Wisconsin is not all cheese, as it turns out. Nor is it all Dells. These are pretty much the only two identity-markers I had for the state when I arrived there Friday (in the living room of college friends Nick and Lauren).

What brought me to town, besides Lauren’s old world cooking straight from her backyard spice garden, was hosting a writing workshop at Treasure’s Bookstore. Treasures–I am told–is the largest online discount Christian bookstore out there.

Writing workshops are one of the most indulgent gigs I do as a speaker. It’s a chance to be a writer among writers. To talk about what you love with people who understand why you love it. Yet I don’t even remember to pitch these workshops all that often (I’ll let you psycho-analyze that; I just don’t have time today).

This morning was no disappointment. The energy humming from a room full of aspiring writers is electric.

My position on writing, I always tell attenders, is not the standard “write about what you know.” We know too many boring things. How to change a tire, when to take a casserole out of the oven, what kind of mulch lasts the longest. And even though I think you could write and EVEN SELL perfectly solid pieces touting all this information, you.might.die.of.boredom.in.the.process.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the world has some crappy features to it. There’s a lot of dysfunction and hurt on the loose. In light of that, I’m convinced that writers can’t afford to remain neutral. They can’t afford to write articles about which olive oil is most flavorful (unless of course olive oil is the sort of thing that keeps them awake at night). Instead, we have to write out our tension between the world that is and the world that we envision can be possible.

We have to walk through that one door–the risky one, the one we’re scared to walk through–if we want to write the best stuff stirring in the hottest parts of our souls.

Sarah Freeborn blogged about the morning at Treasure’s. She’s got humor on her side. And I believe in the dreamer in her. So I’ll let her words close out this post, rather than mine.

If you want to do a writer’s workshop though, drop me a line at sarahraymondcunningham (at) gmail (dot) com. I’d love to come indulge with you.<3