Guarding the Nest: Writing, Well-Being, and Creative Phases

09 March 2026

Adult female loggerehead turtle. © Stephanie Köhnk.

Some weeks feel expansive.

This one feels more like guarding what is still forming.

I feel like that turtle on the beach, digging a nest and trusting my future to the hatchlings that will later emerge. Ultimately, I know I can only return to the sea—its depth and its calling.

If you’re familiar with my AuthorKind Archetypes, you may recognize this phase. My Guardian archetype is waxing while my Incubator is waning. I’m in a state of care—setting firmer boundaries and protecting the energy I need.

It’s interesting to observe how our physical states can guide our writing phases.

My writing phase right now is wrapped around well-being. No surprise—yours may be too.

Are you caring for yourself?

Please do.

Last week, I shared:

• Blood Moon Rising - the weekly “Wander Echoes”

• No Loofies Today - a phaiku

• an image of Wednesday

• Narrative Trust in a Noisy Age - an essay

• Crazy Love - an unannounced poem

I’m currently immersed in a course that’s giving structure to a historical fiction idea I thought I had lost. It turns out it was simply waiting for the right moment to take shape.

(Remind me I said that when the plot thickens.)

What arrives this week will follow the pattern you’re likely familiar with—no pre-planning. Whatever appears will do so organically.

Guarding the nest.

—Jennifer
JL Tooker

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