Open to the Words

You have to have some heroes who spark your confidence, who show you the way. One of mine is Anne Lamott, who wrote in Bird by Bird that “Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises.  That thing you had to force yourself to do—the actual act of writing—turns out to the best part.” When we sit with a blank sheet of paper or a blank screen and are open to what will come, we get into the mode, the groove, and the writing comes about so naturally, so effortlessly, that I almost forget I’m writing. The words come into my head and onto the paper, and I find that what Lamott said about good writing is about telling the truth is a great way to describe it. As writers, we try to describe what’s going on inside us and outside us by using detailed writing to describe the emotions, and if we’re open to the words, they just come.