O.C. Writers

By Kelli Devan Edwards // 

My daughter is an artist. I recognized her talent when she was a little girl and commissioned her to work magic on the bulletin boards in my classroom. Using simple, brown butcher paper, she molded a tree trunk that sprouted branches adorned with hand-cut leaves in various shades of green. As she got older, the paintings and mosaics she created in college adorned the walls of my home. One summer, I watched in awe as she transformed a six-foot-long, scrap piece of plywood into a shimmering butterfly mosaic. She seemed hypnotized as she worked, snipping glass into little triangles, the broken pieces transformed into a new whole.

My daughter was the creative, not me. That’s what I believed—until everything changed. My principal asked me to help write the application for our California Distinguished School Award. Ironically, the mosaic on our campus drove the narrative I eventually wrote. The artfully arranged glass turned into a metaphor about our students. That’s when I realized I had an ability to paint with words. Like the pieces of a mosaic, thoughts and ideas could be deconstructed and put together in a new way.

Desiring to hone my writing skills, I joined the Orange County branch of the California Writers Club a couple of years ago. There, I fostered relationships and found mentors in several local authors. I took online classes and started a devoted writing practice. These endeavors were rewarded when my poem was selected for the club’s annual literary review. At some point, I began calling myself a writer.

This involvement with the local writing community led to new friendships—notably, with Mary Vensel White. When I learned she had her own editing business, TypeEighteenEditing.com, I employed her skills. She helped me take a few of my essays from good to great. One is being considered for publication in August.

Mary is the author of Bellflower, a novel-in-moments, and The Qualities of Wood. I was fascinated by the way she paints vivid scenes in which characters unfurl. Bellflower is cleverly constructed; you can read the chapters in any order. Her latest novel, Starling, will be out in May. Set in Chicago, it’s about a woman who has creatively constructed a reality that may or may not be true.

Mary’s newest endeavor, Creative Space: Chats with Writers, also has me intrigued. In this YouTube series, Mary conducts short interviews exploring the notion of humans as creative beings. These informal conversations with guest authors are intended to shed light on the struggles, methods, and triumphs of the writing practice.

In the first episode, released this month, Mary interviewed Cherie Kephart, author of the memoir A Few Minor Adjustments. Cherie chronicled her writing journey, which required her to cultivate self-belief. Creativity needs to start with ourselves, she explained, not everything is for public consumption. If we are so focused on the end result, we lose passion, drive, intuition, and inspiration. We need to give ourselves permission to be free to create. Then, if we choose, we can revise and edit for the purpose of sharing with others. When you create with this attitude, there is no wrong. The discussion also touched on the topic of playfulness, which was defined as being 100% focused in any moment. Seeing our creative endeavors through the lens of play is a mind shift guaranteed to yield fruit.

Whether you’re a budding writer or a seasoned author, these episodes will have you take pause. They are more than tutorials about the craft of writing; they are musings about life’s truths.

My daughter, now a colleague, was recently hired as a freelance artist for my district. I was privileged to observe as she gave a lesson to a kindergarten class. One by one, the most adorable, little people ran up to share their crayon-resist weather pictures with me. Their eyes were full of glee. No self-doubt. No inhibitions. Just pure, creative joy.

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KELLI DEVAN EDWARDS is a writer, public speaker, and educator. She is a Teacher on Special Assignment for Fullerton School District. Kelli serves as the newsletter editor for the Orange County Branch of the California Writers Club. Her writing was published in Guideposts magazine, and her poetry was selected for the 2021 issue of the California Writers Club Literary Review. A Cal State Fullerton alumni, Kelli lives in Yorba Linda with her husband, daughter, and her beloved guinea pig, Bubblegum. www.KelliDevanEdwards.com.