It is time to flip the switch to "ON" and get started. Here are my ideas on what works for finally making the decision to begin. Schedule a life-saver. Many people tell me that it is easier to get up earlier than to carve time out of their already existing schedules. Set an alarm for your appointment with yourself and your creative process. The time you choose should be when you are the most active mentally. Schedule your date and pretend it is your dialysis – your hookup to a life-saving process. Consider your writing time sacred but also realize that non-writing time is creative … [Read more...]
Revising Your Story from Concept to Stage
I have been trying to perform at more storytelling venues and I was lucky enough to be booked at the Sacred Storytelling show here in Los Angeles. The reason why I mention this is because I had a set deadline, and a set topic – surrender. All I had to do was write the piece. Going through that process, I am not ashamed to admit, took me seven drafts (!!!) not including my initial notes. In the process of honing my story, I realized how each phase of rewrites brought the topic to where I wanted it to be. Since it was a personal story, and one that is still emotional for me, I wanted to make … [Read more...]
My Portfolio
Click Links To Download ErinJourdanResume2017 Erinjourdan2017cover EJourdan8_1_Portfolio2017 … [Read more...]
Audio Personal Essay: Should I be sitting down?
Try this writing prompt: Look at one of the most harrowing experiences that have happened in your life from three different perspectives. I chose to write about the cancer I had in 2007. I picked the perspective of myself at the gynecologist, visiting a spiritual "medical intuitive" and watching the surgery performed on someone else via YouTube. I was fortunate to be able to read this piece recently at a literary salon and it inspired me to try to record it. Using just the simple tools on a Mac and uploading the file to Soundcloud allows you to create an audio essay that anyone can listen … [Read more...]
New Memoir Class: September 2017
REGISTRATION OPEN NOW! Perhaps something happened this summer, last summer or ten summers ago and now you are ready to write about it. This class is for anyone who has been wanting to write but for some reason hasn't been able to start. I've been known to extract stories out of the most stingy pens. These classes will use lectures, readings, examples, exercises, workshop, and rewrites to get you through the first draft of whatever has been haunting you at night (or during the day!) But most of all these classes will be heart-centered and focused on creating a supportive, non-judgemental … [Read more...]
Writing Into the Mundane and Discovering Ourselves
I hear this voice all the time. No one is going to want to read this....it sounds...too personal, too unprofessional, like nothing I've read in the pages of the New Yorker. I am here to tell you that sometimes it sounds crazy. Sometimes it is rough around the edges, gap-toothed and feral. Writing that is batshit bananas is on to something - something new, perhaps honing into your own style, unique voice, and personal experience. I was recently circling something in my life and trying to figure out why it made me so *incredibly* emotional. I have always said, if trouble shows up on my … [Read more...]
Gentle Writing During Times of Change
I just couldn’t move on. I have always considered myself a compulsive journal keeper. I've been writing since pre-puberty somewhere between a few times a week - to one big end of the week catch up. Months have gone by this past year as I stare at the end of my turquoise Moleskine and I just wanted to get to that last page and have it be over. But I couldn’t – it felt like my brain wasn’t working in the same way. I suddenly was scared of my past. I was scared of memories, photos, and mementos setting me off. I now think I was in a deep protective mode – I had no interest in the past because … [Read more...]
Writing With Triggers and Trauma
(Re) Considering Trauma In my new day job, I work tangentially with people in drug and alcohol recovery. I say “tangentially” because I do marketing and am not a therapist, but being around it starts to seep in. Most of us have either had some sort of trauma or have known someone close to us who has an addiction problem. One thing about trauma is that once you start to see it or recognize it in other people you begin to see it in yourself. Looking through the lens of trauma puts your own in focus. Most people have trauma – it is very hard to get through your life without an accident, … [Read more...]
Why Personal Essays are Important in the ‘Age of Trump’
How can we build trust and empathy in society in order to practice respect for all people? I am a teacher focused on helping writers communicate their personal truth. I am deeply concerned about the current administration’s support of “alternative facts” and “fake news.” I believe there is a pathology in America right now that uses self-deception, lying and deceit as a winning tactic. Over and over I’ve watched ignorant people get the attention they crave by saying outlandish and disturbing things. Last year a popular rapper made news by stating his belief that the world is flat. Republican … [Read more...]
10 Books to Inspire Your Personal Maps
As a personal mapping enthusiast, I have been collecting books that inspire me to keep drawing detailed pictures, even though I would not consider myself a visual artist. The pen to paper, having no idea what forms will come out, thrills me. It is pure emotional drawing....much like we did when we were children. The colors, shapes, images and words all come from a very deep and personal place. It feels good to have an intimate map of my internal state - it gives me a release and it is a "visual aid." I have explained my pictures to friends and suddenly we have a glimmer of understanding and … [Read more...]
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