Taking a Risk and Gaining Confidence

The Wild Women 40 Day Writing Challenge helped me find my voice and challenge my worldview.

A year ago, I would not be writing this article. I was more comfortable in a hidden corner of Facebook, writing short blog and photo essays, for a group of very like-minded individuals. There was nothing to fear, no risks being taken, but also no significant challenges. I knew I liked to write and I had things I wanted to talk about with a wider audience, but I felt fearful about how my words would be perceived and not being ready to go ‘public.’

It was at that time that Heather Jo Flores launched the Wild Women 40 Day Writing Challenge through the Permaculture Women’s Guild. I liked the sound of it. I liked the idea of it. I didn’t think I was much of a writer, but I thought it would be the perfect place to test my mettle. The first day I was very nervous to submit my response to the topic of the day. I was pleasantly surprised to find my words had an impact on others. Each day I tried a different style, a different topic, and mulled over the prompts and accompanying imagery, finding myself discussing them with my husband, and challenging my perspectives as I read the responses from other women from all over the world. I found my voice starting to shake less, and looked forward to learning from other’s styles and thought processes. It was the closest thing I could find to a writing class, but much more than that as the topics were provoking and I was gaining beautiful life insights from women of all ages and experiences.

I have since done the challenge again, as a few months ago we were going through a very serious geopolitical crisis between my two home countries (the USA and Iran). I was spiraling and needed to stop reading the news every 15 minutes. My approaches to the prompts were different the second time around, and I benefited from taking the time to consider other important, eternal topics with another group of women. I may even try it out a third time — as the pandemic surges on, I could be using this experience to challenge previous conceptions and approaches, again with a digital community, and further refine my voice and communication abilities. After all, it beats sitting around reading the news (and nonstop cleaning)!

So, why don’t you join me? It’s the perfect time to try something new, to challenge yourself, and see where it takes you. You may not be able to go anywhere physically at the moment, but that doesn’t mean you can’t travel and communicate through the power of the written word. Give yourself a chance to be challenged, and watch yourself grow — both as a writer and as a Wild Woman.

More information can be found here. Heather Jo has also made it sliding-scale pricing, so there’s really nothing stopping you!