“Quieting your life is the key to your writing,” said instructor Eric Maisel at the end of the workshop.

Welcome home

A group of about two-dozen writers gathered this past week at Kripalu in Stockbridge, MA, to participate in a Deep Writing Workshop. I was one of them.

Kripalu is a very special place for me. It’s where I come to renew, refresh and to grow—professionally and personally. I’ve been more than dozen times.

I’ve had a book idea in my head for the last year and a half. It was time to do it. Professionally, we work with a lot of widows in our practice so we see the contrast between a couple who planned for their future and one that didn’t. Losing one’s spouse is very hard but it’s so much harder if you hadn’t prepared. Through my book, I want to inspire women to do the planning now so if the proverbial bus does come, many decisions and protections are in place.

This workshop was really about your writing. It created the time and space to focus so you could make great progress. It was not a creative class where you take turns sharing your work around the room. In fact, we didn’t even find out the names of the other writers and their projects until day two. We showed up and wrote for 20 minutes. Eric spoke for a bit and then you wrote for 50 minutes. You knew off the bat that this was really going to be about writing.

We wrote “together alone” in one room. Most folks found it similar to writing in a coffee shop and felt inspired by the camaraderie in the room.

It was terrific to make so much progress on my book. When I shared the topic with others in the room the reaction was always “that is so needed”! Of course the feedback was encouraging that I was on the right track with this project.

The setting at Kripalu is inspiring. Daily yoga, noontime and great workshops are great for quieting one’s mind to unleash the creative juices. Fabulous, nutritious food prepared for you. Everything is take care of for you.

Terrific progress was made this week on my book about what you wish you knew before you were widowed. I’m going to be sending out a survey soon to widows I  know to ask if they will share their personal stories and advice. If you know someone who would be interested in participating, I would be so grateful.

Saying good-bye and good luck to the other participants was bittersweet. We will all anxiously await news of the next novel published, next screenplay accepted or finished memoir. I’m sure there will be news soon since it was such a smart, energized and committed group of writers. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to learn and grow with them.

One last great piece of advice that was shared: curiosity rekindles energy. So what are you curious about today? What sparks your energy? We’d love to hear about it.