If you are used to coming to this page, as a student of The Studio, well...it's true...we've moved.  Go to the new site by clicking here.  Check out The Blackbird Studio for Writers.  Otherwise...stay put, grab a cup of something hot and sit back to talk about the writers life.  

That's right.  It's a blog. And this is the first post! Welcome. 

_____________________________

Here we go!  

When I first started my site back in 2005, I was super wordy, as if writing a book.  The kids today tell me to keep it short. 500 words. So let's see what I can do.

People often ask me, "Why do you write?"

Rilke, in his fine book Letters to a Young Poet, says it best.  If it were denied me to write, I would die!

Once it hit me that I would, in fact, perish without a regular writing practice, I made huge changes in my life. First, I accepted I may never see another dime from my creative efforts. Second, I asked my kids to get onboard and we downsized and simplified our lives. This meant letting go of a 3000 square foot house. Some expensive perks. The flashy car. Third, I went the business of literary teaching as a way to nestle closer to my writing curiosities with a group of like-minded thinkers. Fourth, I set time aside, everyday, to write. And write I did!  I've completed a novel, and a memoir (this one now being edited).
But it's not all good news. I have to tell you straight that I slipped from away from my commitment, was actually tempted away by the worst seduction of all: a man, and his promises, and diamonds...but wait. I'll write more about that later. Check in again in a few days and read what it took to make it back to shoreline of my creative life again.

~ Jennifer