You learn best by reading a lot and writing a lot, and the most valuable lessons of all are the ones you teach yourself.
~Stephen King
I have participated in writing groups and sat with individual writers and chatted and shared and critiqued, and all of those participations were good. But the best I have received has been from showing up with me--writing and reading. I read various books and am always involved in two to three books at a time.
I have a pleasure book, one that is for fun, something in the genre I write or not, it doesn't matter, as long as I'm interested and reading.
Then I have a learning book, one that focuses on writing, grammar, punctuation, something of that sort, because my mind doesn't like to retain what I "should" know. Repetition is imperative for me, and not just for writing. I seem to have a retaining problem with anything that's good for me as well.
And then there is the third book, which will be whatever it needs to be, depending on what catches my eye. It could be another learning book or a pleasure book or a mixture of both.
I carry a book with me, choosing from my selections above. I bring it with me everywhere, so when given the opportunity to read I'm available. I also carry a couple of pens and a small notebook to write in, because there are moments that need to be scribbled on paper or moments when a character whispers their secrets.
I am a writer. Writing is a part of me not just something I do. The results of where my writing takes me are minuscule and none of my business compared to what writing does for me in the moment of doing it. There is something profound, a mental shift, a valve release, that allows me to let out (let go of) some of the crazy that resides in my cranium.
My most valuable lessons are me showing up with me--vulnerable, open, and willing to write.
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