Adventures in Writing

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” ~ Maya Angelou

WHILE WRITING MY FIRST BOOK, I often joked that paddling the Inside Passage was the easy part. For it’s much easier for me to sit in a wobbling kayak on the ocean than in a steady office chair in front of a computer. At times, nothing felt as exasperatingly impossible, not even arduous forty-mile days, fierce headwinds, or mountainous ocean swell—as writing did. Stringing words together that properly conveyed my feelings, and the facts centered around those feelings, was much more daunting. Come to think of it, it still is.

Recently, I had a conversation with a profoundly creative friend, an established painter, a kindred soul. We both questioned our creative worth and our artistic contributions to the world, especially given today's challenging climate. We commiserated, wondering why any of it mattered, who cared, and who would buy our work? Ultimately, we decided that now, more than ever, the world needs to hear my story, to immerse themselves in her paintings, to find inspiration, to find peace, and to keep pursuing their dreams regardless of the circumstances.

Maya Angelou nailed it: “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” My motto: Refuse to be that story! Yeah, I know, refusal doesn't come easy while navigating the opus of any book. My current book-in-progress has its own set of challenges. I often lose my bearings, feeling like I've been cast adrift for days, even weeks at a time, in what feels like a sea of impossibility. I sometimes get lost in the chapters, the research materials, the twenty-gazillion tabs open on my web browser, the books strewn on my floor, my to-do lists, and my scatterbrainedness. Yet, just as something carried me through the physical adventures that I write about, something also carries me through on my writing journey. Of course, I owe so much of my writing progress to all the encouraging souls who have helped me along the way, including kick-ass editors who have remedied my verb tenses, misplaced commas, and awkward transitions that were often as haphazard as the tidal rapids I white-knuckled my way through on the Inside Passage. It's all of this and so much more.

For me, writing has become an exploratory journey, a means to be playful and spontaneous. My writing process is a way to make my past more visible to myself, to illuminate where I’ve been, where I’m going, and where I am now. Bringing my adventure to life on the page—and my readers along for the ride—gives me tremendous joy. I love seeking the perfect words to convey a narrative that feels so evocative and visceral that readers feel like they are right there in the cockpit with me, wet and cold, or wild and triumphant. I want you to share my emotions, to sense the fear of a grizzly bear just thirty feet away, as if you were standing on that beach beside me (hehe—with the safety clip off the bear spray canister that you're clutching in your right hand!)

Over the years, paddling has become a source of healing for me—my aqua therapy, if you will. Similarly, writing has become therapeutic, a way to discover meaning, to offer clarity, and to validate my existence. I love how my writing process allows me to be playful, spontaneous, and open to where it might take me. I simply need to seize the opportunity and stay focused. My expeditions through the Inside Passage weren't trips through Disney Land. I had to stay on course, deal with obstacles, and figure SH#T out. It all required dedication and discipline (and sometimes sheer luck). Turns out writing does too (minus the luck part).

When I began prioritizing my creative time by incorporating it into my mornings, when I'm most productive, magic happened. Life will always get in the way; emergencies arise, and our lives can spiral out of control. I get it. I've been a victim of these disruptions. Then, I set an intention: to be mindful of everything that takes me out of the writing flow, including tasks related to the business of being a writer, but that don't directly contribute to the narrative I so desperately need to get out of me and onto the page. I started noticing a pattern and realized it was all part of procrastination. Of course, it is. Procrastination is "the gap between intention and action." Clearly, I needed an action plan.

"Because every time you say yes to something random, you’re quietly saying no to the business you claim you’re building." WOA. This quote from my new friend and podcaster/writing coach extraordinaire, Hussein Al-Baiaty, truly hit a nerve with me. I realized I can be the Queen of Random Sh#T. I needed that pivotal reminder to revisit my intentions.

So, unless the thing was a dire emergency, it could wait. I set aside a few hours in the afternoons for administrative tasks and began working on weekends, as that's when my neighborhood is blissfully quiet (I live near a high school). I reset my intentions, created space, and rolled up my sleeves. I parked my butt in the office chair, placed my ten fingers on the keyboard, and stopped pulling the emergency brake on my goals. I returned to the basics: WHY am I writing this? WHO is my audience? WHAT do I need to share?

Getting stuck in the writing process is cyclical, so I remind myself that STUCK HAPPENS. Whenever I'm feeling stuck, I reach for inspiration. Here are a few of my go-to sources:

Podcasts:

Write-minded

Rising Authors

The Creative Penn

Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach

Books:

The Creative Act, Rick Rubin

The Science of Storytelling, Will Storr

The Writer’s Journey, Christopher Vogler

On Writing, Stephen King

Websites:

Jane Friedman

Paula Rizzo

Rising Authors

Lastly, a few words of encouragement for all the writers out there: Understand that your story IS WORTHY! Don’t deny the world your gift. Don't let your story go untold. I offer the same advice to expedition paddlers I've mentored: just start! Find your support group, your cheerleaders, set goals, and always remember that you’ll either find an excuse or you'll find a way. Carve out the time to train, to write, to learn. Take writing workshops, join writing groups, watch podcasts (like this one!) for inspiration.

Boatloads of gratitude for listening! As a token of my appreciation, please enjoy this sample chapter from my book-in-progress: (Working title: Following Audrey: The Inside Story of Audrey Sutherland)

CLICK HERE!

Inhaling Solitude.pdf

Download PDF • 78KB

"Moxie," my in-house editor

The Writing Room

Peace, Carrots, and Kayaking (and writing!)