This morning I prepared my Words to Brew On prompts and headed to Zeeland Street Market.
Like all the coffee shops I take Words to Brew On to, Zeeland Street is locally owned. I know this owner personally.
While I sat with my notebooks, BELT, and coffee, she came to my table and thanked me for the emails and invitations to write.
Her thankyou was followed by the “I need to…” that is so prevalent among writers.
We’re all clawing our way to the page and we’re often tangled in the briar patches of every-day.
- Not enough time.
- Not enough quiet.
- Not enough…
But the longing is there.
I Want to Write but…
Last week after I sent out my first-of-the-month missive about writing opportunities, a writer-friend responded asking how she might write with me. After I told her about Second Cup and what happens during that quiet writing hour, she went on to bemoan, “I seem to have a commitment issue with writing.”
I suppose that’s one way to frame it. But can’t we reframe this unquenched longing, those opportunities that remain just beyond reach? How about this? You haven’t yet landed in the routine that works for you, the circle that nourishes you.
This morning, one of the prompts I prepared included this quote by Maya Angelou:
There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.
Is that what my two friends are feeling? A hungry rumbling within? A calling? Come to the page?
How do we answer this call, quell the agony of silence, claw our way to the page?
Writing Together
I can only speak for myself, but my immediate reply is:
Find safe spaces to write together.
Pat Schneider, founder of the Amherst Writers and Artists method, was on it. I never met her, but I imagine her drawing a giant circle and inviting us—all of us—in.
Come. Let’s write together.
One of the questions I brought to Zeeland Street Market today is, “What does it mean to leave something of ourselves behind?” I wonder if Pat ever pondered this, if she had any inkling the impact her words and method would have on writers long after she was gone.
If pressed to name one person who most impacted my creative life, I would name Pat Schneider. Why? Because of the method. The organization that has grown up around that method. And mostly, the invitation: Let’s write together.
I email let’s-write-together reminders at the beginning of each month, then two or three more closer to event dates. Some months it feels like shooting a rubber band into the void. Today might have felt like that as I sat alone in Zeeland Street Market.
But then the owner came to my table to thank me for the emails. And my friend responded last week, “How can I write with you?”
I can’t see where or whether my rubber bands land, if my missives are read or ignored. But these small communications remind me that, even if no one shows up, the messages are important. These invitations to write together are gentle creative nudges toward the page, reminders that we don’t have to make the journey alone.
If you’re looking for writing opportunities, check out these different calendars: mine, the AWA calendar, and those of other facilitators I trust.
©Pennie Nichols. All Rights Reserved. 2026.
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