Author envy: remedies for a common writer's ailment


November 5, 2009 · 1:06 PM

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All writers have been there – at least once. There being that internal place where envy, whether a spark or a wildfire, takes up residence and demands our immediate attention.

When reading another author’s work the envious writer may think: “What’s so great about this story? or “My writing is better, why aren’t I published?”

Rather than viewing envy as solely negative, during the November’s Writer’s Roundtable the group will engage in a playful exploration of the psychology of envy with presenter Rachel Newcombe. Through free-association, experiential writing and discussion, they will turn envy upside down in order to allow our own writing to flourish. The roundtable will be on Saturday, Nov. 14th, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Orcas Library.

Newcombe is a psychoanalyst who has a private practice in Eastsound and Friday Harbor. In 2004 she attended the Sarah Lawrence Summer Writing Institute and fell in love with the genre of creative non-fiction; now her academic writing is no longer stuffy.

All are welcome to join fellow writers in conversation and writing.

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