Don't be afraid of criticism

Chicken on the road, St. George, Bermuda
Photograph by Gail M. Pfeifer

Feedback on your writing will help you sharpen your skills; don't be a chicken. One way to get started is to begin with colleagues who are interested in writing for publication, too. Seek them out through your unit, HR department, or area bulletin board. Meet before or after your shift or plan a breakfast or lunch meeting where everyone brings a short piece of work to share. Or do some timed writing exercises (see Natalie Goldberg’s ideas in Writing Down the Bones and read my April 9 post for other ideas).

Distractions

Tobacco Bay, Bermuda
Photograph by Gail M. Pfeifer

It’s pretty easy to think of something else to do besides writing, even when you are a writer. Making the ideas you have in your head clear enough on the paper so that a reader can understand your point of view is the big challenge. One of the things that helps me jumpstart my writing is to collect great essays and poems. I keep them in a file and, when I read them—for distraction, of course—they inspire me to start writing again. 

Try it for yourself. Here is one suggestion: Billy Collins, our former US poet laureate (2001-2003) reads his poem “The Lanyard.” It’s terrific in print, but his inflection puts the sense of wistful humor in the work.