Can I get a Witness?

...plus my brand new Meet Your Protagonist Guided Meditation

Thanks for reading Write as You Are. In this installment, I also bring you a guided meditation called Meeting Your Protagonist, which I hope will offer a helpful and enjoyable way to move past blocks in your story by letting your protagonist lead the way. ✨

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But first…

I think something that we all need in our lives is people who really listen when we speak, who travel alongside us in life (from near or far) and can reflect ourselves back to us at times when we can’t see clearly.

Whether it be friends or family, the gift of a witness is profound. The friend who can remind you of a time when things were different and help you get out of a slump, the sibling who can gently mention the dream you have had for years when you lose your focus, a partner who reflects back your growth, shows you how far you have come, how hard you have worked to get where you are. It is all so valuable.

I truly believe that it is also something that we grieve when we lose a loved one, the loss of someone who has been there alongside us for years, bearing witness to the unique part of us that they saw.

I recently had the pleasure of being in the audience for an interview with the Poet David Whyte, who says “the ultimate touchstone of friendship is not improvement, neither of the other nor the self, the ultimate touchstone is witness.”

“There is no better witness for a writer than a close reader.” David Whyte

In the last couple of years, I have really felt the deep joy of having dear writing friends. As trust has developed, we have become mutual witnesses to each other’s work, sharing first drafts and final drafts, watching each other’s work evolve and develop, bearing witness to each other’s inevitable personal evolution alongside it.

From that vantage point we can encourage each other. We can point out where we think the writing could be improved further, or where the writer might be holding back their fullest truth, embolden them to be even more honest with their words. To have trusted witnesses with whom I can share messy drafts and experiments has been deeply expansive.  

Photo by Nong V on Unsplash

I bear witness through listening to my mentees and watching their energy. I bear witness through reading their words and seeing how their confidence in themselves as writers starts to shine through more and more. I reflect this to them. They already know, they can usually feel it, but it always feels good to be told. I bear witness to writing taking up more space in their lives and how that (almost inevitably) makes them happier and often healthier. I bear witness to their fears of what “becoming a writer” or publishing a book might mean and conversely how not writing the book might feel.

I believe we all have a deep desire to be witnessed.

Thank you to all of you who have offered me this gift.

Who is your greatest writing witness? Who are you a witness for? Do you allow your work to be witnessed in all stages? How can you be a better witness to others? As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

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Meeting your Protagonist- Guided Meditation

This is the first in what I hope will be a number of meditations guiding writers into conversations with their characters and their stories. I would love to hear any feedback that you have.

Recommendations:

• Find a quiet place where you wont be distracted for 15 minutes.

• Have a pen and paper handy (or whatever tool you use) to jot down notes at the end.

• Using headphones may help to reduce other background noise.

• Have fun, see what comes!

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Mentoring

Would you like to be supported and witnessed on your writing journey? Guided back to your goals and dreams, reminded of the wonderful writer that lives within you on the days it feels tough? If so, please book in for a free discovery call to see if I might be the right mentor for you.