Creative Place of Mind

By Lorena Maca Garcia

Creative Place of Mind is a unique entry point into my personal perspective on life—how I think, observe, and feel—amplified into many different versions of writing. It can connect with anyone who has these turbulent emotions and can’t seem to find anything that expresses what they are feeling.

Process

As a writer, I wanted a platform to express myself freely and show the world what I could do—what I could write. My mentor, Candace, supported my goal and came up with the idea to use WordPress for my blog site. For my very first post, I wanted something that made a big impact when clicking on the website and ended up choosing a revised version of the piece that got me into the Girls Write Now program in 2018. More than anything, I wanted to use the website to reflect on who I am as a person.

Meet the Pair

Mentee Lorena Maca Garcia & Mentor Candace Cunard

Lorena’s Anecdote: Meeting with Candace on Fridays is always something I look forward to, especially our many fun conversations and varied shared interests that make up the majority of our meeting time. She is my number-one cheerleader and I know she will always come through when I need her because I trust her, I can count on her. She understood what I went through when there were some tough times during my home life this year. I am forever thankful for whoever paired Candace and I together, because they made such a perfect match.

Candace’s Anecdote: My Friday afternoons with Lorena are a highlight of my week. Whether we’re meeting at our usual café in the South Bronx, or venturing out in search of specialty pens or Japanese bookstores, I know our conversations will range as far and wide as our meeting locations. Even in a difficult year, Lorena’s confidence in her voice continues to grow. As she told me: “I don’t write because I think I’m going to be a professional published writer someday. I write because I don’t want to fall apart . . . Also, I’m really good at it.” (And, yeah, she is!)