October 28, 2007

"The Writing Life: True Grit"

Why do I write and why do I love leading writing groups? Because writing, my own and others', excites and challenges me. To write is to live and take risks in the present. In the present moment we make choices and discover connections. We circle a subject, a person, an event from all sides. We let one word suggest the next. We're constantly arriving at forks in the path. We embrace, not without trepidation, risk. It takes “true grit” to live the writing life.

Besides leading creative writing groups at O'Hanlon Center for the Arts, Abby works as a freelance editor. A self-taught arts journalist and former magazine editor at the Oakland Museum of California, she has published four books, three for adults. Her latest is a children's picture book, Tosca's Paris Adventure, which she also illustrated (Conflux Press, 2006). Read more at Abby's website: www.abbywasserman.com