don’t let them tame you

So much of our writing journeys (especially for women) is about untaming.

Untaming our language, our voices. 

Stepping out of the tide of culture that we swim in, so that we can ask interesting questions about the tide itself, and our place in it. 

To do that, we need to get underneath what we’ve been programmed to think and say to access what we actually think and want to say. 

Natalie Goldberg speaks to this in the very first chapter, “First Thoughts,” of her famous book Writing Down the Bones. 

One of the rules of writing practice, she says, is to “go for the jugular” – “If something comes up in your writing that is scary or naked, dive right into it. It probably has lots of energy.” 

I want to invite you this week to practice writing your first thought.

It’s easier than ever, since many of us write on the computer, to delete our first (and second, third, and fourth) thoughts. 

Practice writing your first thought… and not deleting. (It’s easier to do via handwriting… but I suppose you could put a piece of tape or a sticker on your backspace key for your writing practice to attempt to not delete!)

See what comes up.