By, Maya Amaele Liebermann
Some women always feel fully confident that they are meant to be published authors.
Some women don’t question their abilities or their reasons for wanting to write and publish.
I am not one of those women.
I question and second guess myself almost every step along the way.
Who am I to think I can write, no less publish?
Who am I to think I can say something that other people will want to hear?
Hasn’t everything worth reading already been published?
Me:
Well hello, to my Inner Critic!
You certainly have a loud and pessimistic voice.
You really know how to demoralize me.
Inner Critic: It’s not my intention to demoralize you, I am protecting you.
Me: Protecting me?
Inner Critic:
Protecting you from failure, criticism.
Protecting you from wasting your time and energy
Protecting you from the certain shame that is bound to come when you and your published work trip you up.
Protecting you from falling and flopping on your published face.
Me: Oooh, that hurts me, Inner Critic.
Yes, it hurts to live inside your/my critical voice with your/my critical thoughts and your/my self-protective put-downs.
Your/My demeaning thoughts keep me from starting to write.
Your/My demeaning thoughts keep me from continuing to write, should I be lucky enough to make a start.
Your/My demeaning thoughts definitely stop me from daring myself to go public with any of my writing.
Enter Encouraging optimistic messages from the women in our weekly writer’s circle.
Writing insight is given by our Red Thread Publishing founder, Sierra Melcher:
If the writing you are working on isn’t lighting you up, it’s not the work you should be doing. Find the writing that lights you up.
Inspiration grows with our writing circle facilitator, Dr. Adrienne:
You can do it.
You have everything you need inside of you.
You can write and you can publish.
Your voice matters.
You are your own author-ity.
Encouraging messages are shared from all of the women in our writer’s circle:
I can relate to your fear… and this is what is helping me… You are not alone… I have been there… I am moving through it and so are you… we are doing this together.
Me
Well, that was just what I needed to hear. Indeed. All of you have inspired me to write a poem.
We Are
echos resounding
inside and outside
you are not alone
you are all one
you are here
we are here
in our hearts together
we women writers
we are here
we are
writing out
from within
our hearts and souls
we are writing
what we need
we give
we receive
I, you, we, are here together
I, you, we, are making a difference to each other
I, you, we, are giving something to each other
I, you, we, are teaching something to each other
just being here
together to gather
ourselves
within and with
each other
we are
each other
we are one
we are all
writing in
writing out
our lives
our loves
our sweat
our tears
our beings
be in our body
our place
where we are
now
we are
here we are attuned
what we need is
here now
I am
you are
we are
writing together.
