Then, just five years ago, The Writing Barn became not just a physical space, but a virtual space–with our 6 week classes being taught in real-time over Zoom. I have Sara Zarr to thank, not just for being a novelist I love, or for those kind words, but from the outset of The Writing Barn getting me thinking about passion and purpose: the calling behind ALL of The Writing Barn classes, events, and programs. The Barn and surrounding property are aesthetically beautiful, but it’s Bethany’s heart and skill and the wonderful Austin writing community that bring it all together.” And I think Bethany must find her deep gladness in providing such a space. “A writer I like, Frederick Buechner, says that a personal calling is ‘where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.’ Most writers I know deeply hunger for a beautiful space and the quiet where they can connect with themselves, others, and their work.
When The Writing Barn opened its doors, at one of our very first on-site intensives, novelist Sara Zarr, who was event faculty for the weekend wrote this: I wanted writers to not despair as much as I did over craft questions, how to serve Story, and where best to spend their dollars, knowing every dime spent on a ‘dream’ can be doubted, and thinking their burgeoning career might be over if dropped by their agent. And later in nonfiction, biographies of changemakers. The desire to feel heard, to tell an emotional truth. I launched this community, for the same reason I opened the doors of The Writing Barn eight years ago for the same reason I started mentoring ten years ago and for the same reason I began writing in the first place: because of a calling.Ĭallings can be shape-shifters. I launched the Courage to Create in August 2020, not because I wanted to, but because I had to. More empathy in action as we work to see many hands till the soil, tend the space, and where varied voices bloom and grow together, all in their own time, with inclusion and equity. If we want to transform publishing into a thriving community garden, we need more stories, more varied voices. (That’s what publishing is all about-the desire to be heard, to connect.) We each have unique and universal voices.
More equity, transparency and opportunities are needed. The country club model of the publishing industry is broken. Even as today’s challenges increase, in ways we never saw coming (COVID-19), or always hoped they would (dismantling systemic racism.) It has always been a challenge to get to the page. (Yep, you guessed it that frank and funny voice would be me, Bethany.) And, I deeply believe this:Ĭreativity is not a competition. And maybe, just maybe, we’d like a writer-guide, a frank and funny voice to cultivate these conversations, stoke our creative fires, and provide opportunities for industry connection.
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