A home for women finding their way back to writing

If you've taken writing classes, had a notebook you keep starting and abandoning, talked about the book or poems or essays you mean to write someday, or spent hours thinking about stories only you could tell or memories you’d like to capture — you might find what you need here.

Hi there, I'm Diane. Diane's Place was built in response to something I wrestled with for years, which was: How do I move forward and finally write — the thing I've always somehow known I wanted to do? How??

I used to think it was a me-problem, that something was wrong with me because I couldn't seem to figure this out. I've since met and worked with hundreds of smart, amazing, accomplished women who have often felt the same way.

They've wanted to write — to tell stories only they could tell, to keep notebooks filling up, to finally share their words — for a very long time. Yet for all their trying, it's still been difficult to find the space for the writing they really want to be doing.

Over time and through lots of trial and error, I discovered what I, and others, need: stillness to connect to our inner wisdom, space to unlearn the unhelpful ways we've been taught to keep quiet and small, and a place to experiment and try things out. We also benefit from the nourishment of other like-minded women, witnessing and supporting each other.

That's the essence of Diane's Place.

Maybe you relate to some of these things?

• you’ve been feeling this draw toward writing for a long time, maybe even for your whole life, and for whatever reason, you’ve been having trouble making space for it; you’ve been pushing it aside for other things, other people, other obligations and so on

• this desire to write, even if it’s vague, is a small flame inside that will not leave you alone

• when you write, sometimes, not always, it can feel like dancing with magic

• you feel a longing to express yourself through writing; you have a feeling that doing so will unlock something inside and that you’ll feel more at home

• you may have been feeling this way for a long time and might be starting to feel like time is running out

• you might be already doing some work in this area, but you’re looking for something more - more space, structure, inspiration, or community around it.

• you look around the world today, at all that’s happening, and you understand that the more voices that are being silenced, the more we must speak out in support of our vision of a new world

Are you the problem? I don’t think so

You might think you’re lacking something – discipline, desire, focus, organization, money – something. If you only had it, you’d be able to write.

It’s possible you might need help learning some new skills, gaining some knowledge or clarity, but there’s much more to the story than that.

Writing just because you love doing it, and for no other reason whatsoever, is about claiming your voice and your right to be and want and do exactly what you want to in this world, no matter what.

And that’s a dangerous thing for the status quo.

It requires claiming your voice

The problem is that as women we’ve been socialized to do exactly the opposite.

In a thousand different ways women have been taught to keep quiet. We’ve been told to make ourselves smaller (metaphorically and literally,) to stop being difficult, to calm down.

We’ve been compelled to earn acceptance by being good, by making it perfect, by being “nice.”

We’ve been kept busy and exhausted as we are expected to shoulder the weight of caring for our homes and our children, for our elders and the earth.

We’ve been bound by a set of rules that serve the status quo, not us or the world we want to live in.

When we start to question those rules and instead begin to follow what’s inside us, recognizing a greater reality and our role in bringing about the world we long for, we bring about change.

Hi, I’m Diane, and for years I wanted to write

I have this really clear distinct memory of living in Morocco well over two decades ago now. One day the realization that I wanted to be a writer came in so clear and so true, it was as if rain had come, impossibly, on this otherwise arid, sapphire day.

I felt electric with this sense of knowing, able to put everything together in an instant.

Yes, this! I knew it the way you know very few things in life.

I remember picking up a pen, the paper scratchy, the ballpoint pen stiff in hand, and I wrote and wrote and wrote.

At some future point though, I no longer remember when or how, I forgot.

Long days started to pass with no writing, no stories, no notes. I’d lose myself in the marketplaces, with learning how to make a fish tagine, with trying to learn Moroccan Arabic.

Then a morning might arrive and I’d awaken with this visceral ache to be writing. And I’d remember, yes, I want to be a writer. And I would pick up my pen, fold back the notebook, and begin again. It felt so right, I’d marvel that I’d ever forgotten.

But then I’d forget again. There was so much forgetting and then remembering

Notebooks were addled with beginnings and trailings off. There was so much longing, and even more trying to write consistently.

Over the years, I tried seemingly everything - books, workshops, retreats, coaching, energy work, scheduling hacks, and so on. Still, I struggled to make time to write.

For a long time, I thought something was wrong with me. Now I know that what I really needed, above all, was permission and a chance to experiment. I also needed stillness, nourishment and community. All that and a bigger understanding about claiming my voice.

I created Diane's Place as part of finding my own way back home

I still return to that remembering, again and again. The work I do with other women, helping them find their voice, return to writing, and reclaim their sense of purpose and power, is part of my own sacred coming home.

What I know for sure

In these times of increasing chaos and crisis, what I know for sure is that when women begin to gather and step into their own power—through self-discovery, shedding the lies they’ve been told, and offering their words to the world—this world, bathed in both brokenness and beauty, becomes an infinitely better place.

Learn more about me and my background here.

Your longing is a key to a better world

Saying yes to your writing means you’re moving more and more toward being your true self.

Being your real self is a radical rejection of the social norm. Being yourself means you get to do the thing you love most, share your words in a way that lets you feel most at home and, at the same time, serve the greatest good.

I believe giving voice to and sharing our gifts is one of the ways we change the world.

What You Really Need to Find Your Way Back to Writing

Over time and through lots of trial and error, I discovered there are six ingredients we need if we really want to write. And by “to write” I mean consistently, joyfully spending time with our writing - in story, in self-expression, in exploration, or in whatever way fills that deep longing. It’s writing in a way that feels good, like you’re coming home to yourself.

This isn’t a recipe, so there's no exact amount, no fixed order, and many of these ingredients blend together and reinforce one another. But each one is important, and you'll need more or less of each, depending on your personality, your gifts and talents, and where you’re at with your relationship with your writing.

Stillness

One of the ways you keep yourself from writing is through distraction and busy-ness. When your life is overfilled with not a moment to yourself, you keep yourself away from the longing to write. Cultivating stillness gives you the chance to listen to your deeper self, recognize your own divine qualities, and know intuitively what you need to do next. It’s the beginning of moving forward.

Unlearning

You’re likely carrying around a constellation of beliefs you’ve been given by your family, caregivers, or culture that stop you from writing. Most of these beliefs were never true to begin with — you just accept them as fact, and some are so unconscious you don't even notice them. Left unchallenged, they keep you from doing what you love - writing, sometimes for months or years at a time. Unlearning is how you give yourself permission to write in the first place.

Community

Writing on our own can feel lonely or hard to stay consistent. With a generous, creative community of women writing together, we offer each other support and inspiration. Over time, as we share our words and hear what's strong, what's good, what stays with others — we get a mirror back to our own voice.

Sharing

For many of you (although not all) there's a twin desire alongside the longing to write—to have your words read, shared, or heard out loud. Without that outlet, the words can stay locked away longer than they need to. With it, you often discover something you didn't expect — that what you were afraid of sharing is exactly what moves someone else.

You’ll find aspects of all these woven throughout the offerings in Diane’s Place.  

Explore the Rooms in Diane’s Place

Want to learn more?

The first step is to sign up to my mailing list where I regularly share posts with fresh perspectives, insight and writing from Diane’s Place. I also offer inspirational visuals, poetry, and occasional information on upcoming programs and events.