Bonnie Wolkenstein’s journey to writing was not a singular path. Having written throughout childhood, she wanted to study writing at college but was encouraged to take a more professional degree, and psychology beckoned. 

Since then, she has made her career as a clinical psychologist, while writing in her free time for the sheer joy of it.

Bonnie is a wide reader and after taking the time to think about the sorts of stories she most enjoys writing, she realised it is internal stories. Stories that excavating what lies beneath.

She uses her psychology training on her characters, asking them the same question she might a client, enabling her to delve deeper into their psyche and discover just how complex they are!

We talk about how to submit poetry, and Bonnie says it's a numbers game. You must submit, submit, submit. After taking a lot of advice from other poets and writers, she realised she cannot take rejection personally. It is a part of the process. 

She uses the feedback she gets to revise her work, build her writing muscle, and resubmit.

She recommends you start at the bottom of the ladder, and slowly make your way up the rungs. Don't start by submitting to the big journals like The Atlantic.

We go on to talk about how she balances her work, family and her writing. Bonnie says she's happy to get the balance wrong because it's impossible to get it right all the time. 

And, she says, she's learned the magic of saying no. 

She recognises that there aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything perfectly, and so is happy to be selective about what she says yes to.

This includes saying no to the people in her life but saying it with love.

Bonnie tells us about her year-long sabbatical in Spain and Mexico and shares why she decided to do it. We comment on how when you say yes to things, the universe opens up and opportunities present themselves.

Her sabbatical wars a year of change, and a year to live a writer’s life. She says it was a joy to wake up every day knowing she could write, could travel, and experience life at its fullest. 

So inspired was she by her year away that she accepted the challenge to host her own writing retreat in Guanajuato, Mexico. The retreat is entitled Writing From Our Depth and is an opportunity for attendees to dig into their own lives and writing and reach a new level of craft.

If you want to listen to Bonnie speak her poem, Becoming Sepia, head on over to my Patreon page and become a member today.

Links mentioned in episode:

Guanajuato Writing Retreat 2021 – Guanajuato Writing Retreat 2021

Bonnie H. Wolkenstein, Ph.D. | Home (drbonnie.net)

Thoughts from a Thinking Girl (thinkinggirlthoughts.com)

Wild – Cheryl Strayed

Night Sky With Exit Wounds - Ocean Vuong

Julie and Julia – Julie Powell

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