How to write an essay: riffing from the woods
Do research. Read to find inspiration.
Outline loosely. Be willing to change your mind.
Approach with curiosity, not dogma. Understand that whatever is revealed is going to be incomplete.
Tie things together through patterns, through similarities and dissimilarities alike.
Tie things together, but don't expect the bow to be too tight.
To write an essay, be vulnerable. To write a good essay, be incredibly vulnerable. To write the kind of essay that lingers in people's minds, get naked on the page. It's okay to put yourself out there if you let go.
Write about what you don't know. Explore it. Write from your perspective, because it's all you have. Explore that too.
Just write.
Shape the thing by examining the ending. Shape the thing by starting a little later.
Send the thing out into the world with no expectations. Write something new.
Essays are an opportunity to reflect, to meditate, to come back home.
I recorded this at the park by my house yesterday after work.
As I recorded, speaking into my phone, I navigated uneven roots beneath my feet and felt the internal heat of a spring afternoon. What I was trying to capture here was process, but I think what arrived was something more like a nudge or a remembrance.
It’s ironic to me that the process of writing can’t be captured in writing.
As much as we want to write about it, something remains elusive—that feeling of home that only belongs to us, that feeling of walking on roots in the woods while our body temperature rises and the words begin to come even before we make our way to paper. We must follow them.
Whatever your genre or medium, I hope this triggers some inspiration. Write something today, anything.
Photo by Catherine Kay Greenup The next AYTL post will drop on Friday (51/52).
Friends, our 52-week challenge is almost complete. Let’s connect to discuss all things writing, mindful living, and creative resilience. Join me Friday, May 23 at 9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. ET; Saturday, June 21 at 9 a.m. PT /12 p.m. ET; or Friday, July 11 at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET for a community Zoom get-together. I want to keep these circles relatively small, so sign up today. To RSVP, go here.
