For Whittaker

Whit,

Saw this just after reading your latest post. Also, see The Writing Nag's quote for the day.

Amazing when these ideas seem to be in the ether for everyone to pick up.

A Very Good Week

I probably should have posted this yesterday, but you know how I am when I get spun up about something.

My week off was wonderful. Even though I had a cold through most of it. I think that may have helped in strange way. I already posted about the wonderful hikes at the start of my mini-vacation. Those were followed by a visit to the Sunday group of CSFWG and, of course, dinner after. I considered rejoining the group, but realized it's me trying to fill up time again. So, sorry guys, you'll just have to put up with your perpetual visitor.

The non-writing group was fun on New Year's night, but they kinda bummed me out. Here I was, not having to get up early the next morning and the evening ended at 9:30. Two of the guys had to leave at 4 the next morning to go hunting in Texas. One of the hunters was the host. Dude! Ask be about the bourbon tasting, though. Yeesh.

The rest of the week I played sloth. One day my big project was baking a pie. Another it was reading the latest Poets & Writers Magazine. I have to say that by yesterday I was feeling pretty refreshed. The supposed point of vacation, but not the usual result.

It wasn't as glamorous or sunny or warm or sandy or turtley as Ali's groovy Mexican adventure, but it was just what I needed. And, yes, I feel like writing again.

By the way, groovy may be my new word. Fair warning. And the grooviest part of the week was getting an email from someone who actually kick-started this whole crazy writing thing. On New Year's Eve 1999, waiting for 2000 to happen and crash all the computers in world (Honestly, I was. I worked for MCI at the time and was on duty over night.), I was IMing with some of my Mystery Science Theater 3000 buddies. Courtney and I talked about her film classes. I said how much I admired her for going for her dreams. She asked me what mine were. I said, no surprise, that I would love to write. Her response was something along the lines of "So why don't you?" One of those ah ha moments.

So, here for at least my little corner of the world to see: Thank you, Courtney, for that kick in the hinder.

Brilliance or Betrayal

I opened my email the other day to find a notice from Amazon.com. "Since you've ordered merchandise by Julia Cameron, we thought you'd be interested....." It seems Ms. Cameron has penned a weight-loss book. Huh?

It's that time of year, of course. The ads for weight-loss programs, diet pills and tonics, and exercise equipment have tripled since before the holidays. The gyms all know that getting people to sign up now means lots of money for them, especially if they can get those people to take a one or two year contract. Because the vast majority of those people will have to continue to pay month after month while only actually using the facilities for a month or two. Why do you think they make you pay in advance or sign a contract? No flies on them.

But Julia Cameron? Creativity guru? The blurbs on Amazon claim that she discovered that people who unlock their creativity using The Artist's Way tend to get in shape as well. It's been a while since I did the program, but I don't recall any great body change. Maybe I did it wrong. Wouldn't be the first time that I failed to experience what others have. But it sounds like so much hooey to me.

We had a discussion at a Pirate's meeting a month or so back about whether we can separate an actor's private life from their work, i.e. Tom Cruise. Does the appearance of his being a total whack job ruin his movies for us? I believe the majority said, "yes." However, when it came to Russell Crowe and the reported violence, no one seemed deterred. Why? Is it that we think he's been falsely accused or that he's a better actor? Hard to say.

So does Julia Cameron's apparent selling out erode the respect I have for The Artist's Way? Not so much. It worked for me. Morning Pages still work for me. I think that D.B. is doing the right thing by doing the program. But this weight-loss book does leave a bad taste in my mouth. And it's not just that book. She's seemed to be pushing the whole add-on to The Artist's Way for a while now. She must have six or seven books related to the first one. But this latest one does seem over the top.

I'm one fan who will not be queuing up for this one. If you get it, though, let me know if it works for you. ;-)

Posting Goals

I guess I should jump on the old bandwagon and announce my writing goals for 2008. They are:

--Finish revision of MMG.
--Query Daniel and lots of other agents.
--Finish draft of Vesta.
--Work on short stories and submit.
--Possibly start TNN or another new novel

Sounds pretty light compared to some of the other Pirates' goals. But I know I shouldn't compare what I'm doing to what others are doing. It took almost five years to complete the first draft of MMG. Finishing Vesta in under a year is a very healthy improvement.

Hiking

I hiked in Garden of the Gods on Saturday and Sunday. What lovely walks. A little cold, but with all the trees and shrubs, the wind was broken so there wasn't really any wind chill to speak of. A few icy patches here and there. Another effect of the trees. I didn't have any trouble Saturday, but Sunday I slipped and fell on an icy spot. No big deal. After a few years of hiking here, one learns how to fall. Ice in the winter and loose sand and gravel in the summer mean you will fall from time to time. It's always better to just go with it. Fewer injuries than when you try to fight it.

My fall came just as I was thinking about how to blog about hiking. I was thinking about how I use my walking stick to help keep my balance and protect myself from slips. That during hikes, it is important to pay attention to what is right in front of you, not worry too much about what's around the next turn. And, surprise!, I slipped on the ice right in front of me.

I'll let you draw the parallels between hiking and writing. I don't want to slip and fall on it. But I will be out walking again, first thing in the morning. Watching what's right in front of me. And I'll be writing this afternoon, doing the same.

Don't Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful

Hate me because I have a whole week off next week. Since I already had Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off because of our very generous boss, I decided to use up my last two vacation days and make it a whole week. I'm not really planning to go anywhere or do anything particularly special. Here are some of the ideas that have floated by:

--Write, of course.
--Sit in on the Sunday CSFWG meeting and see what everyone is working on.
--Absolutely go to Sunday dinner with the gang.
--Get together with the usual suspects for New Year's Night (not Eve) tradition.
--Movies, movies, movies. I'm really behind on my movie viewing for the year.
--Hike. Garden of the Gods should be lovely right now. And I've never hiked Garden of the Goddess.
--Finish piecing a quilt I started for Miss Elizabeth.
--Read.
--Take in the Impressionist and Modern Art exhibit at the Fine Art Center.

Any other suggestions? Must be something that requires minimal funds.

Metaphors

Jenny recently posted about "filling the well" not quite fitting how she feels when she runs out of inspiration. Hers was a grape that had become a raisin, needing more moisture to plump up and be ready to go. Ali followed up with a kite analogy, Nicole feels like a plate of tangled spaghetti, and D.B. used a deflated balloon.

Mine is somewhere in the middle. Maybe it's the whole Pirate thing. Or the fact that my father designed and built boats. But I feel like a becalmed schooner. My sails need some wind to fill them so I can get moving again. And let's get those ropes coiled neatly on the deck so I don't trip.

I have been keeping up with my Morning Pages, but not much else. Things are percolating, but not ready to be poured out. And if I did, I'm not sure I have the energy to add any of the cream and sugar that makes writing (and reading) fun.

The good news is that I have started reading Jenny's manuscript. I'm still on parts I've read before, but there seems to have been some changes made since then. And notes for more changes. Makes me smile to see someone else doing that.

I should finish before the weekend is out. I want to jot down initial comments then wait a while. Sometimes I think it's helpful to know what stayed with a reader--or what bothers them after they think about it a while. So she should have her pages back for the next Pirate gathering--which isn't Last Sunday, Jen.

A fun way to end the year.