Making Connections

Why would anyone want to start a folk singing career late in life? I have asked myself that many many times and thought it would be a good topic for today's blog. I'm not sure what the answer is.

I have always loved to write. Even when I was a little girl, I wrote plays and poetry and made up stories about stuff. When I learned how to play an instrument, I wrote songs. Didn't matter what level I was at, I wrote about anything and everything. I didn't plan to be good, I just did it. Writing was as natural as sleeping. It was what I did.

Years later, I realized with some sadness, that folks didn't get what I was doing, so I stopped. I stopped playing and writing and singing. I couldn't compete with the opinions of others. That sense of low self worth went very deep and it was easier to ignore it for awhile.

When I came back to writing, I still battled with this - I do today but I surrounded myself with writers who were better than me and learned. I took lessons, I went to retreats, I played no matter what. I felt good about it.

People often ask me why I go to retreats. I do it to connect. I want to meet other writers and share what I do. I want to hear what's out there and above all, I want to learn and connect.

Making connections with other writers is very important to me. I can't operate in a vacuum. There is no substance there. I need to feed off the creative energy that exists in every writer. I may not get what they're saying but it's the buzz that I find so exciting.

I've connected with professional writers and newbies, and the energy is always the same thing. The love of the new song, the new chord, the new finger-picking style.
It's all the same. Keeping the songlines connected and flowing.