Writer’s block, April Dávila argues, is a myth — or at least a misdiagnosis. What writers call a block is usually something else wearing a costume: fear, distraction, an inner critic that has learned to sound like judgment rather than noise. Her proposed treatment is not more discipline. It is meditation.
Dávila discusses her book “Sit Write Here: 6 Mindfulness Practices to Help You Write More and Suffer Less” at Vroman’s Bookstore on Monday at 7 p.m., in conversation with Lian Dolan. A signing follows.
The book builds a six-part framework on Insight Meditation, moving from developing concentration deep enough to enter creative flow, through sitting with discomfort in order to write conflict honestly, to finding equanimity in the face of rejection. Publishers Weekly described the guide as “compassionate and refreshingly nonprescriptive.” Library Journal noted its intertwining of Buddhist teaching with craft instruction.
Dávila comes to the subject with credentials on both sides of it. Her debut novel, “142 Ostriches,” won the WILLA Award from Women Writing the West. She is a certified mindfulness instructor, and she runs a writing coaching program under the same Sit Write Here name. Writer’s Digest has listed her blog among its Best 101 Websites for Writers.
Her interlocutor needs little introduction locally. Dolan lives in Pasadena and has written six bestselling novels, among them “Helen of Pasadena” and “The Marriage Sabbatical.” For more than two decades she created, produced and hosted Satellite Sisters, the podcast she made with her four sisters. Vroman’s inducted her into its Author Walk of Fame in 2024.
The pairing suits the material — a book about quieting the inner critic, discussed by two writers who have made careers out of talking.
April Dávila, in conversation with Lian Dolan, will discuss “Sit Write Here” on Monday, August 17 at 7 p.m. Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. For more information, call (626) 449-5320 or visit vromansbookstore.com.
