“The most exquisite paradox: as soon as you give it all up, you can have it all. As long as you want power, you can’t have it. The minute you don’t want power, you’ll have more than you ever dreamed possible.” ~Ram Dass
As writers, sometimes we want so badly to be published, that we will do just about anything to make that success happen. What ultimately happens is that we get stuck on a gerbil that’s spinning so fast, we can’t get off.
I have a simple goal: I want a writing career.
Unfortunately, it is not as simple as quitting my day job and writing the damn novel. Other things factor into a writing career, besides having money to pay the bills. In 2021, as a writer, it is essential to have a social media presence, network with others, be searchable on Google, be knowledgeable and experienced with the craft of writing, have an agent, have a publisher, and the list goes on and on. It is endless.
Is a writing career something I can do alone?
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A recent visit with a forever friend has resulted in a new collaboration; we are going to start writing together this fall. That is, come up with story ideas, contribute to writing and editing and hold each other accountable.
We had not seen each other for more than ten years, keeping in touch only sporadically through email and Christmas cards during that time. She returned to our hometown this summer to sell her family’s home so we got to hang out before her return to British Columbia.
It is one of those friendships where no matter the time lapsed between visits, we pick up where we left off; an example of the old adage, ‘Make new friends but keep the old. The new are sliver, the old are gold”. Sharing mistakes, adventures and naivete as teens and twenty-somethings provides lasting bonds.
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My phone emits a blaring warning: A tornato has been spotted in your mobile area. Take immediate cover.
I go outside to stare at the sky. It’s not windy, not even raining. I check the weather app and news feed: A tornado has touched down twenty kilometres away from our home and is heading toward us.
Yes! I’m going to Oz.
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As I write this, I’m sitting on my verandah, watching a Monarch butterfly dancing around the milkweed in my front garden. Read more
You’ve heard that old saying, you are what you eat. In other words, you are a product of what you consume. Okay, so in its literal sense, it’s talking about food, but what about books? When we read a book, does it have the ability to shape how we think? How we feel? In other words, can it change us?
Of course books have that kind of power. Books can change lives. Books can save lives. Books can open eyes and minds. But what I want to talk about is how the books we read reflect our mood and feed our mood, and ultimately can change our mood.
Yes, books are a drug in that respect. They’re medicine. At least for me. The pandemic has taken a toll on most people’s mental health, and I’m no different. And not just the pandemic, but the Trump-inspired nonsense down south, the residential school saga, the racist mass killing in London, Ont. It’s been a tough fifteen months. No, make that a shitty fifteen months.
Some of my writing buddies have been struggling to find the words lately. I’m no different. There are days I sit at my desk and stare at a blank page and wonder why I am even bothering to get up. Seriously, I could be sleeping right now. I never get enough sleep.
However, there are also days that I plunge my mind into other things besides working for someone else and wrestling with the words on the page. Sometimes, I like to immerse myself in other creative activities such as sketching, painting, and photography. Sometimes, I create colourful quilts and blankets from scraps of material found in a material bin. Sometimes I spend hours designing a new baby blanket (because who wants to use someone else’s pattern). And, sometimes, I bake cookies, experiment without a recipe, and eat every last one of them.
The thing is, I have found a way to get my writing mojo back during these other creative moments in my life. I’ve been multi-tasking.
On Monday, April 5th, I posted a blog about “Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone,” and I dared you to do something completely different from your regular routine in your writing life… doing something that might scare you. If you haven’t already read that, you should. You can find it HERE.
It has been seven days since my scary adventure ended. I still can’t stop thinking about the incredible and invigorating weekend I spent with 19 other like-minded and passionate writers. I survived the daunting inaugural session of the UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTERS & INCREDIBLE JOURNEYS (#UCIJRetreat2021) virtual writing retreat presented by Ralph Walker. My fears were unwarranted. I absolutely loved it!
Many different kinds of writing events catch my eye, but this was my first virtual writing retreat where you are on a ZOOM call with 19 other writers—most of them strangers or people I have only met online. The schedule was intense, Friday night to Sunday night (approximately 17.5 hours), but it was designed that way with pure intention. It was brilliant. I didn’t want to miss even one minute of the conversations.
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