36 Comments

When I write, words seem to… understand me more than myself. What i thought i knew 2 seconds ago before hitting the page seem like strangers that have been watching over me longer than i can imagine. Words get me. Words feel like home. 🫂🫂

Expand full comment

YESSSSSS!! Like I’ve finally let something alive free! The words seem to not only take up space on the page but in the room and world as well! You hit the nail on the head!

Expand full comment

Paper; writing; I am a Sagittarius, a seeker… and these my response is not static, it can’t be; and a well is tapped, and whatever pours forth is allowed to simply be.

Expand full comment

Yes! Yes! Yes! The potency leaves one vibrant vessel and lands on another. Amazing!

Expand full comment

When I write, words seem to flow to me with ease like water flowing in a river there for me to feel, experience, and share. I’m a draft writer and pen/paper for my personal writing only I’ve found. Alex B. has inspired my creative process for writing hands down.

Expand full comment

what does writing hands down mean?

Expand full comment

“For writing, hands down”

The term “hands down” is something I’ve used my whole life to describe something as easily the best. So it’s a compliment to Alex for easily inspiring my best to flow when writing.

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hands%20down

Expand full comment

oh! my bad. that flew over my head. Thanks for clarifying. 😂

Expand full comment

I wasn’t going to assume you didn’t really know, but I was definitely thinking 🧐 Tobi has to know what hands down means lol. 😂 this is why I don’t like commenting on my phone lol 😂

Expand full comment

i feel you heavy! 😂😂😂😂

Expand full comment

😂😂😂😂 I love an engaged reader. Tobi doesn’t wanna miss anything!

Expand full comment

Tobi misses nothing!

Expand full comment

Damn right! It sounds like there is a transference bringing the immaterial into the material. A river always finds its way to see. That’s so beautiful, Jacquie.

I draft everything on paper. My husband makes fun of me for walking around with a clip board 😂

Expand full comment

The imagine of you with a clip board in hand brings me to a smile. No wonder your words are so sharp, you stay ready so you never have to get ready. Love this so much, and thank you!

Expand full comment

'Until I reached into the dark

and found my own hand.'

Wow.

Expand full comment

I’m not afraid of the dark anymore 😊

Expand full comment

That line is🔥

Expand full comment

Bars 🔥

"Writing is a conduit. A way for emotion to outrun my will to keep it in."

I like to journal via paper and craft via my laptop.

Expand full comment

When you say craft what do you mean? I want to make sure I understand you

Expand full comment

Poetry, essay, etc.

Some may start out as thoughts in a journal entry but most are fleshed out on the screen.

Expand full comment

Such a beautiful poem Rachel - incredible way to write about writing. And thank you so much for sharing my work with your readers!

On another note - you ask whether we write on paper or draft on computer.... I've recently switched from computer to paper and it's been incredible. Writing with ink on paper feels so much calmer, and it also feels like a game of chess because there's no easy backspacing... forces you to weave through the piece more creatively :)

Expand full comment

I exclusively write with paper and pen, I find I can move much faster and keep up with my thoughts than when typing. Also the tactileness of the hand on paper is calming to me.

Thanks for writing something so worthy of sharing!

Expand full comment

you ate this right on up

Expand full comment

😁😁😁

Expand full comment

So my writing is not really writing. I probably do 10% of my writing in the chair. My writing ideas and downloads always come to me when I am moving out in nature - meandering through the wooded trails near my home. I will dictate into my voice memos on my phone and later build a puzzle with it all, shaping some kind of essay. It’s how this writing thing feels most authentic for me.

It is erotic though. I love how you describe that. Me- I get down with my words under the canopy of the trees 🌳 🙃

Expand full comment

I relate to that heavy. I have a up lock bag filled with post its napkins or whatever scrap of paper that was near when an idea struck. I try to get into voice memos but then I forget their in there lol

Expand full comment

Yeah, I know. Or sometimes i go back to them and listen saying, “damn I don’t even remember speaking that one” lol

Expand full comment

When I write, words seem to coalesce, in a simple act of creation. They demand reexamination and crafting, revealing unplanned nuance. They make me aware of their power in their apparent passivity. I am grateful for those for whom words are craft, and aware that there are those for whom they are abstruse. In a world dominated by consumption the act of writing, of producing words is one of reclaiming agency.

Expand full comment

I feel that! A way of putting one self out in the world rather than taking in what’s given.

Expand full comment

"There’s no shame in my emotions flipping like pages in the wind." I've been experiencing a LOT of emotional lability lately and so this sentence was really comforting to me. Really enjoyed being able to listen to you read this, too. It added a beautiful aural depth to the writing. Thank you for sharing.

Expand full comment

Thanks. It was so fun to record. Thanks for taking the time to read.

Expand full comment

stunning…

Expand full comment

Thank you, Natasha!

Expand full comment

“And there is undressing where masks are removed and defenses are dropped.

There’s a nakedness required to feel so free.”

I related to this line. Truth does have a weird way of doing that. When I write, words seem to justify my existence.

Expand full comment

Wowwwww! “When I write words seem to justify my existence.”

Relatable. I often feel like we’re all here to practice bringing the inside out.

Expand full comment

Yeah sometimes I think that too. Have to bring the inside out to heal and grow.

Expand full comment