It's a cheesy post title. But I'm really chipper today! And my cheesiness can't be helped.
After school we'll be headed out of town for a weekend in Minneapolis. Traveling with my family always gets me excited, and here are some reasons:
*I love setting out on an adventure, knowing we'll build great new memories with our daughters
*Staying in a hotel peels my banana
*Eating out every meal? I am so.there.
*I get to load my totebag full of books and notebooks and pens and neat office supply fetish stuff (and the laptop), with lofty (and unattainable) goals of both reading and writing 'til I've had my fill
*I eagerly anticipate snapshots I can stow away for later use
*Shopping!
and
*We get a break from it all
So I'll be back Monday. In the meantime, tell us what you like about traveling.
Have a great weekend!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Who I Am
My current WIP has me thinking a lot about who we want to be, as individuals, versus who we really are. And how sometimes the two have to be reconciled.
Let me give you some examples.
I want to be a selfless mom, with endless amounts of patience, one who always sits down to play a game at a moment's notice, or never fails to make her girls giggle when they really feel like crying. That's the way I sometimes think it should be. But who am I? I'm a mom who can only take so much before she needs a break. I'm one who can't always drop what she's doing, or who feels like maybe a good cry would feel better than a giggle. Does this mean I'm a selfish mom? Not at all. It means I've discovered who I really am within the context of motherhood, and that I choose to be realistic about what I can expect from myself.
I also, at times, wish I could fit the "ideal" of a successful writer. I want to be one who carries the needed amount of discipline wherever she goes, who fights the negative thoughts, who sets time aside each day no.matter.what. And yet... Discipline is the hardest thing about writing. Sometimes sitting myself down to the task (or chapter) at hand, to really work at it, proves incredibly difficult. I fear rejection and judgment and failure. And I haven't yet come to terms with routine. Do I wish I could sit down and write for a solid chunk of time, every day from 8-10 am? Absolutely. Does my current life situation allow for it? Nope. But none of this means I can't be successful. It's coming to terms with who I really am as a writer, of that which I'm capable of at this time in my life. And making it work for me, instead of cursing it.
Being honest with ourselves, about who we really are, opens us up to our potential. Because if we're realistic about that potential, we won't fail. When we entertain thoughts of if only I had more time or if I could be better at [insert here], we set ourselves up for disappointment.
Don't think about what you could do, if. Think about what you can do, because you are.
And do it.
Let me give you some examples.
I want to be a selfless mom, with endless amounts of patience, one who always sits down to play a game at a moment's notice, or never fails to make her girls giggle when they really feel like crying. That's the way I sometimes think it should be. But who am I? I'm a mom who can only take so much before she needs a break. I'm one who can't always drop what she's doing, or who feels like maybe a good cry would feel better than a giggle. Does this mean I'm a selfish mom? Not at all. It means I've discovered who I really am within the context of motherhood, and that I choose to be realistic about what I can expect from myself.
I also, at times, wish I could fit the "ideal" of a successful writer. I want to be one who carries the needed amount of discipline wherever she goes, who fights the negative thoughts, who sets time aside each day no.matter.what. And yet... Discipline is the hardest thing about writing. Sometimes sitting myself down to the task (or chapter) at hand, to really work at it, proves incredibly difficult. I fear rejection and judgment and failure. And I haven't yet come to terms with routine. Do I wish I could sit down and write for a solid chunk of time, every day from 8-10 am? Absolutely. Does my current life situation allow for it? Nope. But none of this means I can't be successful. It's coming to terms with who I really am as a writer, of that which I'm capable of at this time in my life. And making it work for me, instead of cursing it.
Being honest with ourselves, about who we really are, opens us up to our potential. Because if we're realistic about that potential, we won't fail. When we entertain thoughts of if only I had more time or if I could be better at [insert here], we set ourselves up for disappointment.
Don't think about what you could do, if. Think about what you can do, because you are.
And do it.
Monday, January 26, 2009
"Weren't My Wish"
Kathryn Magendie, whose debut novel Tender Graces will be released this spring, is hosting a contest over on her blog. The idea is to write a 200 word (or less) short, based on a photo she provided.
I love exercises like this (even when there's not a prize available!), because it's fun to shift my perspective and try on different characters' hats.
So, here we go! The photo and where it led me...
`
It weren’t what I wisht fer my wife. I wanted ‘er taked care of. But I got sick, ya know. And things, theys happened so fast. I lost my job at th’ mill. And the insurance done run out ‘fore th’ medical bills finished comin’. An’ then I’s gone.
Suri got left wit’ a lot when I died. Left wit’ too much. Our’n son, th’ no good bugger, God love ‘im, said he’d help ‘er. But all he did was help ‘er clean out th’ bank account. Only he didn’t give ‘er nothin’. She ain’t seen 'im since.
An’ now, when I looks down from th’ Great Glory Above, I sees ‘er. She huddles on th’ walk, lookin’ old ‘n’ frail. My Suri. She’s wore down, I knows. But she keeps tryin’ to sell them newspape’s o’ hers. It’s all she got. Th’ only way to earn ‘n’ eat.
I pray she join me soon. I wait fer ‘er here in Paradise.
(162 words)
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