September’s proving to be the month of change all right, and one of the changes I’m making here is to open up the floor to three writers who’ve volunteered to contribute as guest authors.  It’s all part of the September focus on writing with authenticity and knowing the three of them I can hardly wait to see what they come up with.

First off (I think, though publishing schedules may be subject to change…) is Emma Bird from HowtoItaly. Emma began her Typepad blog around the same time as me and we’ve been following each other’s work ever since.  Emma lives and breathes authenticity as well as writing it – one of the things I love most about her work is how up front she is about her values, what drives her to do what she does.  Here’s an extract from the philosophy behind her business:

We’re not cats.  We don’t have nine lives.  Just the one.  And we believe we should make the most of it.

Then (again not necessarily in publishing order) we’ve Robert Hruzek, known to many as the amazing host at Middle Zone Musings.  I got to know Robert when I started to write for his ‘What I Learned from This‘ challenges, and I just love his style: it’s funny, conversational, engaging, offbeat – and sometimes so to the point it knocks you for six.  If you ever wonder why you write or why you blog try reading A Light In the Darkness.  It’s the perfect antidote to writers’ block.  Here’s a short extract:

You never know how far your light will shine. Or who, one night, might be flying in darkness and find they are in need of a reference point. Don’t be afraid to turn on the switch. Don’t worry about how much wattage you may or may not have. Just be yourself and let your light shine. They’ll come. You can be that light in the darkness.

I have no idea if Robert is going to do something straight or funny, or, knowing him, both at once.  Whichever way will be just perfect.

Last but not least I’m delighted to be able to introduce Jon Swanson who writes at Levite Chronicles. I first came across Jon when he wrote for Liz Strauss as part of the Change the World series – and it was his words there that inspired me to contribute too.  He produces some amazingly simple, thought-provoking material – and writes a mean comment too, like this one on blog writing with a purpose:

For me, writing is part of how I come to know, how I figure out what is going on. As a result, any changing that comes through my writing, starts with changing me.

No pressure Jon but I’m really looking forward to what you come up with.

As for me, well I thought I might have fretted a bit about ceding some ‘control’ of my blog to other people but it’s quite the opposite in fact – I feel energised and excited by the possibilities of introducing new voices here… and it’s a privilege to start with three such amazing writers.  I’m sure you’ll enjoy what they write.

This writing extravaganza is part the September focus on what it means to write with authenticity.  The invitation is pretty open – it could be an example of authentic writing, what authenticity means to the author, something that’s changed as a result of writing from the heart… well who knows really, I prefer to leave the editorial call to their own good judgement.

If you’d like to guest author here either on authenticity or a future theme (next month is clarity) just drop me an e-mail at joanna@confidentwriting.com and we’ll take it from there.