I’m not much of a fan of New Year’s resolutions. They just don’t really fit my calendar. I mean, think about it: each new year starts just a week after Christmas Day, at the end of a two-month-long holiday spree, and (if you live in the northern hemisphere as I…
We are a society of independence and self-help. Take a stroll down the aisles of any bookstore and note how many titles are devoted to do-it-yourself and fixing yourself. From plumbing to dieting, there’s a “For Dummies” book for just about anything. Just about. There is no such book as…
Keeping a blog is one of those things. No, not those things. Those things. One of those things that appear unnecessary and superfluous on the surface. It “eats” time and takes energy that could and “should be spent elsewhere. Such as in writing “legitimate” pieces, be they poetry, essays, letters, or even email correspondence. But the fact is, as I often discount, keeping a regular journal — online or otherwise — often makes this other writing easier and more productive.
Sigh.
Still, I have a terrible time allowing myself to write a blog or a friendly letter when I know I have so much else I “should be doing.” Such as paying work. But I digress. Here I am.
This past week was wonderful for planting seeds and for finding motivation to write. Last Thursday I managed to make it to the local monthly poetry workshop group. It’s thanks to that group that I manage to write even one poem a month. I mean, I have to have SOMETHING to share there. So I usually write it in the 30 minutes before I have to leave. I wish it was a bi-weekly group instead. Two poems a month would mean I would probably have enough for that collection I’ve been working on for about 5 years now…
On Saturday, thanks to my husband and a good friend who watched my kids for a couple hours, I managed to make it to the SCWW Writers Intensive workshop/lecture. It was good, though I was only able to stick around for the first half, and I caught the speaker who was less relevant to my work. Still, the opportunity to network was wonderful, and the speaker managed to convince me I need to do some work capturing and gathering some family memories, if only for the sake of handing the stories down to the next generation. Ideally, though, I would love to write them into a Dave Eggers style novel/memoir. I even went as far as to tell my mom the plan. I’m not sure how on board she is, but I think she’ll help. I hope so. She and her siblings will be essential to this.
On Sunday I had the privilege of attending a moonShine review release party. The day was HOT, but there was a pool, wine, plenty of good food, and a crowd of people who I respect very much and whose work I enjoy. Not the least of these people was the hostess of the party and chief editor of moonShine, Anne Hicks, who also edited my chapbook, Lemonade & Rumors. It was wonderful to see her. And, frankly, I ate up the encouragement she doled out, prodding me to get that second collection done. She wants to edit it, which would be wonderful. Her help with the last collection made the experience such a rewarding one.
Still, since Sunday, what have I written? This. Period.
But at least I’ve written that much, right?
Last October on my way to a poetry reading, stopped at a red light, I saw one of the coolest cars ever. OK, so maybe the car itself wasn’t so cool. It was a primer-grey, boxy boat, maybe an Oldsmobile or Buick circa 1989. (I know this because I’ve owned…
I experienced this last time too: a tremendous lull in my writing during pregnancy. I’m not sure what it is. Last time I would have blamed it on the nausea, because I had it bad. And when I was past that part, I was busy downing pepcid and tums and anything else that might stay the acid reflux of pregnancy. This time… I’ve got to figure something out, a means to deal with it, because I WANT to write. But I’m still dealing with terrible fatigue (which is why it’s so smart that I’m up now past 1 AM, right?) and mucho difficulty focusing on any project, no matter the size. I swear, pregnancy kills braincells. Or maybe it’s all the TV I end up watching because I’m too tired to do anything, but can’t go to sleep thanks to heartburn, etc… oh the joys!
…but really, I promise, I’m happy. And I can’t wait to feel that first tickle of the little one …
🙂