Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach

Latest Episodes:

Ep 183: Write to Discover Your Top Themes & Topics Jan 30, 2019

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I recently signed up for Reddit. During setup, I clicked on categories and topics of interest so the app could deliver relevant updates. - On the spot I had to decide my preferences: do I want ongoing content about this topic or that?

Ep 182: Write to Discover Your Reason for Writing Jan 23, 2019

Show notes

If you’ve read On Being a Writer, you know my coauthor Charity Singleton Craig and I start with identity—claiming we are writers. I told the story of the university publication that accepted my first poetry submissions. They asked for a bio.

Ep 181: Write to Discover the Courage You Need to Confront Your Fears Jan 16, 2019

Show notes

Ralph Keyes observes in his book The Courage to Write, “The trail of literary history is littered with those who fell along the way because the anxiety of trying to write paralyzed their hand”1. Writers' Anxiety

Ep 180: Write to Discover - Start with Yourself Jan 08, 2019

Show notes

A few weeks ago I shared with you how freewriting freed me. The book Writing Down the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg, played a big part in that during my college years, introducing me to the idea of timed writing as a means to write and discover. -

Ep 179: Time to Schedule Your Writing Life Tune-up Dec 19, 2018

Show notes

Tis the season for many things. One thing that doesn't roll off the tongue as jolly as a line in a carol is a writing life tune-up. Yes, tis the perfect time for writing life maintenance. - It sounds so boring,

Ep 178: The Writer at Work - Use Freewriting to Give It Some Thought Dec 13, 2018

Show notes

My first university-level creative writing course used as the main text a book that, at that time, was a brand-new release: Writing Down the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg. - After moving through the exercises in that book, I felt transformed.

Ep 177: [Interview] Alison Hodgson on Boiling a Story Down to Its Essence, One-Star Reviews, and Perseverance Dec 04, 2018

Show notes

Back in October 2018, I interviewed three authors who served on the speaking team at Breathe Christian Writers Conference. We discussed all things writing, like their writing challenges, their writing process, and their advice for writers.

Ep 176: What Do You Know to Be True? Nov 29, 2018

Show notes

Last time, I talked about the power of lists to get us writing about all kinds of things. Lists trick us into writing. - In her famous TED talk, spoken word poet Sarah Kay invites the audience to make a list.

Ep 175: How to Use Lists to Transform Your Writing (and your life) Nov 20, 2018

Show notes

Tis the season for lists, even for those who aren't naturally checklist and to-do list types. For the holidays, people will make packing lists, shopping lists, cleaning lists, address lists, and wish lists. - Lists are useful and practical,

What Lies Beneath the Surface of Your Life? Nov 13, 2018

Show notes

[Ep 174] In last week’s interview, Patrice Gopo described the stories that bubbled up inside her—personal stories about topics she cared deeply about as she grappled with her identity and where she fit in society. Patrice grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, as a black American daughter of Jamaican immigrants. She wanted to explore that, to make sense of it all. How? Through writing. She turned to the essay to figure out her life, to delve into her experiences—to discover self and live a more meaningful life We, too, can delve into our experiences, diving beneath the surface to discover ourselves and live more meaningful lives. Elizabeth Lesser writes in Broken Open: If we don’t listen to the voice of the soul, it sings a stranger tune. If we don’t go looking for what lies beneath the surface of our lives, the soul comes looking for us. I haven’t read Lesser’s book, but that line urging us to look for what lies beneath the surface of our lives? We can use writing to do just that: to look for what lies beneath and listen to the voice of the soul. Capture Ideas It starts with an image, perhaps, or an interaction that bubbles up—a scene or memory. Pay attention to each one. Capture in detail this scene or image. You can do this on the spot or during a writing session later. Add sensory details. Try to recreate it objectively. That helps to examine and explore the meaning in it. If you don’t have time to write at that instant, jot down in a notebook a key word or phrase that can serve as a reminder or prompt. When you settle in to write it out in more detail, you’ll have many to choose from. Anne Lamott captures these snatches on 3x5 cards she carries in her pocket. Patrice uses a simple composition notebook tucked in her bag. I use Evernote or Google Keep. Ask Why? When you write—when you start to dive in and look beneath the surface—be curious about yourself, about that scene or image or snatch of dialogue. Why am I remembering that moment my dad grazed his leg with the chainsaw? Why does the sensation of flying back and forth in the swing keep coming back to me? Why does that glass doorknob make me tear up? Patrice says that when we're trying to understand what's happening in our lives or in the world—when we delve deeply into an incident to see its significance and why it matters—that’s meaning-making on the page. The incident could be big or small. As an example, Patrice said she noted in her journal that a couple of weeks ago her husband brought her a chocolate bar. It occurred to her he's been bringing her chocolate bars throughout their entire marriage. Why? Why are these chocolate bar moments over the years coming to mind? Why does he bring them? It seems small, but it’s rising to the surface. She’s listening to the voice of her soul. She pulled out her composition book and started writing some of the other scenes and memories, all because she was struck by that recurring image of a chocolate bar. She doesn’t know the answer yet; the meaning is unclear. For now, she’s exploring it. We can do that, too. We can write scenes and reflect. Let’s let curiosity and a sense of discovery lead us. Stay open as you listen to the voice of the soul; look for what lies beneath the surface of your life. You Don’t Need an Outline or Plan Thanks to our early academic training in the essay form, it’s tempting to set out with a thesis and outline our way into understanding, theme, and meaning. Resist...at least, at first. Anne Lamott, in a podcast interview for "Books of Your Life with Elizabeth," says not to worry about outlines.

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Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach

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