Ask the Author: Dawn Downey
Answered Questions (7)
Dawn Downey
Home, by Toni Morrison. Bad Feminist, by Roxanne Gaye. Who You Will Become, by Brenda Miller.
Dawn Downey
Be kind to yourself. Keep going. Ignore all the rules. Someone will tell you to write every day. Ignore it. Someone will tell you to write only with pen and paper. Ignore it. Someone will tell you always write at the same time of day. Ignore it. Someone will tell you to join a writers group. Ignore it. Someone will tell you to go to a writers conference. Ignore it. Someone will tell you you have to get published. Ignore it. Writing is precious and fragile. As an aspiring writer, you are precious and fragile. Handle yourself with care.
Dawn Downey
The emails I get from readers who say they recognize themselves in my writing. It gives me a sense of connection and humbles me.
Dawn Downey
First, I try to write one more word. Second, I try to write one more word. Sometimes I switch to a different project. I've got at least six projects started. Sometimes I'll write about how it feels to have nothing to say and I'll just keep typing. I usually set a timer for twenty-five minutes, then take a five-minute break. So the frustration of not feeling productive only lasts twenty-five minutes maximum.
Dawn Downey
Hi Amber, You're welcome for the book! Congratulations on winning. I hope you enjoy it, and feel free to ask me a question if you're curious about anything. So good to get this note from you!
Dawn Downey
I'm currently working on a new collection of essays. The working title is Stumbling Toward Devotion: Essays about Love. When people speak about loving God, I'm not sure what they mean. I'm mystified by the idea of God's love. I don't know what it feels like. So I'm writing about what the experience of God's love might look like. So far I've written about attending a Kirtan (a devotional Hindu service), attending a Baptist church, attending a memorial service, trying to find a sense of community, and walking the stations of the cross. Every month, I send out a new essay to my email newsletter subscribers. Sign up here: http://dawndowney.com/newsletter-sign...
Dawn Downey
Hi Charlene, Thank you for asking that! This is just the goofiest thing, almost as if Buddhism was looking for me. Several months after I divorced (it was respectful, but painful) I began feeling grief, like someone had died. I was sad, and calm at the same time. I suspected grief might be part of what people go through when they get divorced, so I wanted to find a support group. I could feel something else going on too, not emotional. It felt like some kind of spiritual stirring without feeling Christian, although I had no idea what that meant. I called a nurse hot line and asked the nurse if he could find me a support group for people going through divorce, but one that was spiritual, but not Christian, as well as psychological. The nurse seemed to know exactly what I was talking about even though I did not. And then he said, "I can tell you're not codependent, but I think you should try this codependents support group at this Christian church." We both were laughing about that, but I said sure. When I got to the church, I looked at a bulletin board to find out where they were meeting and saw a little flyer with an ad that said "Counseling from a Buddhist Perspective." I knew immediately that was why I was there. And I was right. I called the counselor and started a dozen years of increasingly deeper study of the Buddha's teachings on mindfulness. Thank goodness for that codependents group!
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