Write a Passage II

-written by Hearth Member Kara Kulpa

I am dreadfully behind on writing this blog post, but even as I think back now, to one week ago tonight (Write A Passage II) I am smiling. Last Tuesday night, a group of us got together for the second consecutive month (from 7:00pm – 8:00pm at the Arlington Center for the Arts; we meet every first Tuesday, you know; all are welcome) and communed in an evening of writing, sharing, connecting and, most of all, creating! This time, it really hit me; the sheer power and positive energy of writing in community. There is something magical about taking an ordinary room and, by the convention of hosting a writing group, transforming it into a vehicle for collective creativity.

The energy was palpable. The same tables and chairs that, an hour prior sat undisturbed, provided support as each of us penned into existence lush separate fictional worlds based on a single prompt. Well, in this case, two prompts. I took a suggestion from our last session and decided to give the group a choice this time. (Ironically, we all chose the same of the two!) We followed the usual structure: 10 minutes of gratitude writing, 15 minutes of free writing, 20 minutes of creative writing and 15 minutes of sharing / wrapping up. I will post the prompts below for those of you who would like to try this at home. As we were wrapping up, this exchange struck me: while making way toward the door, one participant said aloud what I was thinking in my own head, “I wish this session was longer,” and another agreed. Wow! That’s validation of the feelings I have about this group, if I ever heard it! Maybe one day, if we’re lucky, it can be longer! Let’s get the word out some more and see what happens!

Write A Passage
First Tuesdays, 7pm
Arlington Center for the Arts

See you next Tuesday; undoubtedly grinning, because I know what awesomeness is about to occur…