About Robin – columns

WRITER. COACH. INNER-PEACE ENTHUSIAST.Hi, I’m Robin. I am an award-winning writer, teacher, coach, and the mother of three—two teenagers and a young adult. I am the founder and creator of Heart. Soul. Pen.®, a Los Angeles-based course blending deep-dive creativity and soul-centered writing for women and The Women’s Writing Den, a virtual writing den hosted on the new Channels app. I love working with writers and launched the Women’s Writing Workshop at UCLA Extension Writer’s Program, which I teach several times a year. I’ve spent the last two decades in the trenches of parenting ADHD kids, writing, creativity, and finding my voice as a woman and a writer. You can find my personal essays in: The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed, Mamalode, Brain Child, The Huffington Post and others. In 2017, my first novel, “Restless in L.A.,” was named a Best New Novel by Babble.com. My eclectic background includes master’s degree in public health from Columbia University and in spiritual psychology from the University of Santa Monica.

The bottom line: I believe that finding your voice on the page transforms your life, that women thrive in community, and that creativity is stoked through authentic sharing and supportive feedback. I believe that our most meaningful work arises from our body not our brains. My motto is “Don’t think, just write.” In raising a family, writing, and life, I believe humor and bad words are often appropriate. In teaching and facilitating writing, I believe a writer’s original voice and artistic self-esteem must be NURTURED and CELEBRATED. And finally, I believe a writer is one who writes.

I live with my husband, kids, and the dog in L.A. I write about midlife, writing, parenting, spirituality, the creative process, and finding inner peace (sort of) on my weekly blog, Sleepless in the San Fernando Valley. Learn more at: www.robinfinn.com or www.heartsoulpen.com.