I just discovered another blog by a woman I have 'met' through the internet and a mutual friend. She's got a wonderful site about the gems of family life in the ordinary and the not so ordinary moments. Several years ago when I was Director of Family Life Ministry in my parish I had a column where I wrote about the ordinary holiness of family life---- from changing diapers, helping with homework, getting ready for a traditional Thanksgiving or Christmas meal and all the millions of moments that go into making a house a home and a group of people a family. Check out Elaine's Blog: ScratchPaper: Family Gems.
Gathering Chi
Robin Yaklin, a fellow writer and tai chi instructor, has graciously offered to teach a writer's workshop on gathering and directing our energy to pour into our work. We will come up with the details shortly. If you are interested in participating in such a workshop, please let us know. We are in the Dallas area, so I assume that will be a determining factor in your decision. I am excited to start working with Robin and learning how to harness the energy of my life into work. I hope you will join us.
Writer's Block: Brain in a Bottle
We've been babysitting 3 and 1/2 month old Jude for two weeks now. He is a very pleasant baby--- he wakes up cooing and chattering, his smile melts your heart, he's strong and healthy--- with a healthy appetite to go with the whole package. He's sitting in his bouncy chair watching yet another Sponge Bob cartoon, smiling and waving his chubby little arms, then, all of a sudden, his belly alarm goes off and it is time to eat NOW!!! There is usually not even a buildup, just the holler. Now Katie is trying to feed him on a four hour schedule, but really, when his belly alarm is activated this Grandma rushes to the kitchen to mix up the formula and present it to his hungry mouth. When Katie brought him here he weighed about 19 pounds---- pretty good size for a 3 month old. I fear that when she takes him back tomorrow he'll be closer to 30. I hope not. But my lower back is out of the practice of lifting little ones, so my back lets out a holler right around the time his belly lets out its FEED ME squeal. ( I know, bellies and backs don't holler and squeal, but you get the picture) so I need to sit and hold him while he chomps down. What does this have to do with writer's block, you might ask. Well, as the mother of four children -- a baby showed up about once every three years in our home----I always promised myself that when they were older and didn't always have me on call, then I would get around to the writing I envisioned when I was a young girl. Yes, I am aware that many women manage to turn out novel after novel while raising a brood, but they must have nannies and a very special nap juice they add to the bottles. Or they must have figured out a way to not trap their brain in a bottle. A baby bottle---- less noir writerly than a bottle of whiskey-- but still, held hostage.
I haven't written in more than two weeks--- having the excuse of being with my darling grandson---(I am only writing now because my 19 year old son is playing with Jude). But to be honest, I am full of excuses. I have some good friends who tell me they write every day. It may or may not be literature, but they put words down and tap into that part of their brain. This is a very good idea, a very good plan. But I could have all the good plans and good intentions in the world, but too often I sit, look at the screen and not a single word flows from my fingers. There are times, though, when the words do come and I have to be available to catch them.
A dear friend of mine who writes the most beautiful stories of growing up in West Virginia, has been suffering through a spell of writer' s block. She forwarded a piece of an article that argues that real writers write--- every day, at the same time and they manage to churn out consistent pages. The writer claims this is because of a virtue known as discipline. But, I challenge that assertion. I'm sure it is a good idea to write every day, at the same time, but there are many of us whose brains operate in a less disciplined way, but still manage to string words and stories together to merit the title writer. Maybe we recieve and process information differently, maybe organically or like gathering dust. The words wait. We may become impatient, but the words have to be ready.
So, what about you and Writer's Block? Please join in the conversation and let us know some of your wisdom. Thanks.
Shadow
[The shadow] is a force that accumulates when you fail to honor your gifts, follow the call of your muses, or live up to your principles and ideals. Christopher Vogler, The Writers Journey Most of us who write run into a wall sometimes---- there are exceptions, but I don't think I know any of those lucky ducks. Sometimes you have to honor the wall--- let things be for a while until something opens up and lends direction to your work. Other times, well, some of those other times it seems easy to take that wall and build three more and a roof to box ourselves in and keep the light of creativity out.
Vogler calls writer's block The Shadow. A one word graphic description of those forces we all battle, whether we are writers, artists, sales clerks or professors. He goes on to say that the Shadow casts doubts upon our abilities and is a powerful sabatuer.
I like to play with the concept of Shadow, whether in stories of heroic journeys or profiles of criminals. I spend a great deal of time reading mysteries, usually British crime novels (I am working my way through Ian Rankin's work at the moment). At some point along the spectrum of growing up we must lose our innocence and our naive view of the world and what life will bring and grapple with the Shadow. Somewhere in my late twenties I complained to my husband, 'no one told us how hard it would be." ' It' being the expectations and responsibilities of adult life, the bills that had to be paid, the children that needed raising, the million compromises we make and the dreams we sometimes have to let go in order to enter into our own next stage on our journey.
I don't think any of us can successfully avoid the shadows that are part of life, and the more we pretend to be naive and uncorrupted, the bigger that shadow will grow. I am more often than not in some stage of writer's block--- in part because I edit words in my head before they dare appear on the page. I know I am very susceptible to the whisperings of the shadow that tell me to give it up, don't try, let it go, but then I am bothered by the sense of work left undone, words and stories lying dormant in my soul just waiting to be born.
I've been working on a novel, on and off, for several months now. Just when I uncover a deep secret of my main character, my writing is pulled up short. Oh, jeez, some childish part of me complains, I have to dig deep, go into the dark tunnel, explore the pain and the betrayal and the anger and come out of that with words that will make my audience keep turning pages.
I invite you who are writers or artists of any kind ( I am quite liberal in my definition of artist) to share some of your struggles with writer's block or, The Shadow. Please comment and let's get a lively discussion going.
Worth doing
If you say 'worth doing' I venture that most of us will fill in the the missing words for that phrase. 'Worth doing' is shorthand for ' Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well"---- the battle cry of the perfectionists. Some time ago I came across a variation on that phrase----'whatever is worth doing is worth doing poorly'---- a ray of hope for those of us who rarely achieve, or wait for, perfection. The point, I think, was that if we have something to do, go ahead and do it, even if it means we will most likely miss the mark of perfection, or even of 'well'. After a few decades of stretching, thinking, doing, being and all that other stuff that goes into a life I'd like to offer another alternative to the phrase: Whatever is worth doing is worth doing. Leave off the qualifier, it's besides the point. So would that philosophy leave us all off the hook to put no more than minimum effort into our work, our projects, our life? Perhaps. But that's a chance we take every day when we get out of bed. Very few of us hit the marks of perfection in all or even most of our endeavors.
Today I read in the e-newpaper about a 94 year old Navajo woman who gets up every morning and makes pottery. Making pottery is the way she made her living which fed her children and continues to be a valuable work-- even if her family thinks she should rest and take some time for herself after all these years. I gatther from the article that she likes doing this 'work' which she doesn't even consider work-- it is just what she does, so why should she stop? It would be like retiring from brushing her teeth or eating lunch or putting a sweater on when it gets chilly. It is worth doing. The fact that this woman's work has been selling quite well for many years is beside the point. She is doing what is worth while to her.
If we wait to perform "well" all the time, how many of us would ever try anything? How many meals would not get cooked, or beds made, or children tucked in, or laundry cleaned? All the good we do, all the little things that make up a life are worth doing. If it turns out we do things 'well' once in a while, great. But in the meantime let's keep doing all the things that are worth it.
Since this vehicle (this blog-business) is about writing and the ups and downs of ever getting any words out there---- wherever there is----share with me some of the things you think are 'worth doing' when it comes to writing or music or art or any of the bits of creativity we get to take part in every day. Anyone want to share? Drop me a line. I'm told the comment box is easy to fill out.