Who Knew?

I have been working as a publishing consultant for a group of writers in Milford, Michigan.  They asked me to write a foreword to their anthology.  I am sharing this foreword with you.


In the summer, I live on an island with no street lights. Walking the lane at night requires the shimmer of the moon or a flashlight in order to arrive at my destination.  Words on a page can be like that providing a ray of connection from one soul to another spanning time and place.  There are many celebratory and dark days in life; writing can offer hope, observation, remembrance, and understanding.

For the past three years, I have had the delight of facilitating a weekly Creative Process Workshop held in the Milford Senior Center.  Each attendee desired to reflect on life through the art of writing.  At first, meetings focused on the mystery of inspiration.  In preparation for each session, I researched what published authors had to say about the creative process, listening and recording ideas.

The home assignment was to sit before a blank page and trust that a unique voice would beam within.  As insight channeled through, the writer guided their pen or fingers on the keyboard to document, without judgment, every word until the page was ablaze with words.  At the next discussion, writers would read aloud what they had written and listeners would offer their thoughts.  By reading-out-loud, the writer could hear what was missing.  Changes were made, the re-writes began with one word, two words, and then full sentences until pens or keyboarding were energized beyond what we previously believed possible.  The Milford Writers had something to say and they trusted their muse to guide them.  We became charmed by the process.

After the first year we took a break to enjoy summer.  In the fall, the writers returned.  Notebooks filled.  We discovered that often the topic we thought we wanted to write about was not the story that clamored to be heard.  That insight was noted and those stories became alive on the page.

Personally, I have experienced joy working with this group.  No matter what was happening in life, Tuesday with the Milford Writers delivered possibility laced with an adrenaline rush.

Their anthology is an act of trust and should be read as work in progress.  This is their first publication.  Authors of the essays do not feel like they have arrived at their destination.  Instead, the stories are being shared with the hope of illuminating a path for themselves and perhaps a reader or two.  The title Who Knew! evolved from the surprise and pride experienced while producing this work.  Who Knew?

(Who Knew! can be ordered from Amazon.com or CreateSpace.com)