Category Archives: “The Book”

A Renewed Commitment to Writing for the New Year

04 Sunday Jan 2015

Posted by in "The Book", New Year's Resolutions, Personal Challenges, Writing, Writing Goals

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.

Melody Beattie

Most of the writing that I do, you do not see. Even when I don’t update this blog nearly as much as I need or want to, I am writing. Notes are scrawled inside my blue journal and most of my daily thoughts I pound away on my ruby-red laptop. Two years ago, I decided to keep an electronic journal due to a wicked case of tendonitis in my writing hand that plagued me for the first time over twelve years ago. Nowadays, I can write in my preferred paper lined journal only for so long before the fatigue of the tendonitis settles in and I have to take a break, hand cramping with searing pain. I remember the days when I could write letter after letter, pen page after page of stories and poems, scribe non-stop notes in my classes. I’m thankful for new technologies that allow me to continue writing without relying on a pencil grip.

I have simple goals related to my writing this New Year:  to write daily in my electronic journal, to keep a gratitude journal beside my bedside table, and to write 3,000 words per week. Toward the end of 2015, I’d like to be published—just one article or essay—and to keep plugging away at my book. In the immediate future, I am facing a myriad of personal challenges that will undoubtedly throw obstacles my way and disrupt my scheduled writing time. Nevertheless, I’m planning ahead, committing to my daily word counts, and prioritizing myself and my writing this year.

What are your writing goals for 2015?

Blog hop

30 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by in "The Book", Authors, Blog Hop, Writing, Writing routine

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

, ,

Was it only by dreaming or writing that I could find out what I thought? ~ Joan Didion

 

Part of my writing practice involves searching for new writers and delighting in the discovery of the stories they have to tell. Scouring the internet for blogs and searching the shelves of my public library for inspirational words has been a hobby for over three decades now and one I’ll never grow tired of.  In my connecting online, I was happy to be given the opportunity to participate in a “blog hop” among writers, like myself, by author, Debbie LaCroix. I thought it would be fun to try something new on my blog!

 

What are you working on?

Presently, I’m working on a creative nonfiction account of the journey that led my husband and I to adopt our oldest daughter (referred to here on my blog as “The Girl”). Our story is unique, as we faced almost five years of infertility and I had four miscarriages before welcoming The Girl home. Two years followed before her adoption was finalized, and during that time, I became pregnant again, but carried to term for the first time, giving birth to “The Boy” after a rather difficult pregnancy. In the years since, I’ve had one more child and lost another. My hope is that my words will affirm and comfort other couples struggling with infertility and miscarriage, and inspires others to adopt—especially domestically and/or from foster care. When I’m not working on this book, I keep up my personal journal, write journals for each of my three children, and write poetry. I aspire to write about the challenges and joys involved in raising a child with multiple special needs, and dream about publishing a book of poetry.

 

How does your writing process work?

My writing process always begins with a free-writing exercise. Coming to the computer and first clearing my mind of the day’s clutter helps me to remain keenly focused on my story. Being a stay-at-home mother to three young children makes it difficult to find much time to write. So, I’ve become quite adept at squeezing writing in small pockets of time throughout the day. Finding more than an hour of uninterrupted time to write is a gift, and when I get large chunks of time like that, I relish in the delight of my luck and use it to my advantage by not wasting time away. Late at night, when everyone is sound asleep and the house is subdued and calm, is my favorite time to write and the time of day when I feel the most productive.

 

Who are the authors you most admire?

I would not be a writer today without being inspired by the magnitude of authors I have been privileged to read. Every week, I read at least one book, if not more. My husband says my reading addiction keeps me from writing more, and in a sense, he’s right. But, I just can’t help myself! Reading enriches my life and inspires me in countless ways. That being said, I enjoy reading a variety of genres and re-read classics and favorite stories, as well.

Some of my favorite authors include: Anne Lamott, Ann Patchett, William Wordsworth, William Shakespeare, Walt Whitman, Jodi Picoult, Anita Shreve, Leif Enger, Joan Didion, Dodie Smith, John Keats, Louisa May Alcott, Jane Austen, Sophie Kinsella, Jennifer Lauck, Heather Vogel Frederick, and Kate Morton. Every week, I look forward to discovering new favorite writers and stories.

Here is a similar list of some of the blogs I frequently spend time reading. Hop on over! I hope you find a new favorite author among these wonderful sites:

Hands Free Mama http://www.handsfreemama.com/

Hannah Nicole http://blog.imhannahnicole.com/

Heidi Hess Saxton http://heidihesssaxton.wordpress.com/about-2/about-heidi-hess-saxton/

Motherhood & Words http://motherhoodandwords.com/

Finding Joy http://rachelmariemartin.blogspot.com/

 

 

Peaceful Remembrance

10 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in "The Book", Forgiveness, Past, Peace, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Each has his past shut in him like the leaves of a book known to him by heart and his friends can only read the title.  ~ Virginia Woolf

 

Forgotten memories stream back to my mind and blind side me with rich imagery and preserved moments from the days of old. These once-forgotten instances of long-ago fly straight at me as swiftly as a bird heading directly toward my kitchen window. The sound of a bird smacking windowpane is one that makes my stomach lurch. There is nothing so awful as seeing a pair of wings fluttering wildly before hitting glass and falling to the ground. It always ends badly—either by wound or death. Memories can be like a helpless bird flying too fast toward its fate. Uncovering forgotten memories can wake us up from the present with such a profound impact that we either sail above with newfound glory or fall to our knees while writhing in pain from the despair of a darker time. We are often scarred by what has happened before now and the wounds never leave unless we try to make sense of them, perhaps involve a little therapy, and for once practice true forgiveness—not forget-ness—but forgiveness of ourselves and what once was such a stronghold in our lives. We can continue to bury the past or excavate these hard moments to reach a far greater peace about the then, and carry that reconciliation utilizing the harmony within us now as a template for tomorrow.

Daily now, the kids and I witness the same robins, cardinals, and blue jays taking their turns swooping from tree to tree. They provide us with abundant entertainment as we watch them pull new flower buds from the blooming branches and gather their fill of spring’s bounty. Quickly, they descend into the yard for a worm or two before eagerly soaring off again in pursuit of their next perching place, perhaps a bug or well-built nest. Since spring has reached us in Central Ohio, The Boy and Baby Girl spend their breakfasts in front of the bay window in our eating area searching in amusement for new types of birds and eat in awe of these amazing fowl. Just as our feathered friends take from nature the necessities for their lifelong survival and sing joyfully for their luck, visions of days past more often than not sustain and fulfill me, for they are the most natural and intricate parts of my being. Organically remembering what has been before can carry me for years to come as I use the lessons of the past for a new life and healthier, restored sense of self.

So many say that “it’s best to leave the past behind” so that we can live fully in the present. In most instances, I agree. Yet, I think there is a tremendous difference between constantly dwelling on the past, and instead making a gift out of the journey—especially when memories appear by serendipity.  As I plug away at “The Book” (as I like to refer to it) I am finding that these magical discoveries of former days come to me in abundance. And when writing a creative nonfiction book, the bygone holds the golden key to the answers found in the past that have led a writer to the most precious of moments in the present day. On days like today, I welcome the past—with fondness or disdain it does not matter—today, the prior is my friend.