I can’t pretend I don’t have a complicated relationship with writing despite knowing that the essence of the process couldn’t be more simple: “Show up and it will come”.  (A mantra plagiarized from Elizabeth Gilbert.) My sense is, it is all a risk – to show up and make oneself vulnerable to the muse; to tell one’s one story and reveal the soft underbelly of our lives; and to share it with others. But with that risk comes the inevitable tremendous reward. Though rarely financial, the adventure enhances life immeasurably, with insight, a sense of purpose and fulfillment, and the potential to help others feel a little less alone.

Songwriter Shari Ulrich is appearing at the 2017 Whistler Writers Festival to teach the Songwriting workshop, Sat. Oct. 14, 11am-1pm at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler.