MAY WRITING EXPERIENCE
Time to Meet Your Brave Self
Writers, face your fears and step forward — A follow-up to week 2
What in the world does the hero’s journey monomyth have to do with the May Writing Experience?
In a literary sense, we can follow the in the footsteps of our well-known fantasy stories and heroes. You might think of Bilbo Baggins’s unlikely adventure in The Hobbit, or Harry Potter of the Harry Potter series or Dorothy of The Wizard of Oz. Or maybe you think of lesser-known stories such as: Harvey Swift’s adventure in The Thief of Always by Clive Barker (an awesome darker fantasy, which I will begin teaching about next week with my 5th graders!)
What do these characters all have in common? They all start in their ordinary world, and an adventure calls to them, comes to them, lands in their lap, or all of a sudden they’re on an adventure because something needs to change in their ordinary world or life or psyche. Really, all stories start this way.
So here we are, writers, at the beginning of this story. We are writers in an increasingly competitive writers’ world. Something is calling us to improve on this ordinary place. Maybe we want to improve our writing skills, meet like-minded people, express ourselves, discover who we are meant to be, heal from trauma, inspire others, etc. Whatever the reason we have been called to write, we have felt the invitation to the writing adventure party.
In my previous post, I wrote about reluctance. This is so common when we are invited to do something. We might not like to spread ourselves too thin; we have too much going on right now, commitment is scary, excuse/reason 4, 5, 6…
Spend some time at the beginning of the week exploring how you feel about really going for it. Are you reluctant? What fears are in your way? You may have explored this last week, but check in with yourself. You could journal about it, write a Medium post about it, comment on this post about it, or even draw about it. You don’t have to share anything. There is no judgement about your feelings. They are just feelings. This is about you growing into your potential.
Think about Bilbo Baggins. He really just doesn’t like adventures. His reluctance comes from a firm love of his hobbit hole, his routine, his hobbit life. Think of Harry Potter. His reluctance is actually his cruel uncle blocking his way to Hogwarts. Harvey Swick doesn’t believe in magic, so there is no way he is going with Rictus (plus he has a healthy sense of “stranger danger.”)
So, even if I didn’t not scare you with all the details in the May Writing Experience Week 2 introduction post, it is time to face our fears!
Let’s face it: writing for others is a vulnerable act. To paraphrase Brené Brown about vulnerability: People don’t want to feel vulnerable, but they want to feel brave. Little do they realize, being vulnerable is bravery.
If you have not heard of or read Brené Brown’s work on shame and vulnerability, well- please watch/rewatch this or listen to her podcast, read her books, listen to her books, or look her up. She has gained wild popularity for good reason. If you couldn’t tell, I am a huge fan.
So, let’s get vulnerable. Go ahead and name the monsters you are likely to encounter on this journey. I double dog dare you to look closer at them. Maybe get out some crayons and markers and draw them. Here are a few monsters I want to slay:
Imposter syndrome — Am I really a writer? Will people read my work and think I am a fraud? Am I just kidding myself? Who am I to act like I know anything about anything? Fear of failure — What if I make no money? What if I put in all this time and effort and no one reads anything? What if I don’t reach my true potential? What if I listen to this voice? Fear of success — What if I make it as a writer? What does that look like? Would I be able to handle it? What if I don’t know how to balance my life? Would I have to quit my teaching job? What about time for my kid?
I think I will make them all collage-like and fill in the cracks with blue glitter glue. That will show them.
One more thing — People will read your work. They will be critics. Are you willing to go deep inside your artist-self and reveal truths? Are you willing to use your gift of language to share yourself with the world? Vulnerability is really a thing. But it is a human being thing. People relate to people. They want to read your stories about overcoming struggles. They want to have tips on the best Thanksgiving meal. They want to know what your heart desires and what it has lost in a poem, a short story, an epic tale, or a blog post. Everyone wants to know that they are not alone, just like you.
Lastly, as a reminder: look to your mentor and allies. Think of Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Gandalf, and The Scarecrow. They don’t always know the answers. They might not even really know the best way for you to go. They might get you lost, but at least you’ll have a good time.
In the words of Galit Birk, PhD, from “Tough Critics”:
“…kudos to all of us who write publicly and dare to be known…”
Samantha Lazar 2021
If you are just joining ◦•●Christina M. Ward ●•◦ and I in the May Writing Experience, start here:
