This week’s WhatComesNextLive conversation was with Amber Naslund (@AmberCadabra on Twitter) and was so, so full of lightbulb moments for me around writing that I am sharing now directly after our recording. One quote I wrote down in full was:
“Writing is a behaviour. It is something I do, otherwise the crush of thoughts in my head would have nowhere else to go”
Amber also referenced Joan Didion on writing. I noted the Joan Didion quote she referenced relatively recently, so you can read more on that in the post: “Writing as a way to access one’s own mind“, where I also referenced a post I wrote around a core reason why I write, which is that “I write to discover my thoughts“. One more reference she made to another writer was to “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron, and specifically to the practice of Morning Writing and the power that has had for her.
One more key area we discussed in our thirty-minute conversation was the power of writing so support our mental health, and specifically around overthinking and so anxiety. Like Amber, I have found that writing has helped me with that. Her words on our call meant a lot to me and I feel sure will help you if you identify with what she says, including that writing: “brings verbal order to mental chaos” and quiets “the cacophony in my head”.
As I write this post, my own thoughts also form and emerge to be written.
I feel immensely grateful for Amber bringing her generosity of spirit to our conversation. She is as deeply expert as she is passionate about words and language, and she shared wisdom and knowledge abundantly.
I finish here with her closing thoughts from our conversation, I hope some of you reading this (and then listening to the conversation) feel inspired to action by her words.
“If writing is something you want to do, just start”