Flourish Anyway® Spiritual Direction for Creative Souls Roundup Series provides updates at the intersection of spirituality, creativity, and everyday life. Most weeks I share a look back at something from the past, what I’m loving right now (books, essays, art, offerings, and more), and what I’m looking forward to across my writing and work with writers, artists, and other creative souls who want to move toward more goodness while acknowledging the current reality.
1. Right Now >
I keep re-reading the poem “Autumn” by Grace Paley so I used it in today’s Spiritual Direction for Writers® Daily Nourishment offering: Autumn Again with a Poem by Grace Paley
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Because I’m behind on so many things, I’ve decided to work on stuff as I have energy and just begin again in the middle of wherever I am however many times necessary until I catch up. (See “Begin Where You Are” AND “Begin Again Through Returning” in Spiritual Direction for Writers: Everyday Rituals for Your Writing Life in case you want to see how the book applies to my real life every damn day.)
Today I had energy to publish THREE(3!) Spiritual Direction for Creative Souls™ Checkups.
And yesterday I had energy to fill in all of the SDW Daily Nourishment holes. How great is that?
Maybe one day soon I’ll have energy to do another mailing. (If you are an SDW Insider and I now have your mailing address, or if you are not an SDW Insider but you’re also waiting for something from me via USPS, please know I’m trying to get to the post office this week. Fingers crossed! I apologize for the delay.)
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NEW: As I mentioned above, we have THREE(3!) NEW Spiritual Direction for Creative Souls™ Checkups:
> > > Hannah Rowen Fry on More Belonging, Less Empire, and Feel-Good Shows with an Ounce of Cynicism: Spiritual Direction for Creative Souls™ Checkup Series No. 5
Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has participated! If you’d like to participate, please complete this Google form.
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THE SDW BOOK
Did you know I have a new book out? I do!
Spiritual Direction for Writers: Everyday Rituals for Your Writing Life will help you have a nurturing creative practice that enables you to make your art, do your work, love your people, AND move your book manuscript forward (or give attention to your other big creative projects!) without losing your mind or soul by:
✔️embracing your writerly identity
✔️honoring your full self
✔️believing All of Life Is the Writing Life
✔️establishing nourishing rhythms
✔️practicing meaningful rituals
✔️having more (doable + affordable) solo retreats
Here are some things you can do to support this book (and me!):
Read the book and write a review. Even one or two sentences (or just a star rating) on Amazon, Goodreads, and/or Barnes & Noble makes a real difference. You can post the same review on multiple sites.
Tell five people. Word-of-mouth is still the most powerful publicity there is, especially for a non-famous author. A personal recommendation means more than any ad.
Use my book at your book club and/or writing group. If you’re part of a book club, library gathering, or community group, I’d be happy to visit virtually or in person.
Post a photo with the book or a reel about your comments and tag me @charlottedonlon on Instagram, Threads, Facebook, or Substack.
Come see me in person! I’d love to sign a copy for you at one of my upcoming events in Durham, Memphis, or Oklahoma City.
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AND FOR YOUR ONLINE PERUSAL…
I wrote about three books that made Spiritual Direction for Writers: Everyday Rituals for Your Writing Life possible. You can read about those three books here:
2. Looking Forward >
I’m excited to be a member of the Alma College MFA faculty for their new Spiritual Writing pathway.
More personal thoughts and details coming soon right here in this Substack newsletter.
For now, here’s scoop on how to learn more about an upcoming virtual open house:
For anyone who’s interested in learning more about the Alma College MFA in Creative Writing program and the new Spiritual Writing pathway, please join us for a virtual open house on November 19 at 7pm ET.
You can learn more about all of Alma College MFA’s new pathways and register for the virtual open house gatherings here.
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AND.
It is such an honor to do this work with those who have gathered around Spiritual Direction for Writers® over the past several years.
And I’m excited to continue enlarging the circle with Spiritual Direction for Creative Souls™, the broader spiritual direction framework I use to support writers, artists, professors, pastors, therapists, and other thoughtful people who want to pay attention to their creativity and soul while navigating the real demands of everyday life.
Please note this Flourish Anyway® Spiritual Direction for Creative Souls Roundup will be the only weekly newsletter I have for now. The SDW and Take More Retreats email newsletters will go out once or twice a month moving forward.
Learn more about Group Chats & Co-Working + Co-Writing for Creative Souls here.
I’m loving the group chats and Co-Working + Co-Writing sessions!
Become a paid subscriber to enter the chat, join us for Co-Working & Co-Writing for Creative Souls, and connect with others who care about encounters with art, faith, doubt, and mystery.
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ALSO.
The Rev. Dr. Lauren Winner is leading a retreat near at Lake Logan near Asheville Oct 2-3. Learn more about A Sparked Imagination: A Retreat for Creatives and register for the retreat here.
3. A Look Back >
I really wish I had more time and energy to reflect on the past few weeks since the book has entered the world. But I have to be super intentional about rest and downtime right now, so I’m not pushing myself to do more than I can handle.
But I re-read the section below from the SDW book earlier today as I was desiring more time for personal reflection and was reminded that Angela of Foligno waited a whole year before reflecting on an important event. I really don’t want to wait a year to reflect on the past few weeks, but I will if I need to.
For now, I wait. I do one thing at a time. I begin again right in the middle of where I am. And I keep trying to get plenty of rest, too. (Because I live with bipolar disorder and mania is not an option right now. Also, it’s just nice to inhabit a book launch and book tour events and whatnot without losing your mind and soul, even if you don’t live with a mental illness diagnosis.)
Also, sometimes I wish I had a personal scribe!
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An Excerpt from the “Behold Through Reflection” chapter in Spiritual Direction for Writers: Everyday Rituals for Your Writing Life
Every significant writing experience and spiritual encounter deserves to be witnessed and integrated through intentional reflection. Whether you’ve just completed a weekend workshop, emerged from a weeklong retreat, finished writing a memoir, or are getting closer to being done reading this book, taking time to reflect on what you’ve learned and received allows you to savor insights that might otherwise be lost. We are usually too quick to move on to the next thing without pausing to ponder what we just wrapped up. Some experiences might need a half hour or maybe even a few slow days of reflection to uncover their underlying meanings like letting tea steep to release its full flavor.
A full year passed before Angela of Foligno, a Franciscan penitent who lived in the latter part of the thirteenth century, began an intense season of reflection about a spiritual experience with a scribe and collaborator called “Brother A” in her writings.1 Brother A had witnessed Angela’s intense public display of grief during her pilgrimage to the Basilica of Saint Francis when she lost profound consolation and intimate presence of the Trinity and transitioned into the difficulty of desolation and divine absence. Angela caused such an emotional disturbance in the basilica that the friar asked her to leave and return to Foligno. Months later, when Brother A was reassigned to Foligno, he tracked down Angela and asked her to explain what had caused the shrieks and cries during her time in Assisi. Thus began Angela’s process of sustained reflection, as well as a collaboration with Brother A, who served as her scribe and confidant. The writings eventually made their way to various communities and individuals, providing spiritual nourishment to many. According to Diane V. Tomkinson, “Angela became a revered spiritual teacher for other friars and penitents who gathered around her in the decade or so prior to her death in 1309.”
Her words are still studied today, and several people have noted the spiral nature of her prayers and overall journey. Tomkinson observes, “The intrinsic spiral pattern of Angela’s prayer offers a vision of Christian spirituality in which loving relationship with God cannot be separated from right relationship with all other creatures, each of which is valued as a particular expression of the infinite All Good.” Brother A’s curiosity and questions prompted Angela to reflect and record her spiritual insights that have encouraged many throughout several generations. The account of her mystical prayers and intimate divine encounters provides a “distinctive spirituality of communion that offers a fruitful pattern for contemporary pilgrims.”
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That’s enough for now.
Much love to the creative souls. May we flourish anyway and take some time to nourish ourselves every single day. Thanks so much for being here!
💚 Charlotte
Charlotte Donlon is a writer, spiritual director, and gatherer whose work centers on helping people explore themes of belonging, artful encounters, spiritual growth, and how to Flourish Anyway®, even when life is full, busy, or chaotic. Her work has woven together themes of belonging, art, and soul exploration for more than 25 years. With a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing (2015-2018), a certificate in spiritual direction (2018-2020), and a life coach certification (2026), Charlotte guides writers and other creative souls in developing sanctuaries of acceptance and connection.
A Christian in the Episcopal church who believes the tenets of the Nicene Creed, Charlotte employs a universal framework of belonging and connection in her spiritual direction work. She fosters meaningful, soulful conversations and gatherings that are welcoming to all—regardless of faith tradition or spiritual inclinations.
In 2020, Broadleaf Books published Charlotte’s first book, The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. Spiritual Direction for Writers: Everyday Rituals for Your Writing Life is slated for release by Here Below Books in September 2026. Some of volumes of Charlotte’s “Guidebooks for the Soul”—Take More Retreats, The Great Belonging Project, and Belonging Through Art —will also be published in the coming months.
As the founder of several initiatives—including Spiritual Direction for Writers®, Parenting with Art®, Belonging Through Art™, and Spiritual Direction for Creative Souls™—Charlotte has established herself as a thought leader and an authentic presence at the intersection of creativity and spirituality. Her essays have been featured in publications such as The Washington Post, The Christian Century, Christianity Today, Catapult, and The Millions, among others. A new essay about art conservation, Joan Mitchell, and mystery is forthcoming with Image journal.
For those interested in staying updated on Charlotte’s latest work, news, and insights, subscribe to her Substack Weekly Roundup Series and visit Flourish Anyway®, Charlotte’s online hub for all of her writing, spiritual direction, small press, gatherings, and other offerings.
Here’s a full list of Charlotte’s email offerings: