Writing conference pushed me to begin a new writing project.

I attended an online writing conference this past week.

Read about my experience and what I learned here.

I was motivated and inspired by the smart women I heard speak. I have begun to tell my mother's story. She was the glue that held our family together. We took her for granted and even I, who was so close to her, have found it hard to write about her. I want her descendants to know her story. 

Writing Again

Thursday, March 9.
Tonight I read three pages from a memoir I began some years ago. I read them at our critique group, and I am so glad I took them for feedback. I had read only a  few lines before I realized how lacking my story was and how much more I can do to make it good.

I feel motivated to write again after my experience tonight. I have not written anything but blog posts in a  long, long time. Somewhere in the past year, I let everything come ahead of my creative nature. I am ready to come back, to follow my passion again.

The  process of publishing is a long one. Nothing good comes easily. This week I sent a manuscript to an editor. It is a compilation of short prose pieces, non-fiction and one short story. Included in this manuscript is a  collection of stories by my friend Estelle Rice. We decided a few years ago to publish a book about our beloved pets and other animals in our  lives. I think it will be a good read.

In the coming weeks, I will go down to my studio on certain days just to write. Most writers try to write every day, and I usually do some kind  of writing almost every day. But I have not done any serious writing lately. That is what I miss. 

One of my past students told me he is writing several pages on his novel every day. He described the joy he feels when he becomes lost in the story, in his writing and hates to put it aside to go on with the rest of his life. I have felt those moments. I want to feel them again.

Pamper Myself Month

August is  here.

The buzz of the insects in the woods and the shadows' change in slant are telling signs to me that fall will be here before we know it. The cool mornings draw me out to sit on my deck and "live in the moment" which I am trying very hard to do now.

The coming week will be busy for me. I have begun physical therapy twice a week and I hope it will help me regain strength and use of my leg and hip. I am doing much better now and can go up and down the stairs with little worry. I don't think I'm  "done" yet.

I am excited about my writing class at Tri-County Community College which begins Tuesday. We have some beginning writers who are champing at the bit to get their words on paper and have some constructive feedback. Who knows what will happen in their lives once they start to put their thoughts and ideas out there for others to read?

I advocate for some things that are very important to me. Writing is one of them. Writing is the best way I know to improve focus when we feel scattered. When I wake up and feel overwhelmed with all the tasks and chores that lie ahead of  me, I calm myself by writing it all down. Make a list and see what can be postponed until tomorrow. Often that is all  I really need to do. Prioritize my to do list.

When I find myself unable to sleep or concentrate because of some problem or matter, I find that if I write about it, both sides of the issue, a solution will come to me. If I am pondering a decision, I make two lists. One is the Pro list and  one is the Con list.

The solution might be to let go of this for awhile and revisit it later. My husband gave me good advice when he saw me fretting over something. "Just forget about it for now. It probably won't happen or if it does, it won't be as bad as you think it  will." He was usually right. 

I've read that good writers don't like to  think of writing as therapy. I believe that writing is great therapy. Recently, after a long tiring day, I came home and sat down to the computer. For months I've had to set a  timer and  be sure I didn't sit for more than fifteen or twenty minutes without getting up and walking around. This time I forgot to set the timer. I forgot everything, even my long hard day, and for almost three hours I wrote about a period of my life that I have not touched on in the past. When I finished I checked the word count of my document. It was over 4000 words. 

My feeling of satisfaction went deep but I was amazed that I could  sit there for that long pouring out all those words without the normally resulting pain in every muscle and joint.  An Aha Moment for  sure. Losing myself in writing affected my entire body. It took away my pain and lifted my spirits higher than any medicine could have done. As author, Maren Mitchell, says in her book,  Beat Chronic Pain, An Insider’s Guide,  distraction helps chronic pain,  but I think this therapy went even deeper. The subject matter transported me back to a very  happy time in my life and for those hours of writing I escaped from here and now. Writing was the time machine that transported me back to when I was nineteen and twenty years old, innocent of tragedies and losses of my present life.  

Just the right time

This happened at a most opportune time as I have just declared August to be Pamper Myself Month.

I gifted myself with a dozen roses, and interspersed with baby's breath, they sit on my table where I see them all day long. The roses are a reminder that I am worthy, I am viable and I love myself.  

Please leave your comments below or email me: gcbmountaingirl@gmail.com 

We have just the spot for you.

We had a terrific first class at Tri-County Community College last Tuesday. We missed those who didn't make it and are sorry to learn that one has been hurt in an accident and another has a very good excuse for dropping out.

But that means we have room for two more. No one will be penalized for missing the first class. Email me, nightwriter0302@yahoo.com and I'll give you all the info you need to start next Tuesday at 3:00 p.m.

Already I can tell we will be writing some good stories. Everyone is excited about sharing their work and getting answers to their questions. We write to learn about ourselves as well as tell about our lives and others.  

I hope, if you have thought about taking a class on writing true life stories (non-fiction) about yourself, your family, your experiences, your war stories, your college stories, your stories that you want to tell someone, maybe your family and friends, or just to write to get them out. This is the class to take.

Email: nightwriter0302@yahoo.com

or call Tri-County Community College in Murphy, NC and ask for Lisa in the Community Enrichment Program. 
Call Lisa at (828) 835-4313

What Motivates Us To Write

As we go through each day doing all the regular chores required of us, how do we use this time to our benefit as writers? Do we use the things we see, the changing shadows, the leaves falling as fall hints of arriving soon? Do we hear a melody and think of how we could use a line in a poem? Does the sight of a man or a woman remind us of someone from our past and how that person's life might provide an impetus for a story?

As writers we are writing all the time, either on paper, computer or in our mind. We imagine a story, create characters, and hear them speak often before we put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard.

A friend recently said she can't force herself to write. She has to be inspired to write.
But we know successful writers must learn to motivate themselves to write and often. I used to say "I can't think of anything when I sit down to write." Now I find it hard to decide which project of mine I'll work on today. No problem with a subject, just which one. Is it a mind set? Do we have to accept ourselves as writers and poets before we make writing a priority in our lives?

Do you force yourself to write at times? Do you keep a list of subjects or projects on hand? If you are working on a memoir or novel, do you make time in your schedule to write on a regular basis?
How do you motivate yourself to write?

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