It's Not About Fearlessness

Creative ProcessJena SchwartzMarch 29, 2022permission, Writing, writing practice, Writer's block, writers block, self-confidenceComment

Run-On Sentence

an unreadable block of prose, word rush, wood thrush, Wordle fail, warfare, waking to safety and coffee

Poetry, Real LifeJena SchwartzMarch 1, 2022writing practice, war, Jena Schwartz poetry, self-soothing, WordleComment

How Are You?

Real Life, COVID-19Jena SchwartzFebruary 23, 2021honesty, real life, writing exercise, writing practice, creativity, comparing, self-love, boundariesComment

11 things during Sukkot

Real Life, Jewish LifeJena SchwartzOctober 4, 202011 things, 11s, elevens, Sukkah, Sukkot, Jewish life, Jewish time, Jewish holidays, Coparenting, Writing, writing groups, writing practice, Writing Practice Comment

Fear is the Common Denominator

Creative Process, CommunityJena SchwartzJanuary 20, 2020Truth, Fear, writing group, writing practiceComment

11 things (beats staring at the blinking cursor)

Real Life, Creative Process, ObservationsJena SchwartzNovember 25, 2019writing exercise, writing practice, 11s, yoga, 30 day yoga challenge, Yoga with Adriene, Thanksgiving, Family, divorce, CoparentingComment

All the Way Here

Why bother writing if you’re not writing something? It’s a fair question.

The Sacred Is Never Somewhere Else

My head is foggy, so I wonder why I sat down to write a blog post. But I think that may be the reason, actually. To sit and write even when I am not the least bit inspired feels worthwhile.

11 things during my son's piano lesson

Real LifeJena SchwartzOctober 22, 2019writing practice, showing up, listening, lists, 11sComment

Returning

Inhale. Exhale. Thought thought thought thought thought. Leaves fluttering. Eyes heavy. Inhale. Exhale. Car warm. Drowsy. Thought thought thought thought. Inhale. Exhale. Temptation to check timer. Inhale. Exhale. And then, finally, the chime. Aaaaaaaah. I did it.

Story Time: Inhabit Your Writing

Jena reads a story by Rabbi Alan Lew, illustrating the value of being present to the path of the creative process, rather than letting questions and outcomes.

11 things for when you don’t know what to write

We need you over here. There is only one you, and the lifetime of stories you carry in your bones. It doesn’t much matter where you start, only that you do.

Broken Glass

Like glass, I feel very breakable and very strong these days, a strange, living contradiction, a container of Whitman-esque multitudes.

ObservationsJena SchwartzSeptember 10, 2019freewrite, unedited, writing prompt, writing practice, broken glass, anxiety, broken, whole, healing, wholenessComment

It's Not a Performance

It's like the rabbi reminds the congregation at the start of the Torah service, every time there is a bar or bat mitzvah: We are not here as performer and audience, but as a community.

Real Life, Observations, CommunityJena SchwartzSeptember 9, 2019self-love, friendship, connection, writing practice, being, TrustComment

Something Good Is Worth Finding

We all have our stories about when we stopped. Stopped playing. Stopped creating. Stopped doing something that brought us joy because it wasn't practical or lucrative or productive.

"Be Good to Yourself" :: Not Just Some Pithy Pablum

Hating on yourself is not cool. It doesn't exactly open the creative floodgates. And "being good to yourself" is neither as easy as it sounds or as shallow as it may seem. In fact, I'd argue that its depths are vast, and when you dive down, you'll find wreckage and treasure alike. And isn't that where the writing lives?

Home Is a Big Word

The truth is somewhere else, as usual. And that somewhere else is not far away at all but rather right here. It is here in the tapping of keys, in the release of words.

Real Life, Creative ProcessJena SchwartzMay 31, 2019Writing, writing practice, Showing Up, Patience, Travel, Israel, Ramon Crater, NegevComment

You Begin Again

You can't keep up.
You stop trying to keep up.
You decide it's worth waiting for.
You decide to screw waiting.

ObservationsJena SchwartzMay 6, 2019lists, writing practiceComment

Stress, Emergencies, and the Big Reset

When I feel stress today, I will pause and ask myself: Is it an emergency? I am making this more stressful and complicated than it really is? What is the next step?

Duality, Neutrality, Strangers, and Notre Dame

The world is broken and the world is burning and the world is beautiful. Things are never simple, and yet there's a simplicity in claiming the complexity.

Blog

Why bother writing if you’re not writing something? It’s a fair question.

We all have our stories about when we stopped. Stopped playing. Stopped creating. Stopped doing something that brought us joy because it wasn't practical or lucrative or productive.