In my first blog post, I mentioned my love for storytelling and my insistence on showing up as my sensitive self. As such, I think it only makes sense for you to understand my vision for this blog. Overall, I don’t consider myself a writer. Writing helps me process my emotions and get out of my head on bad days, but there isn’t a ton of direction to my writing. This is why I became an editor—I love to work with words but not necessarily write them all the time. Plus, I don’t think my voice needs to be heard quite so much at this time.
What I really want is to hear your story. I want to know what shaped your worldview, who taught you who you are, and where you will go from here. I want to create a place for anyone hoping to provide the world another lens through which to observe the human experience. I want to hear from people who fight tooth and nail to demand their place in the world and who have the courage to be themselves and speak their truth. So often we are limited by the perspectives that are shown to us, and that can create distrust and disconnection toward people we don’t understand. I believe that authentic stories are the cure for that.
I had the idea to work with guest writers a few months ago when I was still fantasizing about quitting my day job and focusing on editing. Being well aware that I’m a white woman moving into an industry that is heavily saturated with other white women, I wanted to set an intention for myself to use my privilege to amplify the voices of people who have historically been silenced. Not long after I jotted this down in my journal, I was listening to Brené Brown’s podcast Unlocking Us where she was interviewing Jennifer Rudolph Walsh and Ashley C. Ford about the new anthology Hungry Hearts: Essays on Courage, Desire, and Belonging. I just started crying. This anthology, as well as their live series called Together Live, was exactly what I wanted to be doing! It’s authentic storytelling. It’s coming together and building connection. It’s the revelation that our stories, no matter how different, bring us closer and build empathy. I. Freaking. Love it.
This may be a slow project, but I want to share my vision as a way to manifest my goals. For writers, especially new writers, who are interested in this idea, I hope that you will see this as a low-risk way to put your writing out there and gain free experience working with an editor. At this time, I’m unable to offer pay to post on this blog, so it will be on a volunteer basis for anyone interested in building up their portfolio or simply sharing a part of themself. I’m well aware of the problematic ways in which people exploit creatives in the name of “exposure,” and I want to make it clear that’s not my intention here. If one day I’m able to pay people to post here, I will. But for now, I’m just here to listen and share a platform.
Submissions could range anywhere from 200 to 2,000 words and be anything from poetry to short story format. As editor, I can be as heavy- or light-handed as you believe the piece requires. All I ask is that you share your authentic self!
For questions or submissions, please contact me at lauren@scribeandsunshine.com.
Photo by “My Life Through A Lens” on Unsplash