I love Jeanette LeBlanc‘s writing. All of it. I particularly adored a piece of hers that I read recently, Start With What You Know. She evokes so powerfully the writing life, the tension and urge and essence of the white hot need to come to the page. I was inspired to share my own list of what I start with, of what I know.
this, the sunset out of my office window, is something I know to be true
I think most clearly in the morning, and I like to start my day before the sun is up.
I like my coffee with coconut milk and coconut sugar. Hot, and more than one cup of it.
Life is messy and most people carry some scars and wounds with them.
Drinking alcohol doesn’t really work for me most of the time anymore.
I’m more attuned than most people to aches and pains and changes in my body. This only makes me a hypochondriac if I act on every discomfort. It makes me aware and sensitive if I remember to sit tight and wait. Most things pass.
Writing is an essential part of almost every day for me. I need to write what I see, what I think, what I feel.
I feel a lot. Good and bad and everything in between. I ride roller coasters inside my emotions every single day. The challenge is creating more space between the feeling and the reacting.
My spidey sense about other people is rarely wrong. I need to trust it more.
Nothing puts me more quickly and firmly in touch with the ineffable, deeply reassuring energy that throbs through the universe than being outside.
When you write what you know, what do you start with?
Inspiring, and food for thought for the day. I will have to think about it, but also agree with some of these (wait before reacting, being outside). One thing I do know is that eight hours of sleep cure many ailments, and I assume you agree 🙂
I love this – perfectly timed. Lately I have felt so paralyzed by the very idea of writing…I think because I feel like I don’t have anything to say. But for some reason this post made me think that maybe I have too much to say, and it gets overwhelming and all jumbled up in my head and kind of…stuck. Starting with this prompt, starting with what you know..or maybe even what you don’t know….has helped me get a little unstuck today. Just a smidge:) thanks. xo
Love this. I see strands of my own day reflected in your post. I start my day with coffee and coconut milk – before everyone rises. It is a must for me to connect with the external – either via a run, through photographing sunrises and sunsets or simply breathing in the air. I think it is a great idea to make a regular practice of jotting down what we know, especially in those spaces where we feel stuck.
Keep growing. Keep letting go of who you thought you were. My favorites lines from Motherhood is always saying good bye.
Thank you for sharing your faves. As usual I love them too!
LOVE this!
Love getting to know more about you, Linds, and really love this, my friend. Only complaint is that your list needed to be longer. 🙂