Creative Nonfiction by Andrea Badgley
Some people process the world through movement. Some by sitting still. Some talk to navigate problems and understand life. Some write. Joan Didion famously explained in her Why I Write essay, I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and … Continue reading Writing to solutions
I finished an ink cartridge in my new Lamy fountain pen and got to switch to a new turquoise color. The ink looks like a tropical sea. It makes me think of the Bahamas. I also finished my Moleskine notebook and am trying a new kind I’ve never tried before: Clairefontaine. The paper is awfully … Continue reading I'm running through inks and notebooks
One of the podcasts I listened to on my recent drive to Georgia was the TED Radio Hour episode called The Source of Creativity. In it, host Guy Raz shares excerpts and interviews from four different TED talks about creativity: one from Sting about overcoming writer’s block, one about what happens inside the brain during … Continue reading Releasing creativity
When we opened the curtains yesterday morning, the sky was grey and the world felt dark, even though the sun had risen. Rain pattered on the roof. My friend turned on the fireplace with the flick of a switch. My slippers felt warm on my feet, and we were cozy in the pine-paneled room with … Continue reading Too much to write
The self-doubt is creeping in. I’ve published 12 blog posts in a row, all written on the fly with minimal editing, and with rare exception, minimal planning. I get up, I write, I publish. I needed to break out of a rut. I was writing privately, a lot of nothing, and frankly, I was trying … Continue reading Feeling vulnerable about blogging
I’ve been transcribing my childhood diaries off and on for the past year, and while it’s not as horrifying as I thought it might be to revisit teenage me, I am let down. Not by what’s in there, but by what is not. I have memories of specific scenes from my life — Grandma showing … Continue reading I want the scene *and* the feelings
