June Books: 7/9 (Haunting Ecologies)
Alas, but hey, much better than being nine books behind! We’ll set a goal of six books for July and see how we do.
So, if you guys remember a month ago, I came home from my retreat on June 1 and decided I was going to try a morning pages exercise out of a writing book called Writing Down the Bones. Unlike other times I’ve seen morning pages brought up, this was more of a writing practice than a journaling practice, and hence it appealed to me more.
(I am not much of a journaler. Or am I? I guess I have maintained this blog for almost fifteen years…)
I said I’d do it for a month, and we’d see where we were.
Well, the month is up. And, squider, I really enjoy the practice.
I’ve been sitting down at some point during the day (I’d like to say that I’m getting up and doing it first thing, but that has not been consistently true. A few days I did it past 10 pm at night) and writing for 10 minutes straight. Sometimes just whatever popped into my head, sometimes off of prompts, sometimes poking at existing stories and working on worldbuilding or plot issues.
I chose a notebook off my shelf of notebooks (I have a Problem), and on the cover was a note to my mother. This had apparently been a gift at some point, and I’d inherited it when she downsized her writing stuff (the Writing Down the Bones book also used to be hers). But it was kind of depressing. The note said that the giver couldn’t wait to read all the stories my mother would write in said notebook.
My mother gave up writing about fifteen years ago, the constant sting of rejection finally getting her down enough. I started writing because my mother wrote; she’s always been a major influence in my own writing practice.
So in some ways, it feels good to be filling the notebook with stories, like it was originally intended. But I do think about my mother giving up her dream periodically as well.
(I have asked her whether or not she’d like to get back into it, but she always says no.)
It’s nice, just to write to write, with no care of whether the story is good or original or makes any sort of sense. It really is just practice. (Though there is a story or two that might actually be worth poking at further.)
So I’m going to keep it up. I did miss two days this month, but that’s practically nothing in the great scheme of consistency. But I do need to figure out a time. The problem with trying to do it first thing in the morning is that I don’t tend to get up earlier than the rest of the family, so I need to get myself and everyone else ready for whatever for the day (and oftentimes drive somebody somewhere). This month has proven that this is not a good time frame for me. But I’m not seeing a clear time that would be better either.
For example, I wrote during my lunch break at work a handful of times, but today, for example, I went out to lunch with my coworkers and so couldn’t do any of my own projects at that time. I’ve also written while making dinner, but it only works if dinner needs to simmer for at least 10 minutes at a go. Something that needs regular attention doesn’t give me enough room. And I could do it right when I get home from work, except I tend to be tired and it’s hard to get right on other things without a break.
I also worry about setting a time later in the day in terms of actually getting it done. Right now, it’s kind of on my mind all the time, so when I come across an available time frame, no matter when it is, it gets done. If I don’t start thinking about it until after work or whenever, then there’s less time for me to get around to it.
So I guess for right now I’ll stumble along.
See you later, squiders!
