How do you keep writing amid all the chaos from a noisy life?
Published 3 days ago • 5 min read
Dear Writers,
How do you keep going amid all the chaos from a noisy life?
It feels to me – and maybe this is only me—but saying it anyway in case this applies to you too, I feel overwhelmed often by the state of the world.
And – also the state of the world – and all of my to-do’s that still keep going during this time, makes my life crazy sometimes because it causes me to deal with more drama than normal.
And sometimes my attention is bombarded by a thousand things, and I am sandwiched between responsibilities of taking care of people – both older and younger than me, and scarred from things that have happened to me that are beyond my control.
It’s hard to find an inroad into my own writing.
One time I was feeling particularly tired and overwhelmed. I had gotten a parking ticket that day. I was just feeling crappy. I went into a fancy café, just so I could sit down for a minute in between things. And I got a cup of coffee even though it was the afternoon. The barista made a very nice picture for me in the foam. And he said, you know I can tell you were having a rough day so I made this one for you. And then he wouldn’t let me pay for the coffee. I almost cried. It was so kind.
There are moments in our lives where we must surrender to nothing but hope that things will work out.
Life is like a good story: Complex at times, but worth it.
I find that in these chaotic moments when the world is churning around me, when I am feeling helpless and unable to create, the best thing I can do is to hold steady, clear my mental state and begin to write.
My writing finds a way to peace. A small squiggly line on my journal comforts me, or the tapping of the keys becomes meditative and I look within.
As artists, we must have the material conditions for success. We must have enough to eat. Money, comfort, love. We must find these things for ourselves. Writers are no different. Sometimes we take a break because we are busy taking care of things. Of people. Of business.
But if we are true artists, we find our way back to the work. And if we have trouble, we fall back on our training as writers to get us back in. If we’re having a hard time, we ask for help.
I have been down this journey of reconnecting with my voice many times.
After 20 years of writing and teaching I can say this:
When the world gets loud, write louder!
When your voice trembles, speak up and let your pen steady it.
If you need help reconnecting with your writing life, or just a boost, consider joining our Method Writing workshop. It started yesterday and we have a solid small group of brilliant writers in there, but we are accepting registrations up until next week. You can stop by to say hi, check it out. This is the first time I have offered it in person since 2019 so I am trying to gather a group again.
Beginners-Advanced welcome. Any type of writer is welcome.
We work on the voice. We write in the journal. We create new work from the first-person point of view. This can be used toward any type of writing. Voice is the je ne sais quoi in all writing.
If you are a poet and you’re looking to find beauty in your work again, consider taking Poetry of Healing with Dr. Kim McMillon. It starts next week online at the same time. Both of these classes are designed to support the writer in finding their voice and loving and celebrating themselves throughout the process of healing/creativity. It starts next week.
Hope to see you in one of our workshops soon!
Sincerely,
Alexandra
Alexandra Kostoulas,
Founder & Executive Director,
SF Creative Writing Institute
(415) 371-9054 | 50 Scott Street, San Francisco, CA 94117.
FALL Workshops at SFCWI
Method Writing - In Person, San Francisco
*For all genres of writing
Instructor: Alexandra Kostoulas
Nov. 8-Dec. 13 2025 * | 10:30am-12:30pm | San Francisco
In-Person at Harvey Milk Center for the Arts | 50 Scott Street Duboce Park. San Francisco
Instructor: Alexandra Kostoulas
We want to connect with the world. But where do we start?
There’s a voice within all of us wanting to find its place in the world.
The concepts and techniques in METHOD WRITING will show you how to create compelling moments and scenes, how to move your reader with writing that jumps off the page and grabs them by the heart. Learn to cultivate your voice to write unforgetable stories and poems.
This is a perfect workshop for a beginner or an experienced writer of poetry, fiction or non-fiction, or for anyone looking to find or rediscover their own unique voice.
--
Alexandra Kostoulas founded the SF Creative Writing Institute in 2015. She teaches people to find their voice and unblock themselves creatively every day. She has worked with thousands of students from all walks of life in her career as an educator and has coached many aspiring writers to publication and performance of their work. Her students have gone on to run literary organizations, become professors at prestigious universities, publish their work in peer-reviewed journals, land book deals and break barriers in their writing and lives. She writes poetry, nonfiction and fiction.
In this 4-week workshop, Poetry of Healing: The Body, we stand as flowers watered by healing words. Our bodies are a memoir to ourselves. We will write poems to our hearts, minds, bodies, and emotions. The most important person in this course is you. You will use words to create poetry that celebrates you.
The poems you create are meant to be a memoir about how you celebrate, explore, and support yourself.
--
Dr. Kim McMillon is a producer, playwright, and contributor to the anthology Some Other Blues: New Perspectives on Amiri Baraka (Ohio University Press, 2021). She is also the editor of Black Fire—This Time, an anthology published by Willow Books on March 15, 2022. McMillon produced, wrote, and starred in her one-woman show, Confessions of a Thespian: When Spirit & Theatre Collide, which was directed by Margo Hall and staged at the Julia Morgan Theatre in Berkeley, CA, in March 2000. She also produced, wrote, and directed Voyages, which premiered at the Nova Theatre in San Francisco in March 1986 and was later produced at UC Berkeley's Zellerbach Playhouse in August 1987. A musical excerpt from Voyages was staged at the Merced Multicultural Arts Center in February 2023 as part of their Black History Month programming. McMillon's children's book, The Healing Book of Me, is set to be published in late September 2025. Additionally, her essay titled "Ancestor as Refugee" will be published in the SAGE Encyclopedia of Refugee Studies in September 2025.
A yearlong storytelling initiative commissioning local writers and collecting first-person narratives from San Franciscans. Through a mobile listening booth, writing workshops, and public events, the project will engage up to 1,000 participants and culminate in readings, an anthology, and a digital archive—spotlighting resilience and connection.
The Project begins in November 2025 and ends in November 2026. We will be writing, collecting and editing positive stories about San Francisco. If you're interested in contributing some work, let me know.
“I left my heart in San Francisco.”
— Tony Bennett
“Suddenly [we] reached a height and saw stretched out ahead of us the fabulous white city of San Francisco on her eleven mystic hills with the blue Pacific and its advancing wall of potato-patch fog beyond, and smoke and goldenness in the late afternoon of time.”