Starting Something New: A Leap of Faith or a Magic Beanstalk?
...Deb Engle and I want to talk with you on Monday about an idea we have
Debra Engle and I have known each other through the life cycle of pets, relationships, and career switches (we’ve had several).
We can go months without connecting, but when we do, it’s like watering a magic seed that sprouts right before our eyes.
Last Friday and Saturday, I got a double dose of Deb, and as often happens, I experienced an internal shift into a more calming, centered place, which I needed. For godsakes, don’t we all? More about that further down in this column.
On Friday, I drove to her home in Madison County, just about 40 minutes from our condo in Des Moines. I crave drives in the country and choose the back roads at any chance. The housing developments that have sprung up on the land between here and there are unbelievable. Who are these homeowners? What do they do? Where did they get the money it took to build such mansions? How can there be so many big houses creeping over the land that rightfully belongs to deer, raccoons, and chipmunks?
The word ‘impervious’ comes to mind, but that’s a path that would take me way off course for the purpose of today’s post.
So, we met at her home in rural Iowa on Friday, and on Saturday, we were both moderating panels during the Des Moines Book Festival. As it turned out, our sessions were back to back, held in room 108 of the Franklin Center, which was the ideal place for such an event.
Here we are, being silly before our panel sessions begin. I tell how our respective linen closets are quite different. I’ll bet you, dear reader, can relate:
Breaking News
This message is to inform you that Deb and I will offer a virtual class on launching a personal Substack column. We’ve both been thinking about this in our separate orbits - I was pondering holding a day-long workshop in Annapolis, an hour outside of D.C., this summer. She was thinking about hiring a Substack expert and offering a virtual class to the thousands of participants who have had the opportunity to take courses, online and in real-time, through the organization she manages, Story Summit, an international entity that offers a wide range of content for authors and screenwriters.
On Friday, it dawned on us that we could do this together online. And, within 10 minutes of this ah-ha, we had the date set, the curriculum designed, and our respective tasks in bringing this to fruition assigned. Story Summit is handling registration; we will let our respective audiences know it’s happening.
And just like that, the magic seed grew and grew.
Deb and I will discuss this Substack class on Monday during our noon Zoom hour. I invite you to join the call, even if you have no intention of writing anything, let alone a Substack column because we are going to talk about ways to cope with those things that are out of our control but focusing on what IS in our control.
Change
How do you feel about the word ‘change’?
Excitement?
Dread?
Fear?
Resentment?
Anger?
Whether you like it or not, embrace it or not, plan for it or not, change is coming. Change is here.
When we are fearful, we can catastrophize the future. I can go there in a heartbeat—will our retirement savings evaporate? Will home values plummet? What if everything crashes, and all we are left with are property taxes and HOA assessments due? Will banks fail, and I live to see another Great Depression?
Deb has spent much time studying and writing about A Course in Miracles. She holds classes on the work and was inspired to write a lovely treatise titled The Only Little Prayer You Need. The Dalai Lama wrote the forward to the book, which is now in its 10th year of inspiring and bringing hope to countless readers worldwide.
While she was doing all of this soul-searching, inner work, I was probably ‘doom scrolling’ news sources being fed a steady diet of toxic rage energy. Let’s say we are a bit of a Yin and Yang combination.
Starting a Substack column is a leap of faith—like planting a magic bean and waiting to see what grows.
There are stories in every one of us. Some attract small audiences, some bigger. As a fellow Iowa Writers’ Collaborative member
wrote shortly after launching her column and attracting her first 100 subscribers: If I had 100 people show up in my apartment, that would be a lot!Although the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative membership is limited to professional writers and is by invitation, do not let that deter you from forging your path, creating a collaborative network that fits your interests, and finding an audience. Build your own house here. We’ll show you how to lay a foundation.
Your story matters. If we knew more about one another and our life experiences, the opportunity to find threads we have in common and to find understanding would flourish.
Subscribers will receive a link to our Zoom call on Monday morning. You do not have to pay to subscribe, but you must be on our subscription list to join the call starting at noon central time.
Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat
Deb Engle has been an instructor for the Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat since it began in 2021. She will teach how to write memoirs and spiritual nonfiction.
Iowa Writers’ Collaborative
I am so doggone proud of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative! We had a panel discussion during the Saturday Beaverdale Books Des Moines Book Fair that included members.
with other members sprinkled throughout the audience: , .Some of us used Substack Live to bring followers into the discussion. Bob Leonard’s version has a good angle.
Debra Engle
Learn more about Debra Engle’s column, A World of Your Own
Keep on keeping on, Dear People. You bring warmth and sunshine to so many of us. You challenge and educate so many of us. Please keep on keepin' on!
Very much looking forward to this Monday’s zoom call. Thanks for your generosity in helping myself and others who grapple with the challenges I/we, are experiencing with this brave new world of Substack. I’ve looked for a manual and can’t find one anywhere!