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Writing Out in the Open
Why growing as a writer should be a public experience
I realized something other morning while writing here in the shed: I have been developing my writing life for the last ten years right out in the open. One could say my writing life had its origins when I was a kid delivering newspapers, delivering the news out in the open. But for argument sake, my first book was published in 2009. So, in truth it’s been a decade of exposure. And through it all, I have stood naked for all to see.
This may not be the approach for all writers, but I would strongly encourage any writer to offer their work to the world without hesitation. Don’t wait until it’s “perfect”—there is no perfect.
The meaning of life s to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away. —Pablo Picasso
Seven books are out in the world now. I’m currently working on two novels and have a quirky little memoir that will be out in late 2020. Each time I have published, I have learned much about myself, my writing, whatever ability I have, and how to grow to the next step. I have been unabashedly comfortable with offering my stories when I think it’s time to let them go. Each book at the time of its creation was everything that I believed it could possibly be at that particular moment of my writing life…
