The Woman in the Canyon: Pausing on the Rim

A Behind-the-Scenes Look into the Writing Process

Welcome to draft content that will feed into my next book, The Woman in the Canyon: A Journey of 100 Trails to Uncover the Secret of Resilience.

** Don’t forget to sign up for my Nature Writing Workshop. Seats are limited! I can’t wait to see you inside.

Dear friends,

I've always prided myself in consistency. So on my writing journey, my goal is to bring you new stories every Wednesday and new trail logs every Friday. But not this week.

The schizophrenic weather has played havoc with my hiking plans - snow one day, sleet the next, followed by hail, rain, and thunderstorms that have consistently kept me off the trails. And I gladly interrupted my writing schedule to spend time with two dear friends from my pre-nomad life in Virginia. Plus, I got to visit with cousins I hadn't seen in years - a rare treat that was worth setting aside my laptop for.

While reconnecting with friends and family brought joy, the park community has been dealing with something much heavier. We've had a couple of deaths here at Bryce Canyon National Park that have made me ponder not just the direction of my writing, but the direction of life itself.

Last week, a 45-year-old man and 58-year old woman, stepped over the railing of Inspiration Point in the darkness of a frigid Utah night and fell 380 feet to their deaths. But they weren't alone. They placed their 12-year old tabby in a soft-sided carrier, and took "Mirage" with them. This cat - a miracle cat - survived the fall. She is recuperating at a local animal sanctuary, bruised but not broken. I've sat with this news for a week, and I'm not sure what to do with it.

“Mirage,” the amazing tabby who survived the fall (Source)

So today, I don't have a nice polished chapter for you to read. Instead, I’m giving you an inside peek of the art, practice, and sometimes frustration, of writing. I write almost every morning. Sometimes brain dumps, sometimes AI-generated brainstorming ideas, sometimes deep emotional reflections. It's a mixed bag. But over the course of time, I see threads weaving my pieces together.

But here I am, at the beginning of a new book, and I know something is missing. The thread. Perhaps another version of my wise "Celeste," who played such an important role in The Woman on the Ferry? I have faith that my daily writing practice will bring the answer to me. But for now, I'm going to take a bit of my own advice: Be patient. The story will reveal itself.

I'm also gearing up to teach my online Nature Writing Workshops. I use tools and practices to guide my writing, and I'm excited to share them with you. But I also want you to know that writing is part inspiration, part practice. It's okay to let thoughts percolate. Writing doesn't always cooperate with weekly schedules.

So if you'd like to learn the ins and outs of nature writing, while being kind to yourself as you explore the process, I invite you to join my workshop.

Thanks for being here, and supporting my work.

Let's see where this takes us!

Brenda

** Grab a seat in my next Nature Writing Workshop.