn't going to care about where a comma goes. The kid only wants to get the story out, tell it to everyone as fast as possible and move on to the next thing. This whole thing made me think about how most of us (including kids today) have had their creativity trampled on because well-meaning adults thought it was 'right' to correct grammar issues rather than let a child create. This is what children do, they create. They love to do it. Can you imagine what kind of adults we will have nurtured if we let a child continue creating? My goal is to help others reclaim their creativity, to reach deep down to their core and re-ignite that spark. I want everyone to go back to that grade one class where it was lost so many years ago and find the power in creativity once again.