Light-skinned-ed Girl

A Much Needed Retreat

For the last couple of weeks I have had the great opportunity to write at an artists' retreat in remote Wyoming.  I had been saying to myself (and actually out loud to others) for the last few weeks of 2016 that I needed to get away from the busy-ness of my every day, from the work of festival planning, and from everything that was taking my attention away from the writing. 

This time has been life-saving. 

I was so out of balance in every way and this retreat has given me a chance to step back, slow down, and recalibrate.  And, let's not forget: WRITE! I didn't realize how much I missed writing on a daily basis.  It has been a struggle on many days even though I have all day and all the space to write.  And luckily I've been able to find fixes (even if short-term) for the blocks and the resistance.

1. Read.  I simply have not read enough.  Don't get me wrong. I have read a lot of great books in the last couple of years--many forthcoming that I blurbed and many that hit the shelves in bookstores and I had the pleasure of interviewing the authors.  But I haven't been reading writing that informs the work.  I have spent a lot of time doing that here in the last two weeks.  I worried at first I was spending too much time reading (a couple of days I didn't write anything but journal writing and read the rest of the day).  But I can see how necessary it is.  How I'm seeing the fault lines in my own writing as I read really great books that I admire.
2. Write anything.  The goal for this residency is still to have a shitty draft done by the time I leave in in just 7 days.  It's do-able, and yes, it will be a truly shitty draft.  So it's hard to write those dead sentences just to make sure I have a beginning, middle and end that I work on to REVISE.  So, yeah, I've taken some breaks from that writing and decided to write other things: journal writing; goal-setting brainstorming; brainstorming about the novel; snippets of possible essays; bad drafts of flash fiction stories; and yes, now this.  As long as I keep the writing in a separate compartment from everything else, it becomes too precious, too scary, too difficult to tackle or connect with.
3. Naps. Naps are a part of my weekend life.  Here they are a part of my everyday.  I wake up at 4:30pm so around 2pm or 3pm, I set an alarm for 30 to 45 minutes and try to dream up the next words I'm going to write.  That's worked just once so far, but I'll keep trying.

I've also found my way outside to enjoy the amazingly beautiful scenery.  The first two weeks were very cold with lots of snow (some 20 inches? over the course of the days.  But it has been a balmy 37 degrees and the sun is out.  I've snowshoed (once) --dang that is hard! I thought it was just walking.  It's walking plus--I definitely worked up a serious sweat.  And I've walked up to the lodge and back (a short walk but there's a nice hill to face).  I just cannot describe how beautiful and peaceful it is here.  But maybe you can see in these photos.

So, I'm 7 days away from heading back to civilization.  Wish me words!

 

Camp NanoWriMo & More Words

I've always wanted to do NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) held each November, but I've never been able to keep up with the word count or put in the necessary hours writing.  November is particularly difficult because of the holidays and holiday get-togethers and travel.  So I was excited to learn that the good folks at NaNoWriMo put together a chance to do the novel writing marathon in April.  So here I am a week and a half into the work--not too far behind on the word count.  There's some good stuff in the pages I have and then a lot of bleh and some terrible stuff too.  If nothing else, I am purging the bad novel to be able to make room for the good in later drafts.  The best bit of advice that's keeping me going is from one of my favorite poets, William Stafford.  He once said: “There is no such thing as writer's block for writers whose standards are low enough.”  I'm aiming really low, and I'm enjoying the work!

Coming Full Circle and Sharing a Stage with Barbara Kingsolver

Last week, I felt like I had come full circle with this wonderful experience I've had becoming a published novelist.  I shared the stage with my dear friend Hillary Jordan (Mudbound, When She Woke) and Barbara Kingsolver.  Barbara announced and introduced the new Bellwether Winner Susan Nussbaum (congrats!)--Her book should be published some time next Spring: Good Kings, Bad Kings.

I remember the first time I met Barbara a few months before my book was released.  I was so nervous, and this time I was nervous all over again.  But she's just so lovely and put me at ease.  And she said to me: "It's important to me that you write this next book."  Those words spoke to my soul!  I am looking forward to the coming months--no engagements or other duties--just me and the writing.  Wish me words.

 

Beginning Again

I'm in the throes of working on the new book in earnest.  And frankly I will tell you I'm scared.  What if the words don't come?  What if it's not as good?  And yes, what if I'm suffering the dreaded sophomore slump?

I feel good about the fact that I started this project before The Girl Who Fell From the Sky was published.  So it has it's own energy --meaning it was my saving grace when I thought I'd never get The Girl published.  So I feel friendly toward it and I think it likes me too.

That said, I wish that writing books was easier.  Each book, it seems, has its own rhythms and reveals itself in its own way.  Here I was thinking --well, I know how to write a book.  But what I need to learn is: how do I write this book? 

I started this off by saying I'm scared.  And as I think about it--maybe that is a good thing.  That means I'm thinking new thoughts and going deeply into the world of the unknown -- the creative world again.  Today, I'm thinking of this quote by Julia Cameron (The Artist's Way): "Creativity - like human life itself - begins in darkness."