Reflections of a Writer: Lighting the Path

A few weeks ago, I shared openly and honestly about my journey as a writer in my Mother Shipton Prophecy blog.  Since that blog is very focused in its reach and topic, upon rereading what I had to say, I knew it was appropriate to surface here as well.

The Mother Shipton Prophecy blog will soon be transitioning to become The Prophetess Legacy blog, a more general format exploring the behind-the-scenes aspects of my research into the history and insights of mystical women throughout history.  The blog will accompany my Prophetess Legacy seminars and ongoing book/web/media projects on that topic.

Feeling the utterly unnecessary urge to explain the huge stack of books in my arms, I told the librarian at the counter last summer that I was writing a book.  I hoped to finish by Winter.

Obviously accustomed to warding off the locals, she whipped out a mantra about not being able to take most new books into her little library, even from authors nearby.  I hadn't asked.  I didn't care.  I told her it really didn't matter to me. 

And then she said something rather unexpected and deep, a knowing look in her eyes:  "Have you fallen out of love with your book yet?"

Speechless, I can't remember what I said in response.

Yet the weight of her words remained.  Long after the weight of those books.  I carried the weight of those words for several weeks.  I carry their weight in this moment.

As anyone stopping by this blog knows, this project has been a long time in development, with many promises and pauses in between.

Have I fallen out of love?  Obviously...yes...

I used to only talk about Mother Shipton at events (and not about other prophetesses)...until I began to realize much of what has been written about her is false (see Facing the Forgeries).

As I said months ago, I finally had to come to terms with the truth.

Fallen out of love?  I'd say so.  I all but omitted Mother Shipton from my Expo presentations when I used to dedicate the entire hour.

And then it happened last summer.  An unannounced gift, the web domain name MotherShipton.com magically fell into my hands.  So did all the related names (.org, .net, .info, you name it).  They all came to me effortlessly, without even asking, without even looking, without even giving it a thought.  And of course they arrived by Design.

And so I have a responsibility.

I must be true to the words I choose to write...for her sake...for the memory of the real Mother Shipton...as truthful, open and balanced as I can possibly be, on the very site that bears her name.

Meanwhile, it's not the first roadblock I've encountered, as "The Prophetess Legacy" project goes far beyond Mother Shipton.

"Have you fallen out of love with your book yet?"  The words hang upon my heart.

Yes, I have fallen out of love.  I have fallen out of love with the darkness.

When you take it upon yourself to study prophecy, you had better be prepared (I wasn't).  It is brutal.  It is bloody.  It is graphic. It is death, destruction and damnation in just about every imaginable way. 

Do I want to write a book filled with blood and death?  Obviously...No.

I would call that definitely falling out of love with a book, a book so very heavy it fell into the abyss.

But what about the Love?  And the Light?  Ah, yes, they do exist in prophecy.  And in fact, perhaps that is precisely the point.

So what kind of book exactly is re-emerging in my hands?  What kind of web site and blog?  Let me just say none of it will be what I expected...

And I'm writing here, right now, in this very moment.  That's a good sign.

My last Expo presentation a few weeks ago had the most raptly attentive audience yet.  I didn't focus on the darkness at all.  I focused on the Light.

Yes, I'd say that's a sign I'm falling back into Love.

Perhaps soon I'll take you with me...

The Fall of the A-Write-ocracy?

This morning I relished with somewhat devilish delight a provocative opinion piece appearing in today's Huffington Post entitled New Rules for Writers: Ignore Publicity, Shun Crowds, Refuse Recognition and More.

Though some have speculated that this article may actually be satirical, it echoes many of the sentiments genuinely expressed by writers consciously choosing to bypass the disempowering aspects of those in the traditional writing establishment who are not enlightened or progressive enough to empower authors. I happen to know because I'm one such writer.

The push and pull of differing opinions on this topic come up regularly on weekly #writechat discussions on Twitter, with today no exception. In fact, last week, the topic was so very raw, afterwards I may have been the first to coin the new term "a-WRITE-ocracy" to describe the elitist attitudes that are unfortunately so commonplace in the established writing world, with the many writers in waiting circulating around its ivory palaces.

No matter how shrill the denials or condescending comments, there is no escaping the fact that a genuine writer's rebellion has been underway for so long, it is essentially a fait d'accompli.

The rebellion is actually not quite as revolutionary as we may think. Although not as accessible in the days of old, its seeds were already present in everything from cheap broadside ballads, chapbooks, almanacs and alternative news sources to the unconventional approaches of the talented 19th century Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Self-publishing is the writer's entrepreneurship, not all that different from the choice to seek freedom as an independent business owner instead of a paid employee. Self-publishing need not only describe the publishing of a book. It can also encompass many forms of online writing, from blogs to discussion forums to entire web sites.

Traditional publishing may carry its rewards, but so does freedom. As with progressive employers, the most progressive publishers will survive and thrive, but only those that emphasize the empowerment of a true co-creative partnership, only those that recognize that writers really do have legitimate choices these days.

In truth, nothing can silence the voice of a writer, whether assessed by some as "talented" or not. Free, unhindered expression is writing in its purest form. And no matter how forcefully some attempt to bar the gates from the threat of the "writing rabble", the true gatekeepers are now the readers, not the publishers.