The following content has been adapted from a six-part writing exercise I had the honour of sharing on The Writing Champions Project's Instagram account in January 2021. I designed this short exercise series so that all writers who participate can find themselves extremely motivated and excited to keep writing by the end of the six-part series. I am cheering you on!

Hi, everyone! My name is Marisa and I am so honoured to be spending time with you over the next few days, hopefully helping you pursue your love of writing.

A big thank you to the The Writing Champions Project – you are one of the top reasons why I check Instagram, and I am so thankful for the motivation and inspiration that you and this writing community share!

My approach to life: follow your heart.

That's why I knew when I was five years old, scribbling short stories with horribly drawn photos, that I wanted to be a writer. I have been writing short stories, poems and novels while going to school, getting my B.A. Specialized Honours in English and completing a Book & Magazine Publishing certificate. I kept working on my books while completing four publishing internships and then started working as a writer and an editor at various digital and print publications.

Since I was a kid, some of my poems and short stories have been published. As an adult, my focus has been on publishing my novels. I'm currently editing In Your Dreams book (the first half of which has been published here on Wattpad), which I plan to submit to literary agents.

I live in Ontario, Canada, with my husband and our daughter. My favourite hobbies include writing, reading, cooking, walking near trees and spending time with my loved ones.

As outlined here, my approach to life is to follow your heart. That's why the theme of these posts is "follow your heart and make your dreams come true."

My goal this week is to help you connect or re-connect with your writing dreams, to address and overcome any obstacles slowing down your writing, and to help re-ignite your motivation and love of writing.

If you're writing or want to be writing, I'd love to learn more about you and your writing journey in the comments below!