This Writing Life by Tiffany Rehbein

Last Sunday night, as I suffered from night-before-school jitters, I woke up and jotted down some ideas. A notebook always on my bed stand, I wrote about how I approach writing poetry. In the morning light, the thoughts were virtually incoherent, and only fragments of memory remained:

·    Be mindful of Inspiration
·    Read tons of poetry
·    Think thoughtfully
·    Write every day
·    Listen to music
·    Find a muse
·    Read tons

In a perfect world as I approach writing, I visit my favorite coffee shop, ideas bursting to get written down. The baristas know me by name and have my drink waiting because I never fail to arrive during my designated writing time. I carry a leather satchel – undoubtedly a gift from a former student, aspiring to be a teacher, a writer, a professor. I wear a scarf because on writing days, the weather is just blustery enough to need a scarf.

In yet another world, I have a writing room with natural light, flawless wi-fi, and a view. My view would be an ocean front, the water both consoling and inspirational. The water acting as metaphor, of course, symbolizing all things with love, motherhood, loss, joy, and labor.

In my world, though, I approach writing as I am able. I am a teacher. A mother. A wife. I am involved in my English teacher’s community nationally and statewide. I am involved in my community as a citizen. As we all are.

We prioritize that which we value the most. So, I read as much as I can when I can. I look for inspiration in the day-to-day, and I imagine the types of writing that might come from those perfect worlds. Then I write.

Tiffany Rehbein, a mother of two boys and two German Shepherds, is an avid Colorado Rockies baseball fan and a high school English teacher in Cheyenne, Wyoming. She is an active member of the Wyoming Writing Project and the National Council of Teachers of English where she serves on the Secondary Section Steering Committee. Follow Tiffany @Rehb31 on Twitter and follow her blog at tiff4tat@blogspot.com.