Coming Home to Myself

Lost and found

was my forward writing momentum, temporarily regained by setting a timer for 12 minutes and writing nonstop. That worked for two days, and then distractions intruded. Keeping it simple—So now I’m back, aiming for two timed writing sessions a day. After all, what’s 12 minutes (or twice 12-minutes) in the whole scheme of things? ButContinue reading “Lost and found”

Weeding

Weeding—to a librarian—means clearing the shelves of battered, or sometimes unread, books to make space for new materials. Weeding—to a gardener—means clearing out unwanted plants to make space for wanted ones. I kept eyeing a plot in our front yard, wanting to go out, clear out the “weeds”, amend the soil, and plant something thatContinue reading “Weeding”

Switching Gears to Poetry

One day this past week, I was feeling particularly tired. Instead of pushing against that fatigue, I allowed myself to do whatever appealed. One thing I did was pick up my battered copy of T. S. Eliot’s Four Quartets. I’ve read it more than once, usually at bedtime, always silently. I love his flow ofContinue reading “Switching Gears to Poetry”

Progressing

Writing, for me, is trying new things, and learning what works‚ again and again. I’m on my umpteenth iteration of figuring out how to produce new words for this latest effort. For the last few weeks, I’ve been claiming a quiet hour midday. That worked fine for revising, but when I put on my writingContinue reading “Progressing”

Boredom

I want to talk about the virtues of boredom—or what to do while waiting at the dentist’s office for my husband’s teeth cleaning. I do keep mentioning that I want to complete the Pawn Quest trilogy—and I’ve set a deadline to finish the first draft by the end of the year. I brought some notesContinue reading “Boredom”

On taking a break

I’ve been on break for the last two weeks. A staycation. Actually, I broke from one thing only: my struggle with a plot that wouldn’t cooperate. Since I stopped fighting it, I had nothing to run from. That freed my mind and my eyes. I could see what was around me. Piles of paper toContinue reading “On taking a break”

Take a break—

This past Monday morning, while hanging out the wash (and waiting for the dryer repair-man), I had an epiphany. It’s time I took a vacation. We’ve just dropped into the 90s after many days of 100 degree heat. June always used to be the month when we hit 100. July was cooler but more humid.Continue reading “Take a break—”

Lost—

Sophie likes to lie on the patio and let her aging bones soak up heat. A couple evenings ago, we were eating in the kitchen. Sophie was outside. She barked—a polite “I’m ready to come in” bark. Wayne went to check on her. At some point after our meal, he said, “I can’t find SophieContinue reading “Lost—”

Writing paradoxes

Time keeps flying past. The days dissolve into weeks, into months, and my deadline gets closer and closer. The more I worry about not producing prose, the less I produce. This past weekend, I got little done on Saturday and none on Sunday. I went to bed very discouraged. Looking back at my Sunday, IContinue reading “Writing paradoxes”

Playing catch-up

Sophie is well. She did stop eating grass and—aside from being unwilling to take evening walks in this heat—is doing okay. She’s none the worse for the spider (or whatever) bite she suffered, and eager for her morning walks in the coolest part of the day. The ground squirrel strikes again. My hopeful Armenian cucumberContinue reading “Playing catch-up”