If someone asked you to share your thoughts, insights, visions, questions. . .I doubt you'd feel the same trepidation just speaking casually. Someone once told me that reading something aloud was "frozen" language. Perhaps this feels unnatural to you and shows that you prefer spontaneity—or that with writing and having time to craft your message, you can work in the rhythms or nuances that make it feel natural, plus, it separates you from immediate "judgment"?
@Penney, so true re: responding via casual conversation! I love that take that reading something aloud is more like frozen language, and that it might just be personality style/preference to prefer getting to craft/revise/ponder on something before sharing it — and only sharing what I'm most excited to share, rather than responding randomly/quickly to a prompt (though I'm going to challenge myself to experiment with that too at some point during these writing community sessions!) Thank you as always for your astute observations and ideas!! Happy Friday and weekend :D
Jenny, I have been a people pleaser all my life, but now in my 8th decade, I realized that people pleasing is a sin against the self. Quoting from the Roman Catholic Act of Contrition, "...I firmly resolve with the help of Your Grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin." That said, there is a difference between people pleasing in general and being more consciously considerate of the people you love, and from your writing, I know that you know the difference.
Next, about reading free writing aloud...I have been very fortunate to participate in writing workshops with Lauren Camp, the Poet Laureate of New Mexico. After she gives us an autobiographical prompt, we write for 12 to 15 minutes and then each of us reads aloud. Her rule is that we provide "Call-backs"only; we call back to the writer the words and phrases that stood out to each of us. We only say the exact words/phrases, no opinions, no advice, just reflect back their own words. This helps not only the writer in question, but all of us as we can take some of the call-backs to others into our own work.
The pieces that are written in this context can sometimes touch on the death of children, devastating medical diagnoses, intentionally strategic emotional assassination by siblings as well as the memories of long lost loves. You can imagine the raw writing that is shared within this sacred circle.
John, what an incredibly powerful perspective: "People pleasing is a sin against the self." Talk about a mic drop moment!! I'm going to carry that one close to my heart moving forward 🙏❤️ And your writing workshops with Lauren Camp sound so powerful! And very similar in that we only call back (thank you for the term!) to the words and phrases that stand out, it's so powerful to hear what's working—and I can imagine it does create such a sacred space for these profound and sensitive topics to arise. Thank you so much for sharing here with me/us :D
If someone asked you to share your thoughts, insights, visions, questions. . .I doubt you'd feel the same trepidation just speaking casually. Someone once told me that reading something aloud was "frozen" language. Perhaps this feels unnatural to you and shows that you prefer spontaneity—or that with writing and having time to craft your message, you can work in the rhythms or nuances that make it feel natural, plus, it separates you from immediate "judgment"?
@Penney, so true re: responding via casual conversation! I love that take that reading something aloud is more like frozen language, and that it might just be personality style/preference to prefer getting to craft/revise/ponder on something before sharing it — and only sharing what I'm most excited to share, rather than responding randomly/quickly to a prompt (though I'm going to challenge myself to experiment with that too at some point during these writing community sessions!) Thank you as always for your astute observations and ideas!! Happy Friday and weekend :D
Jenny, I have been a people pleaser all my life, but now in my 8th decade, I realized that people pleasing is a sin against the self. Quoting from the Roman Catholic Act of Contrition, "...I firmly resolve with the help of Your Grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin." That said, there is a difference between people pleasing in general and being more consciously considerate of the people you love, and from your writing, I know that you know the difference.
Next, about reading free writing aloud...I have been very fortunate to participate in writing workshops with Lauren Camp, the Poet Laureate of New Mexico. After she gives us an autobiographical prompt, we write for 12 to 15 minutes and then each of us reads aloud. Her rule is that we provide "Call-backs"only; we call back to the writer the words and phrases that stood out to each of us. We only say the exact words/phrases, no opinions, no advice, just reflect back their own words. This helps not only the writer in question, but all of us as we can take some of the call-backs to others into our own work.
The pieces that are written in this context can sometimes touch on the death of children, devastating medical diagnoses, intentionally strategic emotional assassination by siblings as well as the memories of long lost loves. You can imagine the raw writing that is shared within this sacred circle.
John, what an incredibly powerful perspective: "People pleasing is a sin against the self." Talk about a mic drop moment!! I'm going to carry that one close to my heart moving forward 🙏❤️ And your writing workshops with Lauren Camp sound so powerful! And very similar in that we only call back (thank you for the term!) to the words and phrases that stand out, it's so powerful to hear what's working—and I can imagine it does create such a sacred space for these profound and sensitive topics to arise. Thank you so much for sharing here with me/us :D