On September 22, 2024 at 8:44 a.m., the sun will straddle the equator, and the day and night nearly become equal: the Autumnal Equinox, the first day of fall. What is it about sunrises that make us want to freeze time?
Since September of 2023, I have endured the past four seasons wanting to remain right where I was planted. Why? Because, my dear friends, I fear the unknown.
My beautiful home that offers me stability and comfort will soon be sold, and I will be packing up and moving into a new home. At first, I pretended the inevitable was not going to happen. I intentionally tried to stay in the present moment and not allow the looming alteration to cross my mind (in other words, I was in denial). Then, I obsessed about ways I could prevent the change from happening. I calculated ways to buy my soon to be ex-husband out of the house.
But the seasons are changing, and the forced upheaval continues despite my attempts to remain grounded in the place I call home. The home that was half his home as well. The home that left his stained memory implanted on my heart and often reminded me of good and bad moments. I finally concluded it was time to put in motion the process of letting go and selling my place of constancy.
Just like the sun, we are not intended to stay in the same place. We are meant to keep moving, to keep rotating, to keep shining. Life is not about being stagnant.
As I write this newsletter, I gaze out of my kitchen windows and focus on my beautiful large Maple tree. She stands tall in the corner of my backyard with her arms spread out, showing off her lush vibrant green leaves. This will be the fifth year and last year that I will have the privilege of watching the leaves of this beautiful bold and brazen tree transition from gorgeous green to an outburst of marmalade and hues of luscious lemon. The sun must keep moving to trigger the magnificent chemical changes that will transform her leaves’ colors.
I look at that strong mother tree towering over the others and think: She does not get to choose the circumstances that force her transformation and, sadly, there are times in our lives when we are not allowed a choice in change as well.
When winter comes along, she will lose her beautiful appearance and transition to a barren, almost dead state. And yet, life continues to cycle from season to season without her consent.
And this magnificent tree handles the change so gracefully. I can’t help but think Mother Maple tells all the junior trees nearby to stand tall and keep their chin up. Keep reaching and stretching out wide. You will lose all your beautiful hair and look like you are dying, but on the inside, you are surviving and preparing for the cold and darker days to come. Be patient. After a little while, you will see new growth and you will become vibrant again.
After a little while...
So begins my September journey. A new day. A new chapter. A new beginning.
~Nancy Wynn
UPCOMING MEETINGS
Our September meeting is an Open Mic event for Give for Good on Thursday September 12th! We will be meeting at Fante’s Coffee House from 6:00pm to 8:00 at 2501 Grinstead Rd. Registration is required for this event as there is limited space.
If you would like to read an excerpt of your piece for the Open Mic, there are 8 spots of 5 minutes. They will be given to the first 8 people who request to read upon registration.
Our October meeting will be Tuesday, October 8th from 6:30pm to 8:30 at the St. Matthews library branch at 3940 Grandview Avenue.
Photo by Nancy Wynn
WRITING PROMPT
How do you approach change? Are you boldly embracing a new season with anticipation and excitement? Or, are you trying to straddle the moment to keep it where it is for as long as possible?
Fiction: Write about a time when your character was forced to deal with change. How did this affect them and what emotions did they experience?
Poetry/nonfiction: Write about a time in your life when you were forced to deal with change. What life lessons did you gain from accepting the process of change?
~ Nancy Wynn
WE WANT TO SUPPORT YOUR WRITING LIFE
Members, if you have a website or social media platform dedicated to your writing, share it with us so we can share it with our Women Who Write community. Send your details to and we will share in a future newsletter.
Members, write a poem, story, or essay for the Women Who Write website blog. No more than 2,000 words, please. Publishing on our blog will expand your writing platform. And you’ll help WWW show off the variety of talents within our writing community! Browse our web blog now! For more information, email and pitch your story or poem—the one you’ve written or the one you want to write! We may provide suggested edits, for flow and clarity.
Women Who Write will have a booth at the upcoming Louisville Book Festival! It is a two day festival at the KentuckyInternational Convention Center on October 18 & 19th.
Sarabande Books presents a ‘Zine Lunch most Fridays at noon—it’s a free online workshop on micro-writing and art.
Submit a story to Landslide Lit(erary) on Medium.com, a publication edited by two WWW members—Kimberly Crum and Bonnie Omer Johnson—who will provide editorial suggestions.
Duotrope is a fabulous resource for writers who want to publish in literary journals and anthologies and enter contests. You will receive a listing of submission opportunities in your inbox, specifically for your genre. Cost is $5 per month or $50 per year.
Submittable is another terrific resource for publication and other opportunities for writers. Many publications require submissions to be submitted through this service. Also, it’s free!
HerStry literary essay/memoir blog seeks to empower women through their writing. In addition to accepting personal essay submissions four times per year, HerStry accepts submissions on “monthly themes” that are intended as prompts for writers to tell their stories. June’s theme is Coming of Age
Poets and Writers has an extensive list of literary magazines to which you can submit.
Consider submitting to Dorothy Parker’s Ashes, an online magazine of personal essays with the tagline, “Brazen words by witty dames. Everything true. More or less.”
NewPages lists writing contests by the month and day that their submissions close. There are many closing 6/15 and 6/30, check them out!
SUPPORT OUR WRITING COMMUNITY!
Become a member or renew your membership—As a community, WWW strives to nurture your writing life. We hope you choose to join or renew as a member and participate in our monthly meetings, author talks, retreats, and workshops. Our membership coordinator will notify anyone due to renew. Regular annual membership is $50. Student annual membership is $25. Scholarships are available. Membership entitles you to discounts on workshops and retreats.
Attend our monthly member meetings on the second Tuesday of each month for a brief program, peer critiques, and conversations about the writing life. Not currently a member? You can attend two meetings before deciding to join.
