One of the many things I love about my writing classes is that I don't have to always show up in a good mood! I just have to show up willing to tell the truth. I have found anger, confusion, and grief great motivators to write but so are hope, excitement, and joy. What are your favorite fuels for the writing fire? The Fuel of Feeling (Surrender Your Weapons: Writing to Heal by Valley Jane, 2017) We do not have to arrive at writing practice in the perfect mood or even a good mood. We can come to the page with every and any feeling we have. We can show up angry, grieving, jealous, sad, confused, exhausted. We don’t have to apologize for our feelings or explain them away. We can use them as fuel to drive our narrative forward, each feeling lending itself to a different kind of expression. I believe that when we write tired we are often more vulnerable and have less energy to put up our usual filmy walls of resistance. Anger can add force to our words while sorrow might soften them. Each emotion brings a different aspect of our lives and ourselves to the page. I have shown up to my notebook red hot with fury and doubled over in grief. I have entered the page confused, uncertain, unsure. Almost without fail, I emerge from my writing practice feeling differently than when I entered it. The physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual act of writing transmits and transforms emotion. The stories we write become carriers of those feelings, that, suffused into our words, can be felt by our reader. We know when we read something fueled by emotion that was born in the heart or the body as opposed to a wholly clinical academic piece pried from the head. Our bodies respond when we read words written with the fuel of feeling. We don’t have to turn away from the page because we aren’t in the right mood. Every mood we have has something different to say, another piece to add to our story.

Hello writers! If you missed our lunar eclipse workshop yesterday, here are the prompts...it's not too late, the eclipse energy is still strong. Spend 8 minutes free-writing on the two questions below and share in the comments if you'd like. What right now is being eclipsed out? What right now is being eclipsed in? We'd love to read what you write :) Thank you @Lisa Loving, @Cate Fitt, and @Beth Jasper for your beautiful writing in the worshop...I'd love for you to share! Here's mine: What's being eclipsed out? Centuries of bullshit, co-dependency and people pleasing--even with my DOG! Over-editing. That eternal critic shapeshifter who sneaks around in different costumes. Can I eclipse out waiting for my ship to come in and learn to sail my own damn boat? Can I eclipse out the straight jacket of good girl, good wife, good mother? Can I eclipse out the illusion that I have to be good in order to be loved? What's being eclipsed in? Trust in the ever winding curvy-ass spiral road of my life. Trust that I won't accidentally Thelma and Louised myself off cliff or get stuck in the endless maze of traffic on 64. I'm eclipsing in trust in the sacred Goddess essence of my being in this transitory time of my life between known worlds and addresses. I eclipse in vigor and enthusiasm and exuberance for what I do, for what we share for being wholy alive. I eclipse myself back into the center of my very own life.

Hi writers! We've all heard of gratitude lists--and they sure can work wonders. However, I have found that sometimes it's hard to sit down and get straight to gratitude when there are other things roiling around in my heart, mind, body, and soul. And so I have adapted the gratitude list to include three distinct sections....and I've added just a few of my own answers below. SHIT I'M RELEASING: people pleasing/co-dependency, second-guessing, self-doubt, dysmporphia THANKS I'M FEELING: abundance of nature, healing from giardia, this beautiful writing community WISHES I'M CREATING: dance parties, flow, synchronicities, a retreat center, a green thumb What's on your list?? I'd love for you to share in the comments below!

Hello, I’m Lisa. I’ll be writing with you all from Richmond, VA. Although when I write, I believe I’m at least a little bit removed from space and time. I tend to write about feelings and observations, I’m called mostly to journalling and stream-of-consciousness processing. I am not inclined towards memoir right now, but that could change. Going through my memories feels too much like trauma sometimes. I’m here because of Valley - I’ve been enamored of her work for many years now from classrooms and workshops to retreats and houses of healing. All great portals to creativity! I need to reconnect with my creative spark which flickers and always needs extra magic breath in order to flame. My favorite magic word? That’s a tough one. It’s probably MEOW. I say it often especially when anxious or flummoxed. Some might call it a stim, but I think it’s a magic spell to ground me. MEOW. Plus, cats are magic and I’d like to have some of that magic.

Hello, brave writer. I'm so happy you've found your way here. Writing Fire was born from a deep belief that writing is far more than a creative practice — it is a transformational one. Writing helps us hear ourselves. It helps us tell the truth. It helps us remember who we are. It helps us make meaning from the wild, beautiful, heartbreaking, astonishing experience of being alive. For many years, I have gathered people in circles — online, in classrooms, in living rooms, around retreat tables, beside rivers, and around literal fire — to write, reflect, witness one another, and transform. This community is an extension of that sacred circle. A place for writers, seekers, storytellers, recovering perfectionists, deep feelers, creative explorers, and anyone longing for a truer relationship with their own voice. You do not need to call yourself a writer to belong here. You do not need to be polished. You do not need to be productive. You do not need to know what your "big project" is. You only need willingness, curiosity, and courage. Some people will come here to work on memoir. Some to process change. Some to reconnect with creativity. Some to listen for what their deeper self has been trying to say. Some to experience the alchemical transformation of turning pain into art. All of that belongs. A few things matter deeply here: 🔥 We practice strength-based witnessing and feedback. 🔥 We honor confidentiality and emotional safety. 🔥 We value truth over performance. 🔥 We encourage brave honesty, while honoring intuition, boundaries, and self-care. 🔥 We believe creativity can be both playful and profound. This is not a place to be perfect. This is a place to be real. If you've just arrived, here's how to begin 🌿 1. Watch this quick 'How To' video from Lauren She'll walk you through the space and show you how to find your way around. https://www.loom.com/share/8778b4b1c6d145e481c12b3f88cbdd92 2. Read the Community Agreements This helps us create a space that feels warm, brave, supportive, and creatively alive. 👉 Community Agreements