Image: Sharon Cousins
As a writer, as an artist, part of your job is to help others perceive that which lies under the surface, to penetrate the superficial shell of life and seek the rich substance that flows beneath.
Welcome to my website and home-away-from-home for Write 'em Cowgirls and friends. Why cowgirls? Here's the short-form answer: Cowgirls aren't afraid to get wild and wooly, to explore new territory, to ride (or write) the wide-open spaces, whether inner or outer. Cowgirls are free spirits, refusing to be hogtied by convention. Cowgirls don't dither—they collect the facts they need, make up their minds, get the right tools for the job, and get to it. They have grit—when they take a tumble, they dust themselves off and get right back to it. Write 'em cowgirls aim high and try to make each shot they take (or each piece they write) better than the last.
My name is Sharon Cousins and I am a writer. What makes me a writer isn't getting published (although I have been) or having a degree (I don't) or working on novels (I do). What makes me a writer is the fact that I write. I write on a regular basis—very close to every single day. That is the without-which-not. To be a writer you must write. If you write on a regular basis, whether or not you have ever gotten published, you are a writer too, and you should feel free to say so. Write 'em Cowgirls are proud of what they do, so if you wrote, say, five out of the last seven days, give your screen a confident smile and say "I'm a writer" or "I'm a Write 'em Cowgirl." If anyone ever challenges you, just whip out a pen and prompt and challenge them back. Above all else, Write 'em Cowgirls are always ready to whip out a pen and write.
|
Let the Write 'em Cowgirls Express bring a small roundup of free writing inspiration to your email box each month. You'll get writing tips, prompts, inspiration, and links to updates and, as a special bonus, at least one busy writers' recipe to help you keep yourself and family fed with less investment in fuss and time. To give it a try (you can always cancel if you decide it doesn't meet your needs), sign up HERE.
|
You don't have to be published to call yourself a writer or to be a Write 'em Cowgirl, but it may be one of your goals. If you write regularly, keep learning and improving your writing every chance you get, and then learn about how to effectively sell and promote your writing, it is not an unattainable goal. Always remember though, that through all of it you need to keep writing and improving your writing. Promotion is important, but a high-quality product is easiest to promote.
Nothing will help your work sell like good, good writing and careful editing. Between good old-fashioned paper books, conferences, classes, and workshops, and more recent opportunities offered via the Internet, there are more ways then ever to get help in improving your writing skills. In fact there are so many books and websites that it can be bewildering. On this site, I will point you to sources of help, support, inspiration and information that I have personally found useful or that other writers whose opinions I trust have recommended, as well as providing various fun inspirations, prompts, and story starters. I hope you will feel free to explore the territory, and I'd love to hear what you find most helpful. At any point, if you get the urge to write instead of reading, click on any of the prompt pages in Freewriting or Creativity Corral, pick one, and write.
Focus, skill, balance, determination, courage, grace… this dynamic image of a woman at work by
Chuck Walker
exemplifies many values and virtues of cowgirl spirit, whether for riding or writing the range. At a reasonable guess, this woman found herself in the dust more than once on the way to becoming the rider she is in this image. Obviously she didn't quit. Can you bring this dynamic spirit to your writing? Your vision is depending on you.
The world needs Write 'em Cowgirls, women and girls who aren't afraid to put their best pen forward and write the wild range with heart, guts, and courage, a wide open spirit, and a long view. Now more than ever, the world needs vision, so if you have a good one and you think writing is the way to nurture it and polish it, then take that vision by the hand (or by the throat, if need be, some visions being more recalcitrant than others) and learn what you need to learn to really make it shine and get it out where it can add to our collective light.
You—and only you—are the one who can bring your vision into being. Pack your virtual saddlebags with the tools you will need (never forgetting that essential pen and notebook!) and get to it, if you're not already well on the way. We never know how long we've got, but the sooner we start, the farther we get. If you are pulled to writing by dreams or visions but have hesitated to take the plunge or not known where to start, there are lots of resources on this site you can connect to for help and encouragement.
Boldly explore new territory!
If you are an established writer with new dreams and visions that go beyond your current boundaries, I encourage you to explore them. Many of the resources here may give you guideposts to help you find your way in new territory.
For writers who fall between the two poles, maybe something here will be just the piece you need to give you a great new idea or new trick or method or view that will take your writing deeper and make the process more efficient. For all of you, but perhaps especially those of you who are considering a plunge into writing but not sure which part of the pool suits you best, I recommend that you work your way (this means really do the exercises) through One Year to a Writing Life — Twelve Lessons to Deepen Every Writer's Craft by Susan Tiberghien—a book writers can benefit from at any stage of the journey—and you will come out the other side much clearer.
In any case, whatever stage of your writers' journey you are experiencing, I encourage you to take a few deep breaths with your mind in some wide-open spaces before you write. Write straight and honest, deep and true. Let your mind and fingers stride over the pages or screen, boldly, with your eyes wide open.
Then learn to carve and sculpt, cut and polish, until your writing shines clear and sharp as diamond, saying exactly what you meant to say. Cut to the chase and the bone and the heart. Go for guts and glory and try to make each piece you write better than the last. Your vision is depending on you.
Help Still Needed! Cowgirl Call to Action!
