Writers in Nature

So, as you can see I deal with writer’s block often. However, not the same way as I have had in the past. I have gone six years plus without writing a thing. I finally had a break through but that didn’t stick around long and I went another five to six years with barely writing more than a sentence.

Then I decided to go back to school and signed up for college classes at UWM. At this point, I had no choice but to write for my classes. One of my classes, environmental science, inspired me to learn more about nature and different environmental issues. However, it was during a literature and writing class that I became interested in exploring diversity in outdoor recreation. I had noticed a lack of diversity among the scientists conducting studies, the professors teaching or lecturing on this subject, and the people featured in outdoor recreation ads.

This is when I decided to be the difference—at least locally —and I started getting outside more and hitting the trails in my area. The calmness I felt was unreal. I was able to breathe, and I realized that this is what I’ve been missing: grounding myself in nature. Next thing I knew, inspiration had hit, little by little. After a few hikes in, I started to loosen up. Thoughts began flowing, and I had to pull out my phone to get everything down. I’m more of a notebook and pen type of writer, but when I’m out on the trails, I grab the quickest thing, my phone.

Slowly but surely, I have written down more and more things, and without fail, when I’m outdoors, inspiration hits. I jot whatever comes to mind, mostly just thoughts. But right now I’m in my poetry bag. Prose-poems, if you will.

I have a poetry page, check it out. This is where I will post my poems, random thoughts, and all the things I have written while hiking and whatnot. Some of these poems are inspired by my hikes and what I am physically seeing, and others by what my brain conjures up while my body is in a relaxed state. Some of these are pretty personal, while others were inspired by people that I know or who have come into my life, but honestly, my biggest creative motivation is Mother Nature.