Welcome into Flight School:
“You would make a wonderful teacher,” she said.
She being a spiritual guru in the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Gray hair slicked back into a bun, deep red robes worked over a white cotton blouse, and black cotton pants. She was in her late fifties, I think. So exotic. So mysterious.
We sat in a meadow, this guru and I, surrounded by tall grasses and wildflowers. Her on a cushion. Me on my knees in the dirt. A true supplicant.
Tiny white butterflies flitted about in that dry, crisp, clean air only found in the Rocky Mountains, but I didn’t notice them or much of anything back then. Rather, I was tangled in terrible angst. What next? I kept asking myself. I had finally left behind an implacable husband and now had a terrifying solo life ahead raising my beautiful but young children.
To this point, writing had paid me but what if I never published another book?
What if I couldn’t go back to journalism?
What if, what if?
I was here with a ridiculous and utopic vision of mediation as solution to my confusion, anxiety, and woes. This woman, well intended I’m sure, had an agenda hidden behind that serene smile and calm demeanor. She needed devoted followers who would help her build and finance her 650 acre retreat center. As part of this underlying need, was now nudging me into the shared-contacts model of business growth and development.
“You’ve published three books. Teach writing,” she continued and then offered her retreat center as my first venue.
Not seeing that she was eager to draw on my successes in publishing to include my wide fanbase, I took her suggestion as genuine guidance even though it confused me. Really? Me? A teacher? I couldn’t see it. I was rather…edgy. Introverted, studious to the point of geeky, exacting, and a writing snob meaning I had extremely high lierary standards.
Fast forward twenty-plus years later, and it turns out that all those qualities make for a great teacher. Once honed.
Today, I run The Blackbird Studio for Writers and Flight School. The former, a boutique idea-to-publication program of carefully curated writers who study with me, often for years. Heroes, hard workers, and talented to the point of heartbreak as you see from the sampling above. (You can find more of this over on my Instagram).
The latter, Flight School, my virtual meadow where you are invited to sit a while, experience my teaching and figure out if you want more. Flight School is a sublime place to start because the “agenda” factor isn’t in play. Sure, I want you to become a student but only if it is a great fit.
Every writer has something life changing to write—for themselves first and then for the reader—and that’s what I help you discover. You don’t have to be the most talented natural writer to get there but you do have to have a certain something. In my years I’ve found it to be a mix of humility, obstinate persistence, and focus. Accountability helps.
Over ten years, I’ve built a program that can help such a writer realize a goal as simple as “just getting it all down for my kids” to “writing a book worthy of big five publishing.” The tools I’ve honed over these years work.
My Method
Practical, accessible, progressive teachings that make sense
Practice, practice, practice through workshopping and line editing
Personal advice based on your unique style and needs
I don’t like teaching. I love it. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Teachers are held to an incredible standard that weighs heavy on my shoulders (like raising kids) but it’s incredible to work through the stages of growth and stagnation together. My job is to hold steady with writers, sometimes pushing, sometimes backing off but always seeking that pearl of lived truth. Memoir. Fiction. It doesn’t matter, I say. We’re always writing about ourselves. And that truth is always there, waiting in the softest, most hidden part of the heart.
A mountain of thanks to that guru who told me to teach all those years ago. Agenda or not, she was right. I am a teacher.
✍️Your Turn: Post in the comments
Share your pivotal moment. What unexpected advice changed your path forever? Or for my students past and present—what's one specific writing breakthrough you've experienced in our work together?
Thanks for being with me, Jennifer 🐦⬛
PS: Did you know I wrote and published four books? Blackbird’s nearing it’s 25th Anniversary. Click here or on the image. Check it out!
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