E-Lists for Writers

Kerri Buckley blogs about the writing life.

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One thing that has helped me to improve as a writer is joining certain e-lists. I do have my favorites, and I've listed them below. The absolute best are moderated for content, allow no flaming -(any rude, slanderous or unnecessary comments), are only on-topic (writing), and teach a variety of things to both beginners and writers who have been writing for quite a while. While some lists are just into announcing, the top lists below inform - as well as announce. As writers, our learning just sort of continues to spiral forward, and you can't possibly learn everything from one source, from formal education, books, networking, etc. It is also best sometimes to learn from others' mistakes, and on these top lists, some writers generously share their worst experiences along with their best. To the moderators of these lists, I'd like to say thanks a bunch!

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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/writergrrls

http://www.seattlewritergrrls.org

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NYCWriters

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wellfed_writers/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pacificnorthwestwriters/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PDXwritergrrls/

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Informational and Regional Lists:

http://www.pnwa.org

http://www.willamettewriters.com

http://www.hugohouse.org

http://www.soapstone.org

http://www.fieldsend.org

http://www.centrum.org

http://www.poetswest.com

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National Lists

http://www.writersdigest.com

http://www.pw.org

All of these lists are excellent. There is also a disctinct PNW flavor here, since I live in the PNW, but try them out for yourself, and email me at goldenwordsmith@gmail.com if you have any others to recommend. All the best, Kerri

Creativity

I Believe in The Artist's Way

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I have a new, published list of books for writers at www.kerribuckleysbooklist.blogspot.com. The very first book on the list is The Artist's Way. I can recommend the book on the list, but this blog is where I talk about writing and a writer's life. I believe in Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. No matter if you call daily writing morning pages or daily writing, it's essential, for me, to write every day. This is how I keep my writing moving, evolving - even when it seems like just a mess of words or images, and I don't know what the hell I'm doing, these pages are what keep me in the middle of writing. Without them, I'd always be on the peripheral, outside looking in. The Artist's Date, which I am not so religious about, and I'm an artist, is also essential. Lately, I've been working on my website. That's what I do when I'm stressed, or when I need a creative thing to do because it's like balm on a wound. What I really need to do is tape large sheets of paper to the wall with painter's tape, and grab my pastels and just go at it. This really clears me out, but my art has been neglected for my writing lately. Still, there is a reason that The Artist's Way has helped millions of people, and has sold millions of copies. Pick it up, if you haven't read it. I'm constantly amazed at how many people aren't familiar with it in my writing classes, or in classes I've taught at conferences. Hold it in your hands. Open the first page. Begin.

Creation or Depletion

Every day we slaughter our finest impulses. That is why we get a heartache when we read the lines written by the hands of a master and recognize them as our own, as the tender shoots that we stifled because we lacked the faith to believe in our own powers, our own criterion of truth and beauty. Every man, when he gets quiet, when he becomes desperately honest with himself, is capable of uttering profound truths.

Henry Miller

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What I've learned from meditation and from writing is this: we can treat life as if we are standing on zero on a number line. We have X amount of units to use. We can go to the positive and create, or we can head to the negative side and deplete. Either choice is really ok, because we're really here to learn, after all. We don't have to be perfect. I think that creating begets creating, though, and depleting or exhausting begets the same. In an interview with author Paula Kamen, who wrote All In My Head: An Epic Quest to Cure an Unrelenting, Totally Unreasonable, and Only Slightly Enlightening Headache - I asked her about the difference of writers and artists, their sensitivities, and how it affects our bodies. She told me that what she's found is that writers and artists are more sensitive, they are more empathetic, which is good for brilliant work, but it also affects brain chemistry. What this all leads to is an awareness of a need for balance in my work, play, home life (which is very difficult), and also a need to constantly be aware of my own creative barometer, and how I'm either creating or depleting my energy (units). It takes the same energy to create, as it does to destroy.

Who is Kerri Buckley?

I'm a writer, artist, soon-to-be Flower of Life facilitator, mother and friend of many beautiful people. I believe that we should all live our dreams; we cannot live well unless we do. In 1999 I got the flu and was unconscious for three days. When I came to, I found that I lost the partial use of my arms and hands. Over the next few months, I became weaker and weaker, losing muscle, weight, and even hair. I've meditated since the 80's, but I really began in earnest to meditate, in addition to seeing doctor after doctor. I had been a chef-an award-winning chef at some of the finest hotels in the country. Being a chef, though, no longer made me happy. I wanted to be a writer, and had been writing since I was a child. I decided that in order to survive, I would have to only do what brought me joy. That led to writing, back to my art, and also to the Flower of Life, an organization that is devoted to the evolution of humanity through education and a 17-Breath meditation. Today I am much better. I live in the most beautiful part of the country, the Pacific Northwest. I am writing. When I got that flu that changed my life, my longtime friend and mentor, Rich Bruursema, encouraged me to start writing again. He owned and still owns Kansas City Parent Magazine, and I wrote a monthly food column for the publication. I am very grateful to Rich for his support during those difficult days, and for helping me find my path. I wish the same for you reading this post. In peace and with gratitude, Kerri

The Artistic Life

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then,

is not an act, but a habit. Aristotle