Well, even if I haven't had time to update my blog this week, I've spent at least a little time writing. The baby took an exceptionally long nap on Sunday and I was able to duck into my office and bang out 1700 words before she woke up.
It wasn't an official project -- in fact, it seems a little silly, but I've been trying since she was about four weeks old to get down the story of my labor and delivery in as much excruciating detail as I can bear to recall. In the course of trying to cram in every detail, I've been surprised at how much I do remember when I put my mind to it and how much I came close to forgetting. I'm constantly going back and adding some little detail or adjusting the time-line. So even though it isn't anything that I'll likely share, I was very happy to have the chance to get some work done on it. Maybe someday the bambino will decide she wants to read it, after which she will likely decide that she never wants to have children. And I haven't even gotten to the part where I was yelling at Frank about how all I had really wanted was another dog, so why the hell was I doing all the work? Amazing how your hormones try to make you forget all that once you have a smiley, giggly little 6-month old.
I'm hoping that I'll be able to either wrap that project up soon or else I'll have to set it aside, because I have another deadline coming up. My friend went ahead and set up that writer's workshop I had mentioned in the last blog, and we've agreed to submit work on the first of each month. Gosh, that's coming up awfully fast already. Luckily, there's no hard and fast length requirement, and it's not like if I'm a day or two late I'll be kicked out, but it's amazing how that simple deadline can help with motivation. Now I just have to decide which of the ideas bubbling around in my mind that I want to pluck out and set to paper.
As for the healthy living end of things ... well, there's not a whole lot to report there. I do have some thoughts, but they'll have to wait for another blog. The pump calls.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Update: The Nobodies Album
I was reading over my old blogs and realized that I never updated regarding The Nobodies Album writing contest that Frank encouraged me to enter last summer.
I won! I won the Grand Prize!
Granted, there didn't wind up being a large pool of entries, definitely under twenty since it was a limited contest, but nonetheless the publisher chose my entry for the grand prize. So I am now the proud owner of a Bose iPod Sound Dock. It's not something I ever would have bought for myself, but the sound quality is amazing. More than anything though, I see it as some sort of confirmation that I *am* a good writer and I need to push myself harder. Because the truth is, there are thousands of excellent writers out there. Many I'm sure have skills far superior to mine -- but as long as I'm writing and they're not, I'll be the better writer.
As I clearly illustrated with my 11th hour story entry, goals and deadlines are a writer's best friend. Ever since I decided to recommit to my writing, I've been thinking over different ways that I can keep myself motivated. Crazy as it sounds, I do want to attempt NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) again this year after skipping it in 2010, but that's not until November. I do have a neglected writing journal and belonged to an online writing competition that I could try to revive, but I think I might need to ease myself in a little bit before I give myself a weekly deadline. A friend and fellow writer has suggested starting a casual writing group to exchange our work once a month or so. It sounds like a great idea ... but is it normal that I'm still terrified to share my work?
Writing is so unique in that you are in a complete private vacuum while you're creating and then you're expected to just throw it out into the world and hope it can stand on its own. Just a couple of months ago I thought it would be motivating to let my cousin, who is like a sister to me, read my draft of At Setting and the second I sent it to her I started having a massive panic attack. I think I emailed her about five times almost pleading justifications for the imperfections in the draft. When she was done, she said she liked it and wanted to read more, but my nerves were to shot to probe her for much more of a reaction.
I guess the only way to get over that crippling fear is to just make myself do it. After all, isn't the goal to have as many people hear your story as possible?
I won! I won the Grand Prize!
Granted, there didn't wind up being a large pool of entries, definitely under twenty since it was a limited contest, but nonetheless the publisher chose my entry for the grand prize. So I am now the proud owner of a Bose iPod Sound Dock. It's not something I ever would have bought for myself, but the sound quality is amazing. More than anything though, I see it as some sort of confirmation that I *am* a good writer and I need to push myself harder. Because the truth is, there are thousands of excellent writers out there. Many I'm sure have skills far superior to mine -- but as long as I'm writing and they're not, I'll be the better writer.
As I clearly illustrated with my 11th hour story entry, goals and deadlines are a writer's best friend. Ever since I decided to recommit to my writing, I've been thinking over different ways that I can keep myself motivated. Crazy as it sounds, I do want to attempt NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) again this year after skipping it in 2010, but that's not until November. I do have a neglected writing journal and belonged to an online writing competition that I could try to revive, but I think I might need to ease myself in a little bit before I give myself a weekly deadline. A friend and fellow writer has suggested starting a casual writing group to exchange our work once a month or so. It sounds like a great idea ... but is it normal that I'm still terrified to share my work?
Writing is so unique in that you are in a complete private vacuum while you're creating and then you're expected to just throw it out into the world and hope it can stand on its own. Just a couple of months ago I thought it would be motivating to let my cousin, who is like a sister to me, read my draft of At Setting and the second I sent it to her I started having a massive panic attack. I think I emailed her about five times almost pleading justifications for the imperfections in the draft. When she was done, she said she liked it and wanted to read more, but my nerves were to shot to probe her for much more of a reaction.
I guess the only way to get over that crippling fear is to just make myself do it. After all, isn't the goal to have as many people hear your story as possible?
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
There and Back Again
I remember reading an article with a list of tips for blog writing. Number one was: Never start off by mentioning how long it's been since you last post. I've stuck to that until now, but I feel like over a year of absence warrants some kind of explanation.
On June 6, 2010 I found out that I was pregnant. Since then, the world as I knew it has been shattered apart and put back together, with many priorities landing in different places -- some more surprising than others. Sadly, my two biggest priorities when it comes to this blog have been shoved pretty firmly to the bottom of the list. I'm hoping that than can begin to change now.
I've learned in the last 24 weeks that when it comes to being a parent, time is the greatest commodity. You're either waiting it out, battling against it and you're always longing for more. Time is what I need to meet my goals, and it's what I'm fighting for, starting today.
Given that I'm nursing, my options for health and fitness are limited, but in this case limited is far from non-existent. I can still make as many healthy eating options as possible and try to squeeze in exercise -- whether it's taking the stairs, parking farther away, or strapping the baby on for an early morning walk -- whenever I can. The most important thing is to not lose sight of my goals. They seem farther away now than ever, but this is not a race. I have the rest of my life to work toward them, and the goals of healthful living will never really be met, they'll only change and grow with me. I'm looking forward to the challenege!
"Writers write. Period." -- I remember reading this as the tag line of someone's blog a couple of years ago, and it's stayed with me. The statement is deceptively simple, and utterly true. Even if it's twenty minutes twice a week, even if it's from my smart phone in carpool, even if it's in my head while I'm changing the baby, I'm a writer and I must be writing. Right now, my goal is just to start carving out a little time to myself whenever I can and be constantly choosing action over apathy, something I battle in all aspects of my life.
And yes, it's been a while ... but I hope that you'll be seeing more of me from now on!
On June 6, 2010 I found out that I was pregnant. Since then, the world as I knew it has been shattered apart and put back together, with many priorities landing in different places -- some more surprising than others. Sadly, my two biggest priorities when it comes to this blog have been shoved pretty firmly to the bottom of the list. I'm hoping that than can begin to change now.
I've learned in the last 24 weeks that when it comes to being a parent, time is the greatest commodity. You're either waiting it out, battling against it and you're always longing for more. Time is what I need to meet my goals, and it's what I'm fighting for, starting today.
Given that I'm nursing, my options for health and fitness are limited, but in this case limited is far from non-existent. I can still make as many healthy eating options as possible and try to squeeze in exercise -- whether it's taking the stairs, parking farther away, or strapping the baby on for an early morning walk -- whenever I can. The most important thing is to not lose sight of my goals. They seem farther away now than ever, but this is not a race. I have the rest of my life to work toward them, and the goals of healthful living will never really be met, they'll only change and grow with me. I'm looking forward to the challenege!
"Writers write. Period." -- I remember reading this as the tag line of someone's blog a couple of years ago, and it's stayed with me. The statement is deceptively simple, and utterly true. Even if it's twenty minutes twice a week, even if it's from my smart phone in carpool, even if it's in my head while I'm changing the baby, I'm a writer and I must be writing. Right now, my goal is just to start carving out a little time to myself whenever I can and be constantly choosing action over apathy, something I battle in all aspects of my life.
And yes, it's been a while ... but I hope that you'll be seeing more of me from now on!
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