5 Powerful Lessons I Learned About Writing in the 2010s

This is how my art is teaching my life to be better than ever

Photo by Ian Stauffer on Unsplash

For me, writing changed tremendously over the course of the past decade.

Back in 2010, I was coming into my own as a poet, spoken word artist and poetry slammer. I was three years into my tenure as an international mental health poet laureate, able to connect my craft with organizations doing incredible advocacy and research-based clinical work all across North America and beyond. The following two years would be my high-water mark in poetry slam, culminating in 2012 with a second-place finish in the national individual slam championships and a title win at team nationals. During the decade I would release two poetry collections and appear in two anthologies, plus have my art published in academic and literary journals on three continents. It was a heady time for my creative work.

However, by the time we rang in the New Year this week, everything had changed. I was no longer competing in poetry slams or performing onstage with any level of regularity. For the most part, I have de-emphasized poetry in favour of writing more creative nonfiction — a genre I wasn’t even fully aware of until just over a year ago. I started manuscripts for no fewer than five book projects. None of them are finished yet…