2023 has been a year bursting with creativity! The muses are smiling upon me... and seriously putting me to work! I am grateful, though, after frequent and prolonged lulls of writer's block the last few years. I have so many new songs to share in the coming months. I attended my first songwriting retreat in April hosted by Terra Songwriting, a community of songwriters in Cleveland, and had an amazing experience. I was introduce to "speedwriting" where you write a completed song in an hour based on a specific prompt and restraints attached. This was extremely challenging, as I usually write over long periods of time as inspiration strikes - some songs take years. I wasn't sure I could write a song in an hour, but I did multiple times over the weekend and it turned out to be a powerfully cathartic experience that I never would have had in a million years without the "pressure cooker" factor. Not every speedwriting session had successful results, but the goal was to focus on the process rather than the result of the process. We also had sessions to collaborate with other songwriters - which was another fish-out-of-water experience because it is normally such a personal process for me - but I found it as rewarding as it was challenging to work with various artists with such different styles and processes than mine, we made some pretty cool songs and got to share them with each other in the group meetings every evening. I had been apprehensive about going on the retreat, but it ended up being just what I needed and I would highly recommend it. One of my goals for this year was to utilize this site more, now it is near the end of July and summer is flying by, but it is still my intention, so stay tuned. If you are reading this I hope it finds you well - blessings to you and yours, and thank you for listening.
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