Writing and Teaching

Good morning, and welcome!

Sometimes we draw back the curtains on the artistic world, and it still seems glamorous, yet vague, to those who aren’t in the business of creating. It definitely can be mystifying, even to those of us who create, to describe that process to people who don’t live in our heads (I live in my head all the time — and I bet any amount of money you’re saying the same thing right now). I talked about my cross-country tour to promote my new novel, The Mourning Parade, last year, but that novel is doing its thing without me now (though I still love to talk about it — and do!). Now my focus is on the next book, so I’d love to share with you the process of what goes into writing and publishing books.

I’m also teaching again (a class on fiction writing for the MFA program at Southern New Hampshire University), and I love seeing the process my students go through, because it also reminds me what goes into making a good piece of writing good. I’ve done a few little videos on certain processes for the class, and if I can figure out how to save them and share them with you, I will. (And if I can’t figure out how to do that, but you all would love to see quick and dirty writing tips — 3 minutes or less — I’ll make it happen!)

So, this is my first post about those two subjects, and I hope to do at least a couple a week (whenever I have something to say). If you’re interested in hearing me talk in more depth about any writing subjects, please let me know!

I have two new projects that are in the works, and when something is new and different, it’s exciting to me. You Are the Divine Feminine is nonfiction and based on the divine attributes all women have in their psychological makeup. It’s my belief that we all can embrace that part of ourselves that’s truly goddess-like, and I also believe that we’ve lost a lot of history about women who’ve been divine through the centuries, so I’m passionate about sharing their stories. I’m in the research phase and scheduled myself for an all-day stint at the Duke Divinity Library later this week.

I’m writing this book because of the inspiration I received from many women this past summer when I toured the country for The Mourning Parade. Throughout the process of preparing that book for launch, women supported me in every way you can imagine. I had women sitting around my kitchen table sending out postcards, women worked with me to prepare mailing lists, women created my book trailer and marketing materials, women edited the book, women put me up at their houses or gave me hotel vouchers, women fed me, women listened to my frustration and hugged me. It was amazing. I knew then that I had an incredible net of women supporting me. It was powerful. Then the #MeToo movement swept social media, mirroring my own experiences, and I started thinking about the forceful nature when women come together. You Are the Divine Feminine was born.

I’ve already spent a number of days at other libraries searching through the stacks for books about the various female divinities that have existed in religious histories, philosophies, and lore throughout history. It’s fascinating to me to find tales about women with powers that are almost always directly related to the earth/nature or healing.

I could go on and on about how I feel deep in my bones that the healing nature of women is what we need at this time in our evolution. I honestly believe that if the world were ruled by women, we might have fewer wars to worry about. We are the bearers of the children who die in those wars. I think that if mothers were in charge, we would “fight” for things differently.

More about that later.

The other project is a new novel entitled Twenty-Three, which is, ironically, also about women. This story is one I’ve been thinking about for a long time. The number 23 is one of those magical numbers that comes up over and over again throughout life. At one point in my life, I’d heard from at least three other women whose marriages ended during their 23rd year. Mine did, as well (and when I was cooking up this story, an interviewer shared with me that she, too, divorced at 23 years into the marriage). Twenty-three is also an age when most people take a hard look at life. I remember trying to figure out what I would do with my life when I celebrated my 23rd birthday. It’s also the number of chromosomes that make up your DNA. The number is a prime number . . . and I could continue, but if you’re interested, Google the number 23.

The story is about three female family members who decide to take a trip based on their DNA results. The youngest (niece Constance) originally had the idea for the trip to celebrate her 23rd birthday. When her aunts (Andeline and Georgette) also have 23rd anniversaries (work and marriage) the same year, they decide to join her. Though they know the first place they’ll visit is the family’s home of origin in France, they have no idea what else will show up in their results, and as they make the trip, they find out more about themselves than their ancestors. It’s the journey of a lifetime for all three of them, and it’s also the exploration of age, family relationships, and women’s struggles/strengths.

Part of my research is getting my own DNA tested. I’ll do a live video the day I get the results back, so stay tuned for that.

That’s what I’m working on, and I’ll talk about the bits and pieces here again before the end of the week . . . time for me to get cracking on student papers!

Peace.

Dawn