Writing as bushwhacking

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the Merriam-Webster dictionary the second meanings for bushwhack are:

 

 “to travel by foot through uncleared terrain; to clear a path or advance through thick woods especially by chopping down bushes and low branches”

 

There is an intriguing 2023 book by Jennifer McGaha titled Bushwhacking: How to Get Lost in the Woods and Write Your Way Out. There is a preview of the first 41 pages at Google Books.

 

Her chapter titles and their starting page numbers are:

Why We Write: Searching for Beauty [1]

The Thrill of Discovery: Writing Your Way into Knowing [12]

In the Weeds: Discovering Courage on the Page [27]

Coming in Hot: Zipping out of Your Comfort Zone [40]

Back in the Saddle: Cultivating Resilience [50]

Echoes in the Mountains: Honoring the Voices Within [67]

Rallying Your People (or Your Canines): Creating a Writing Community [76]

A Lighter Load: Unpacking the Writing Life [92]

Lost in the Woods: Writing Your Way Home [101]

Bushwhacking: Digging for Deeper Truths [118]

Finding Your Stride: Toning Your Writing Muscles [127]

Running Uphill: Surviving the Tough Climbs [136]

You Can Do Anything for a Mile: Channeling Your Inner Stallion [154]

The Beauty of the Question: Embracing the Wilderness Within [168]

Questions for Further Exploration [187]

Bibliography [190]

Acknowledgements [191]

 

At the end she has a list of nine long, deep questions, each of which could make a speech topic:

  

Questions for Further Exploration

1] Discuss your relationship with fear. When do your fears serve you well, and when do they get in your way? What is your greatest fear? Where does it come from? What strategies do you have for keeping it at bay? What does it feel like in your body? When/where/how does it overwhelm you? Now, imagine for a moment that you weren’t afraid. How might your life be different? How might you be different?

 

2] Discuss the nature of truth as you see it. Are there different degrees of honesty, and, if so, what are the gray areas? What makes a story true or untrue? Can a memoir contain both lies and deeper truths? In what ways?

 

3] What is the most daring thing you have ever done as an adult? Why did you do it? What did you learn about yourself? In what ways have you carried that knowledge with you since? 

 

4] Discuss your relationship with physical strength/stamina. When in your life have you felt strongest? When have you felt most vulnerable? Why and how were you shaped by these experiences?

 

5] Discuss the role of imagination in your life. What did you dream (literally or metaphorically) when you were a young child? What is the most imaginative thing you have done in your waking life as an adult? What other things do you dream about doing? What, if anything, is holding you back? 

 

6] Describe a moment in your life when you were lost (again, literally or metaphorically). Where were you? Who was with you? How did you come to be lost? How did you come to be found? And what did you learn along the way?

 

7] Make a list of questions you have about any topic. These can be ridiculous or serious. They can focus on one area, or they can be wide-ranging. The only requirement is that you cannot currently know the answers Try to get ten or twenty questions. When you are finished, trade questions with someone you know. Now, take their list of questions and see what new questions arise for you from those. In other words, what questions do you have about their questions? You can do this on and on, in an endless game of round-robin with questions.

8]  Do you agree with Brian Doyle’s assertion that, no matter how hard we try to communicate effectively, we invariably fail in our attempts to express the depth and breadth of our emotions and experiences? Why or why not? How might acknowledging the inherent shortcomings of language change both our relationships with others and what we bring to the page. 

9]  Drawing inspiration from Ross Gay, vow to spend every day for the next week noticing things that delight you. Each day, make a note of one simple thing – a box turtle in your flower bed, a blackberry patch you came upon while hiking, a new song you discovered, a phone call with an old friend, a batch of freezer jam you made that turned out especially well. Freewrite about this for no more than one page. The point here is to capture the mood and the tone, the essence of delight. Do not attempt to make a cohesive story. Do not use a thesaurus or run a grammar check. Do not go back and edit old entries. This is not a stepping stone to anything else. Think of each entry, each delight, as whole and complete, as worthy in and of itself. The goal here is not a polished final product. The value is in the practice, the practice of noticing, of cultivating and expressing gratitude for all those quietly astounding moments that fill your life with meaning. At the end of the week, share your responses with at least one other person. Notice how your delights multiply when you share them.”

 

On October 18, 2025 I blogged about 15 excellent Table Topics questions from the end of a 2024 book by Jennifer McGaha titled The Joy Document.

 

An image where you might need to take your machete was adapted from Wikimedia Commons.