In today’s digital age, everything from baby’s first steps to loved ones’ last breaths are easily documented and shared through social media with as wide a circle as one wishes. Technology is a great aid to writing families’ stories and histories, making it easier in many ways. I like to think there is room to expand the practice of documenting and recollecting to share with family and friends.
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There is absolutely no excuse for me not finding time to write. I am newly retired, living with just hubby and our Springer Spaniel, with enough space to spread out and resources at the ready. You get the picture.
Yet, distractions pop up. Sometimes I actually invite interruptions that slow down the grind of getting words on paper, so to speak.
A retreat can be the perfect motivation to focus and make some progress on your writing projects. Imagine escaping to a beautiful location, for days at a time, with the sole purpose of writing to your heart’s content. This past week, The Modern Schoolhouse was the perfect venue for a local group of writers gathering to do just that.
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It has been a couple of months since my last days of paid work but my working norm of being frantic to get things done has has just begun to ease up. I was eager to get at some big housekeeping jobs that had never reached priority status before retirement. As gratifying as it was to make progress on these chores, I realized I was tackling the jobs like I had a deadline. Having now steam-cleaned most surfaces in the house, emptied drawers and closets and purged a couple of truckloads of trash to the dump and donations to the usual organizations, it is time to shift gears.
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I came across a random writing prompt the other day: ‘What memory do you wish you could remember better?’
Distant memories, especially, often come to us in mere snippets of images or emotions. They can be fleeting, blurry or vague, leaving us wishing for a bit more. The author of the writing prompt was encouraging writers to unearth deeper details of favourite memories through consistent practice. This would be essential when writing memoir or creative non-fiction.
The fun about writing fiction is that memory may provoke a spark but all the story details can unfold any which way the writer conjures.
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How many times have you been so excited by a book you have read that you could not wait to find someone to talk with about it? You pass it along to a friend with the hope that they will read it quickly so you can share your enthusiasm and discover whether it impacted them as well.
Book clubs are the perfect solution to this dilemma with everyone reading the same novel at the same time and with a scheduled time for discussion. Clubs are as varied as their members are creative. Everything from choosing titles and the structure of their gatherings is negotiated. Rules can be rigid or flexible; don’t attend if you haven’t finished the book, meet at restaurants instead of members’ homes, dress with a nod to the era or characters in the recent read, etc. One group I know of took the last idea to the extreme by attending the club meeting in full Victorian dress for afternoon tea.
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This year, more than usual, I am desperate for spring’s arrival.
A cluster of personal and professional situations has really sent me into a tailspin in recent weeks. It has been impossible to bounce back easily and quickly as I normally do. The hours spent working and worrying are seriously disproportionate to time spent having fun. I am rarely reading these days and writing has come to a full stop. Even recognizing the possibility that what I’m experiencing right now may be helpful to a future character, there is no energy for writing daily pages.
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“One day I will find the right words and they will be simple.” So said Jack Kerouac. An encouraging adage that resonates for me.
I have been following several blogs that focus on inspirational philosophers and authors and am learning more about many familiar names in the literary world.
Most interesting to me currently is Tennessee Williams. Follies of the Gods is a collaboration between Williams and interviewer James Grissom who collated Williams’ thoughts on the actors he worked with that brought his works to the big screen. Descriptions of his relationships with the actors are beautifully written.
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Books make the most excellent gifts, don’t they? Receiving a book is always special to me and there is never a shortage of options when finding and sharing the perfect read that you believe someone else will appreciate as well.
This time of year, having several books at the ready that are written with a Christmas theme is a must for me. The choices are endless.
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