Spacey Fact

I’m taking astronomy and today I learned about the Astronomical Unit or AU. I didn’t pay attention to astronomy in high school, but I was very excited to take astronomy this semester. Today, my first day, was a bit of a challenge, but I look forward to learning more about the universe over the next several weeks. So, get this: 1 AU is equal to 93 million miles! Now that’s a long distance.

Away From the Daily Grind

Solitude is where you go to recharge your creative battery.

I was reminded today that some people have access to more solitude than others. If you are alone often, maybe you don’t need more time alone. Maybe you need to find more ways to connect with others. It’s important to sit down and be honest with yourself about how much solitude you need.

If you’re like me, with very little alone time, the first question I have to ask is, are you giving yourself time to sit alone and ponder the questions of the universe? I’m being silly, kinda. You don’t have to ponder the questions of the universe. You can think about nothing at all. The point is to get out of your daily routine and do something that allows you to be curious, adventurous, thoughtful, or whatever it is that you’re craving. The only rule is that it’s solitude, so you have to be intentional about spending this time alone.

Even if you are alone often, you should find a way to do something different from your daily grind once a week.

What do you think about solitude?

Journaling

I’ve been journaling every day now for several years. A couple of years ago, I put some of my journaling online using Google Forms. This week, I decided to switch over to Microsoft Forms. I learned that they updated their forms to allow live updates in an Excel spreadsheet. The form also automatically generates graphs that you can see without having to open the Excel spreadsheet. You can see your average hours of sleep, daily water intake, or whatever else you want to learn about yourself.

You can fill out the form right on your phone before bed to help with consistency. I think these forms are a great tool to keep tabs on your health, whether it’s spiritual, emotional, or physical. And they’re both free!

Have you tried using these forms at all?

Magic Carpet

“A well-composed book is a magic carpet on which we are wafted to a world that we cannot enter in any other way.” – Caroline Gordon

Writing is everything for me. To be honest, writing is everything for me, but that’s too vague to write about. Writing keeps me present, but it’s also a healthy way for me to escape. I can escape from everything: boredom, trauma, life, love, everything. It lifts me when I’m down. It brings me down when I’m up. “Magic carpet” is a great term for what writing is for me.

Writing Form

“The beautiful part of writing is that you don’t have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon.” – Robert Cormier

I’m a lover of the novel process above all forms of writing. I enjoy poetry very much, but it doesn’t hit the same way a novel does. At first, I was looking to get a novel pumped out, but now that I’m getting closer to the end of this one, I’m beginning to appreciate the pace. That being said, I do hope that I can learn a method to help me finish novels faster in the future.

Divergent

The way to loving life is to make it yours. And the keys to making it yours are your values. If you are out of alignment with your own personal values, then you are going to be miserable no matter what you do. Your values are personal to you. They can’t be values that are forced upon you. Let me just say this: It’s okay to respect the values of your parents, and they may have a huge influence on the things you value, buuuut at the end of the day, your values are going to be your own. And they are worth fighting for!

I do have to remind myself that it can feel divergent to fight for the things you value. Nonconformity allows room for that. When you conform to a community that doesn’t share the same values as you, you are divergent. I have two quotes. The first one from Benjamin Franklin says, “live a life worth writing about.” I think that’s just the way to do it! The second one is from the Christian Bible and says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

What would you give up to support your values?

For Writers

Good stories come to those who are watching.

For writers, writing is what they do on any occasion. There’s always something to add to the story especially when life’s throwing lemons at you. Writers learn to see the world as something that can be observed and lived. That’s where the stories come from. That’s the nature of a writer’s life. They create art from people merely existing. There’s nothing more beautiful to me than the writer’s life, and I have to add the artist’s life as well. To see how they rise over and over again from the ashes lights my fire.

What do you love about the writer’s life? Or what would you change about your writer’s life?

Don’t Limit Yourself

There’s an entire world out there. There’s time. There are a billion people. There are resources. Break free from your old routine that’s not serving you anymore. You may find the same ol’ stuff, but at least you get the same ol’ stuff with a better view. I don’t wanna encourage anyone to walk off a cliff because you know what life is tough, but life being tough is no excuse to stay in the same old stuck situation you’ve been in for years. There’s no better time than now to go on a grand adventure!

Ok ok, what’s your dream trip?

Mine used to be Venice, but now it’s Scotland, Prince Edward Island, and my dream writing destination, is Alaska during their dark season.

Ergonomics Yay!

I’m so excited! I bought myself a few things to increase my ergonomics! If I’m writing for more than three hours a day, then I gotta make sure I’m investing in my health! My back and neck feel better already! I got a 4-port USB hub, wired keyboard, and mouse from 5 and Below. The last thing I had to grab was an HDMI adapter from Walmart for the DELL monitor my husband brought home for me. Let me tell you, I’m sitting up straight and my neck feels better already! 30 bucks closer to a better posture.

Have you had to make any changes to your writing setup lately?

Rest Day

Today was a rest day for me. A rest day I didn’t ask for.

I have a long to-do list that I’m excited to work through. It’s hard for me to slow down, but I have to take time to heal and recover. I just want to go a hundred miles an hour and make big moves. Buuuut if there’s anything I’ve learned from writing, it’s to pace myself. The energy is there! The drive is there! The excitement and ambition make my fingers wiggle. But my spirit animal, the Tortoise, is reminding me about the race between the Tortoise and Hare. Slow and steady wins the race.