Along with the rest of the the world, I’m reeling from the senseless and cruel death of George Floyd. The video from the scene keeps replaying in my head, and my feelings bounce between anger and a profound sadness. There’s fear, too. Fear of the unknown as we struggle to recover, and fear of this tragedy happening again.
Like many of my writer friends, I struggle even to write. But inside I know that we must continue to express ourselves. Our writing doesn’t have to be poetry or lyric prose–even just a long, disjointed sentence scribbled in a journal is a good start.
In between my own writing, I’m honored to co-author a monthly marketing newsletter with dear friend and Women on Writing Executive Editor Angela Mackintosh. Our June issue features some of the most diverse calls for writing that I’ve ever seen–with themes such as “Family,” “Lost” and “Scars.” And Angela opens the newsletter with a wonderful writing prompt that might help you find your own words. Take a look for yourself and see if something here inspires or helps you.
Whatever it takes to find your own words, I hope you’ll do it. Because, as stated so beautifully by Julia Cameron: “Writing is medicine. It is an appropriate antidote to injury. It is an appropriate companion for any difficult change.”
Ashley Memory 