Just Get It Done

I got to spend a big chunk of the day getting my handwritten edits onto my word doc. I also added a new scene that lit my fire. I have been forgetting a lot lately to have fun with my writing. What made me think of that at all was a conversation with writer, Kent Wayne, author of A Door into Evermore and Echo series (you can find them here, https://dirtyscifibuddha.com/) mentioned in conversation that he writes for fun these days. It was really nice to hear that.

I needed to hear that because when you’re doing something every single day of your life, it gets so serious, makes ya forget how to have fun. It feels like you gotta just get it done. Get the technical stuff in. Secure the plot, timeline, and character growth. Ugh my head is spinning just writing all of that.

I’m glad he mentioned he’s having fun, and I’m glad I found a way to add something into my novel that feels fun and exciting for myself too.

Thanks for Inspo!

Know One Knows

“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”

Somerset Maugham

I appreciate this quote that I found on The Write Practice. It made me smile immediately. We’ve narrowed down writing styles but how to create and finish a novel seems to look different for every writer. I mean there are general similarities but when you look take both the whole picture and the details into account, they are vastly different. This, in my opinion, is why writing groups and workshops are so important as writers. With so much diversity in novel writing, other writers are a wealth of information and ideas. How they write, what’s their routine, do they write full time, do they write only when they’re inspired, what inspires them, and what’s it like living the writers life? So many questions, so many ways to learn and relate. I think it’s inspiring to hear that there’s no hard set rules to novel writing. Imma just be over here doing my best.

Having a Dream

“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”

 Paulo Coelho

The possibility of a dream come true makes life interesting because it brings us hope. I used to call hope a lie. I didn’t like hope very much but after some time, I learned to appreciate hope again. I used to think of hope as something like a big risk or high expectation. These days, I try my best to use hope as a reminder that something good can happen. It doesn’t have to happen but it would be nice if it did.

I am prepared for the worst, but hope for the best.

Benjamin Disraeli

 “Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.” – 

Les Brown

I think a lot of us are finally living our dreams whether it be crafting, starting our business, coaching whatever. We are all shifting into a world where dreams aren’t only active when you sleep at night, they’re manifesting into our real lives. I’m excited to see so many women finally facing their fears. Finally taking time out to choose their dreams and goals. It’s been a long time coming and we still have a lot of work to do to make the American dream no longer just a fantasy sold but a real live attainable thing for all.

What are you doing to work toward doing the things you always dreamed of?

Ovid’s Writing Life

One of my most favorite poets is Ovid. He was born into a prestigious family who expected him to be a lawyer or official. What intrigues me most about him is that he stepped away from all that and write poetry. He was hailed one of the greatest poets of his generation. What’s wild is even with his popularity as a writer, he exiled by Augustus from the country. No one really knows why he was exiled but his writing remains to this day as powerful works of art.

Choosing to write doesn’t guarantee an easy life, your actions and your thoughts aid to give you a better life but the #writerslife itself brings more life to you and those around you.

If you’re looking for some guidance in your writer’s life, I created a post called The Three Freedoms where I give tips and guidance on living your best writers life!

I also wrote a poem in honor of Ovid you can read that here

Belly of the Whale

I blew the dust off my Joseph Campbell book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces to brush up on the different parts of the hero’s journey. One of the parts of the journey that caught my eye was Belly of the Whale. According to Joseph Campbell,

The idea that the passage of the magical threshold is a transit into a sphere of rebirth is symbolized in the worldwide womb image of the belly of the whale. The hero, instead of conquering or conciliating the power of the threshold, is swallowed into the unknown, and would appear to have died.

What drew me toward this part of the journey was wondering the difference between belly of the whale and the road of trials. The difference is that the belly of whale for the hero is where the hero is presumed dead. There’s a bible story about a man named Jonah(which I think this part is named after). He is called to warn a city about their impending doom. Jonah, out of fear refused the call and tried to escape his calling on a boat. Buuuut then there’s an unavoidable raging storm. To calm the storm, Jonah tells them to throw him overboard, but they didn’t want to kill an innocent man so they tried to avoid it. Alas, there was no way Jonah was avoiding his calling or the storm, so to save themselves, they throw him overboard. As soon as he’s overboard, the storm calms and Jonah’s God has a fish swallow him for three days. Thankfully, Jonah gets another chance to answer the call when the fish spits him onto dry land which Joseph Campbell would call his rebirth.

I find Campbell’s work super inspiring. It makes me wanna keep writing.

Rowling on Failure

Why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me.

J.K. Rowling

What a thing to say. What a place to reach in your life where you come to terms with your failures in a way that they become your stepping stones to yourself. (If that’s not alchemy it’s stoic. ) When it comes to what I can bring into this world as both an individual and as part of the human collective, it’s writing for me. Not just the act of writing but the entire process. The solitude, the connections, the gathering of ideas and exchange of lessons, imagination, and inspiration; that all excites me. The whole process of writing is something that matters to me. What’s nice about this is that it takes the pressure off the rest of my life.

Finding out what matters to me in life and doing it regardless of external factors is something I’ll always be willing to invest in.

Inspired Writer

 You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page. Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write.

Annie Proulx

I needed this reminder today. I forget how much I loved experimenting with phonetic sounds, words, dark and light tones, my own syntax vs not my own. It was such an adventure. It was exciting and fun and freeing for me. This quote reminded me what used to inspire me about writing. I hope I can shift from just getting my writing done back to thisss.

What do you love about writing? What inspires to keep going and lights up your writing world? Your answers will most definitely inspire me.

Wizard of Oz

If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn’t there, I never really lost it to begin with! Is that right?

Wizard of Oz

I appreciate the Wizard of Oz. There’s a lot to learn from Dorthey’s adventure. There’s a lot to learn from our own adventures as well. And I think both our own and Dorthey’s are worth noticing and noting about. I appreciate a good adventure with my friends or family.

What do think of the Wizard of Oz???

Writing Season is Year Around

“You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.”
–Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing

Writing season is year around but it’s much easier to focus when I have reliable childcare.

Oh the worlds that are coming outta me this school year…..

Fingers crossed #writerslife in full swing up ahead.

#prayforme #sendsnacks