The Truth About Bodies in Motion – Writersfest Part I

A fool can always find another fool to admire him.
― Tanis MacDonald

When you traffic in falsehoods, rev the engines. Leave shoes all over the house for fast escapes.
― Tanis MacDonald

But if there were two of me, who would you ignore first?
― Tanis MacDonald

I was very happy that I got to Kingston in time for my first workshop (for the first time since I’ve been going to these retreats!). The workshop was The Truth About Bodies in Motion, facilitated by Tanis MacDonald, writer, poet, reviewer, and professor. Here’s the blurb for the workshop:

In this workshop, we will work with the pleasures and the problems of being a body in motion, and shift towards writing about our bodies in all their beauties and oddities as nature writing. What is the beauty of a hawk in flight seen through the lens of a panic attack? How does foot pain change the act of urban foraging? Bring your breathing, grousing, observant bodies.

Tanis MacDonald always has an interesting take on whatever topic she’s presenting in her workshops. She began by having us think about our bodily changes and experiences, and how we write about them. Sometimes we suffer from chronic conditions that make it seem like we’re living as an under the radar disabled person – we cannot function normally, but we don’t suffer from a recognized disability.

There is a temptation to think about the person as their condition, and once we do we are unable to see beyond it. You know your truth – the changes in your body, the aging of your body. One day you can do something, another day you cannot.

The simple act of going for a walk can bring great pleasure, but for someone with a chronic illness it can also present physical problems and these two things clash up against each other. What is it like to write about it? Many readers won’t want to read about it; many others will.

We are used to writing about bodies outside of nature. There is room for all of ourselves – changing bodies, rebellious bodies. Agism, sizism, sexism, racism – these are all things we deal with on a daily basis, and yet they’re seldom written about.

Think about all the things you love to do and how your body’s changed, so you no longer have access to the way you used to do things. You’re having to shift who you are. Think about reading about it.

Consider the body with a perceived difference – the disobedient and rebellious body. Think about rebelling against a cultural norm, where you have to look or act a certain way to be accepted. Getting all of your body experience onto the page – the joys, inclusion, love – is as important as the pain. It isn’t always like that.

When writing about the truth about your body, find a metaphor to commit to and come back to it as much as you can. Use something fresh, not cliché Fresh, natural and a surprise to the readers gives them that “Aha!” moment.

What else is going on in your life besides the pain and struggle? Use details so that it’s not something that happens in isolation, the reader is a part of it. Use old stories, hidden metaphors.

Pain is a private language.
– Roy Lichtenstein

How can we make our private pain public on the page so it’s believable? The moment you write it down you make it public. Read how others express pain on the written page. Check out Falling for Myself, by Dorothy Ellen Palmer or Pain Woman Takes Your Keys, by Sonya Huber

Exercise: We were given 5 different prompts and then told to pick our favorite and write a short piece about it. The prompt I chose was, “What is it like to occupy a “disobedient” or “rebellious” body: disobeying what? Rebelling against whom?”

My body is no longer the same. It was already becoming disobedient – aging when I wasn’t looking, growing soft and slowing down. And then it grew cancer cells that needed to be excised. How dare my body do this to me? I was supposed to be young and healthy forever! But instead I woke up in the recovery room in the hospital, a bag attached to my abdomen to collect my waste, and my whole world was changed. Simple movements that I always took for granted – sitting up, rising from my bed – now felt like Sisyphus pushing that rock up the hill. I’d try, and try, but things didn’t work the same, and I’d have to try again. The relief of the surgery doing what it was supposed to was overshadowed by the reality that bag on my abdomen.

Next we were asked to pick our least favorite prompt. This time, the one I chose was, “What are your experiences of beauty, grace, and/or power in your body?”

This is my least favorite because I’ve never felt myself to be beautiful or graceful. So I can’t write to those. I have, however, felt power, as any fertile woman can. We hold the power of life within us, whether we choose to exercise that power or not. I grew my daughter under my heart for nine months, making me powerful with the act of creation. Her birth was by caesarean section, they had to cut me open to release her, but there was a kind of power in that as well as we both emerged from the experience triumphant. They laid her on my chest for her first meal while I was still in recovery and all the pain was forgotten. I was more powerful in that moment than I’d ever been in my life. The power of motherhood extends beyond childbirth. A mother will do things she never thought possible for her child. She will take risks and use her power to ensure her child thrives. She will sacrifice her power for her child.

There is a linkage through the body, One thing changes and everything changes. What if you’re in an accident, and you survive, but your body has changed irreparably? What do you have to live without doing? The temptation to think you are cured is strong, but it’s not true.

When a milkweed pod splits open, is it empty, or has it fulfilled its purpose? It’s all contained and then explodes open, scattering the seeds. Consider how you might want to change your way of writing.

Tanis was very up front about her own bodily changes, describing how it’s impacted both her writing and her life. She does not shy about writing about uncomfortable subjects. Her book Straggle contains essays on such things as what it’s like to take a walk when you have chronic pain, or having a panic attack when you’re alone in the woods.

I don’t know that I’ll be writing about chronic pain or disabilities on a regular basis, but should one of my characters be facing physical limitations, I feel like I’ll be better equipped to write about it.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

WORDAGE REPORT

THE WEEK IN REVIEW
The word for last week is . . . quiet.

There was only one workshop Sunday morning (well, there was a second one but it was on writing about food, which is not my thing, but it would have been kind of fun to take the ferry over to the island where the workshop was being held) so after that was over I packed up my bags and headed for home.

I arrived about lunch time, and after unpacking there was laundry to do and the hubby and father-in-law nicely left the grocery shopping for me to do as well (normally I do this Friday mornings). LOL

Kingston was filled with people, and people tend to deplete my energy, so the first part of last week was spent re-charging my batteries. But I hope you noticed I got all of my blog posts up on time, and I didn’t have to stay up late to do it. So I guess that new leaf that’s starting to sprout didn’t wither completely away after all.

NEW WORDS:
2847+615+295+986=4,753
UP: 856– words

Gee, there’s a surprise. I’m up about as many words as my installment for Winter’s Child. Go figure, eh?

I think there’s only two more episodes to go in Winter’s Child before it’s done. I’d like to make it longer, but there’s only so much I can do to drag it out. Joey can’t last forever when it’s so cold out. LOL

And NaNoWriMo is coming up fast. In September you think you have all the time in the world, then suddenly it’s October and NaNo begins at the end of the month. And no, I have no idea what I’ll be working on this year. I have two different ideas for flash stories like I did a couple of years ago, but one of them requires a lot more research and I just don’t know if I’ll have time for it. Or, I may just go for something completely different. Maybe a brand new story that has nothing to do with any of my other books.

Yeah, that’s just what I need. Another unfinished book to add to the pile. *sigh* But I’ve got a NaNo hoodie and a tee-shirt on their way for inspiration, so whether I get an idea or not, I’m doing it. Hey, it wouldn’t be the first time I started without a clue as to what I’d be writing. :-D

Goals For Next Week:
Keep up the good work with the blogs; find an idea for NaNoWriMo

EDITING:
0 Hours

Oopsie! I knew I was forgetting something. Yeah, I think I’m going to have to go back to list making and keep putting “editing” at the top of my list. I have a bunch of other stuff that needs to be done as well, but I really have to do Elemental Spirit first. It’s the last book in the series, and then I can feel free to move on and start editing other stuff.

Although . . . maybe if I tried editing something else as well it might spur me on to take a whack at Elemental Spirit. Work a bit on E.S., then something else, then back to E.S. If nothing else, it might get me going.

Goal For Next Week:
Just stop talking about it and do it for crying out loud!

POETRY:
Last week’s form required a bit of a longer example than I’ve been doing lately, but it was still a fairly simple one to write. Maybe I should try for something a little more challenging this week, eh?

Believe it or not, I actually did start printing some of the poems I need to add to my big book o’ poems. Okay, so maybe it was only half a dozen or so, but it’s a start. And I’ve been adding dates to them, as best I can. I really need to start doing that as I write them.

The problem is, then I go back and re-write them and then that date’s not quite current. I suppose I could always add a revised date though. It just seems like a lot of work. But it would be nice to know whether a poem is a current one or an old one, and just how old a one it is. I mean, I’ve got poems dating back to high school.

Goal For Next Week:
Find a new form to share; work on the extra forms. Print poems to update big book o’ poems.

CRAFTING:
There was a stitch-in at the library last week, and I actually got some stitching in while I was there. Sadly, that’s the only stitching I did last week.

I keep saying that I’d like to get my writing taken care of during the day, leaving my evenings free to work on my stitchery, but this hasn’t happened yet. One of the reasons for this is that while I often have the time to stitch, by evening my eyes are too tired to do this. I might have to set aside a time during the morning or afternoon for this instead.

Goal For Next Week:
Work on my zentangle; work on the kit I started.

WHAT I’M READING:
I finished Trashlands, by Alison Stine. And then I read Bad Luck Vampire, by Lynsay Sands in one day. Now I’ve started reading Never, Never, by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher.

I haven’t read anything on the Kindle since finishing Lattes and Levitation, by Christine Pope. It was part of a boxed set and it was so disappointing that I guess I’m a little leery of reading anything else from that box.

But maybe the rest of the books in the set won’t be disappointing at all. And if the next one is, then I can just delete the rest of the set. You know, as soon as I figure out how to delete stuff off my Kindle. :-D

Goal For Next Week:
Keep up the non-binging of books.

THE WEEK AHEAD:

Well, that new leaf survived, but just barely, I’d say. Time to start nurturing it into growing again.

Once again, the week ahead has only Tuesday with anything going on. In the morning is a regular stitchery meeting – I think it’s project day, the first of two meetings where we learn to make a woven basket. And in the afternoon our new fridge is going to be delivered. Woot! Can’t wait.

Winter’s Child is almost done. There’s only one, maybe two more installments to go. It’s both longer, and not as long as I’d hoped to make it. But overall, I’m really happy with it. I just hope the ending lives up to the rest of it. Guess we’ll see.

Then it’s time to look forward to NaNoWriMo. I have absolutely no clue what I’m going to write about this year. Another story a day deal? I had pretty good luck with that a couple of years ago. Or maybe I could delve deep into my vault of abandoned ideas. After all, Winter’s Child was once a story I’d abandoned, so obviously I’ve grown as a writer.

Or I could go with a second or third book of a series I did the first book for in previous NaNos. Of course, that just means more editing down the road. Or maybe, and here’s a radically idea, I could go for something completely new. *sigh* Obviously I have a decision to make.

I really need to get back on track with the editing this week. I did so well working on the hard copy, and now it’s all fallen apart again. Hopefully, but getting back into an office routine this week I’ll be able to get back into an editing routine. Even an hour a day would move things forward.

The poetry has been moving along at a steady pace, although the last few weeks I’ve been showcasing rather simple forms. Time for something a little more complicated I think, but it’ll depend on the amount of time I have available. I seem to be less distracted when I’m working in my office though.

I did get a handful of poems printed off last week, but I have a lot more to go. And then even when I finish printing them I still have to file them in my book, and then I have the monumental task of double checking to make sure I have them all. This is not going to be a fun job.

I believe I was filing poems in the book in alphabetical order, but I’m thinking it would make better sense to do it by date instead. That way, going forward I can just add poems as I write them to the back of the book instead of shuffling through it. Something to think about, anyway.

Again, the goal for this week is to get my writing out of the way during the day so that I can go back to crafting at night, but as I said, usually by the time I get to sit and relax after supper I’m starting to tire, and you usually need fresh eyes to stitch.

I’m still working on the satin stitch portion of my kit, but once I’m done that the rest should go quite quickly. There are two more in the series, but seeing as I have no idea what I’m going to do with them, I’m going to wait until after my zentangle sampler is finished to do start them. And I’d still like to get the sampler done in time to use it for my November stitchery retreat, so I’d better shake my needles.

I can’t believe I didn’t open my Kindle once last week. And I made myself waiting until I finished Trashlands before starting Bad Luck Vampire, which I read in one day. What can I say? I read fast and it was a really, really good book.

I am 11 books past my Goodreads goal of reading 50 books this year, so I think it wouldn’t hurt to slow down my reading a bit this week. We’ll have to see how it goes. I read a bunch of reviews of the tree book I started, Never, Never, and they weren’t good, but I like it so far.

Lots to do this week, but I’ll have plenty of time, barring Tuesday, to do it in. The big issue will be the weather. As you know, I’m solar powered. The last few weeks have been mostly sunny, but according to Environment Canada, the week ahead is supposed to be mostly overcast and raining. So I guess we’ll see how big a factor that is on regaining my momentum.

Wish me luck!

Journaling Journey – Part II

I journal about anything and everything I can in my life – minutiae, dreams, important mailed papers, receipts, etc. There is literally nothing that I won’t put in my assorted journaling.
— Margot Olson

Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.
— Natalie Goldberg

Journal what you love, what you hate, what’s in your head, what’s important. Journaling organizes your thoughts; allows you to see things in a concrete way that otherwise you might not see.
— Kay Walkingstick

You’ve decided to start a journal. That’s awesome! There’s only one problem – you don’t know what to fill it with, what kind of journal you want to make. Lucky for you, I’m here to help with a description of some of the different kinds of journals you can have.

Stream of Consciousness.
If you do morning pages (as laid out in the book, The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron), then you’re already doing this. It’s where you write in a continuous stream of whatever pops into your head, without censoring yourself. You don’t need to make sense, just write about whatever’s on your mind. You can time yourself, limit yourself to a set number of pages, or simply write until you run out of words.

Dream Journal
Some people say they don’t dream, but more likely they just don’t remember their dreams. You forget half of what you dream about within 2 - 5 minutes of waking up, and within 10 minutes you’ll have forgotten 90%. The best way to keep your dreams fresh is to have a pen and notebook beside your bed and then record your dreams as soon as you wake up.

Women tend to recall their dreams more easily than men. If you’re having trouble recalling your dreams, try telling your subconscious you want to remember them before going to sleep. Create a bedtime routine, maybe try meditating, and wake up naturally instead of with an alarm. Recording your dreams is a fascinating way of keeping in touch with your subconscious.

Food Journal
This one is especially good if you’re struggling with health or weight issues. You can take note of what you’re eating each day to become more mindful about the foods you’re choosing. This can lead to making better choices on your weight-loss journey. You can also write down recipes you want to try, or old favorites you don’t want to lose track of.

Fitness Journal
Maybe you’d like to get into better shape, or just want to document your fitness journey. Here is where you can keep track of your work-outs so you can stay committed to an active lifestyle. Record what exercises work best for you, and what ones don’t. You can see your progress, and also see where you may need to streamline your routine.

Blessings Journal
Take a few minutes every day to reflect on the good things you have going on in your life. It might be a call from a friend, a gift of produce from a neighbor’s garden, or finally making friends with the cat next door. These are all things to be grateful for, and you can write them down in your journal. You have a permanent record that life isn’t always bad, and when things aren’t going so well, you can go back and see that there’s always hope for something better. The more you look for the good things in life, the more you’ll find.

Sketch Journal
Do you have an artistic side? You can express your feelings, thoughts, and ideas through illustrations, doodles, or sketches. Don’t be afraid to use colour, either paints or pencil crayons, or even wax crayons. You can write about ideas you have for larger projects, inspirational ideas, or methods you’d like to try. For that matter, you could use the pages of your journal to try out different techniques to see if they’d work for you.

Writing Journal
Here’s the place to jot down your thoughts and ideas and document your journey as a writer. You can develop ideas, plot a story, even outline a novel. You can include character sketches, maps, interesting names, whatever strikes your fancy. It’s a place for inspirational quotes and helpful tips on moving forward.

Daily Life Journal
Here you can keep track of your life’s journey. It can be a day-to-day record, or it can be full of conversations you’ve overheard, sad or happy occasions, or even new experiences that made an impact on you. You can make it as personal as you like, or maybe you’d like an account for future generations. It’s up to you.

Whatever journal you decide to keep, set aside a few minutes each day to make an entry. Write or draw whatever feels right to you, or paste in movie stubs or tickets from events you’ve gone to. Just remember that there’s no right or wrong way to keep a journal.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

WORDAGE REPORT

THE WEEK IN REVIEW
The word for last week is . . . BUSY!

I don’t know what lit a fire in me last week, but I hope it continues going forward. I established my morning routine for most mornings – Tuesdays I have stitchery duties, and Fridays I have grocery shopping, but when I’m done with those things I’ve been landing back in my office.

I had a nice balance between mundane things (cleaning, laundry, etc.) and office-y things (writing, filing, etc.). I even got the dreaded shredding finished! I had a list of things I wanted to get done before I left for Kingston, and I managed to knock off the list.

And all this in spite of the fact that Monday I had an appointment in the morning and Costco in the afternoon. Tuesday I had a stitchery guild meeting followed by an appointment with a new dietician. And Wednesday I had a poetry group meeting in the park, which was pretty darn dark (we all had flashlights).

And then my productivity came to a halt when I left for Kingston for Writersfest Thursday morning. Which is where I am now, as I type this. I got a lot of writing done during my workshops, not so much outside of the workshops though. And I did not get an installment done for Winter’s Child – I don’t even have a beginning for it.

NEW WORDS:
2852+677+258+110=3,897
DOWN: 284– words

Believe it or not, despite missing the installment for Winter’s Child, I’m not down by as many words as I was the week before. And I probably would have been crazily up in words had I written that post.

Here’s the thing. All the other posts came really easily, if not quickly to me last week. But I didn’t get Winter’s Child done ahead of time. I’m not sure if it would have made a difference if I’d stayed home from the poetry group to get a start on it or not, but I guess it’s a moot point because I didn’t.

I was planning on doing it Thursday night, except . . . after dinner (after my last workshop) I went up to my room and started getting things organized for the next day – you know, procrastinating before writing – and I couldn’t find my medication for the morning. With a sinking heart, I called the hubby, and sure enough – my pill box was sitting on the counter.

It seemed the quickest and easiest solution was for us to meet at the halfway point, which was Belleville. Which happens to have a Walmart close to the highway. We could meet at the Walmart MacDonalds and have a coffee before we parted again.

By this time it was dark out, and I don’t see well in the dark, which is why I no longer care to drive in it. Now, there is a horrific story of a string of little bad lucks that lead to me getting hopelessly lost trying to leave Kingston, but I’ll spare you the nitty gritty details. Suffice it to say, I eventually found my way to the highway, and to Belleville.

As a bonus, and I suspect to make me feel better, the hubby included the new Lynsay Sands book that I’d received in the mail that day. I gassed up the car (another bad luck story) and made it back to Kingston. I had no trouble getting back to the hotel, but I was tired and did not have the energy to do the blog post.

I did NOT get a good night’s sleep, which meant I was really dragging my butt on Friday, and by the time I’d made it through all three workshops and dinner, I had absolutely nothing left for writing, so I made the executive decision of skipping this week’s installment.

Goals For Next Week:
Try to get the blog posts done a little earlier; find some other writing to work on.

EDITING:
0 Hours

Okay, I knew there was something I was forgetting in my oh-so-productive week. Oops! Although at one point, when I was cleaning up my office, I did look for the notes I’d printed off about the Illezie. But I had no idea where they disappeared to. Guess I’ll just have to print them again. *sigh*

But it occurs to me that the Illezie prophecy and records are almost a separate part to the story as a whole, so there’s no reason I can’t work on the “story” part at the same time. It might even make joining them together a little easier. Sounds good in theory, anyway.

Goal For Next Week:
Use my notes about the Illezie as a guide to digging down on the editing.

POETRY:
Last week’s form was a kind of simple one, but it was better than no form at all, right? And I did write two examples, so that should count for something.

AND after I had my poetry post scheduled on both blogs, I wrote my poemwork poem for the poetry gathering on Wednesday. I even had the copies all printed out. Go me! LOL

A few years ago I ran a blog that was dedicated to poetry forms. The blog has been defunct for a long time now, but I’m wondering if there were forms I did there that I haven’t offered here yet. I need to make a master list of the forms I’ve done to double check.

Goal For Next Week:
Find a new form to share; work on the extra forms. Print poems to update big book o’ poems.

CRAFTING:
The stitchery guild had a guest speaker on Tuesday, a lady who talked about her journey of learning beadwork. She had some seriously beautiful pieces to show off. And yes, it did give me the urge to do some beadwork of my own. I especially liked her three dimensional betta fish (although I’d much rather do a dragon).

There was still a little time after to do some actual stitching, so I worked on the kit some more. Wouldn’t you know, it was more satin stitching though.

At first I kind of wished I’d brought some stitchery to Kingston with me, but I haven’t had the time or energy to write, so it probably would have been just one more thing to make me feel guilty for not doing. On the other hand, stitching is relaxing. Maybe getting a few stitches in would have relaxed me enough to get some writing in. You never know.

Goal For Next Week:
Work on my zentangle; work on the kit I started.

WHAT I’M READING:
I’m just about finished Trashlands by Alison Stine. And even though I have the latest Lynsay Sands book waiting for me, I’m not going to read it until I’m done with Trashlands. How responsible of me? LOL

On the Kindle I finished A Midlife Shifter’s Dream, by Ruby Raine, and then loaded it up with a couple of books for Kingston, rather than bringing a bunch of tree books with me. One of these was a boxed set. I finished reading Lattes and Levitation, by Christine Pope, but I’m going to have another look at the blurb for the set to see if I want to continue. While the murder central to the plot was solved, the ending read like it should have just said “to be continued on the next book.” I’m usually pretty good about weeding these out before I start reading them because I find it very disappointing when I’m forced to buy several books to get the complete story.

Goal For Next Week:
Keep up the non-binging of books.

THE WEEK AHEAD:

I really hope that new leaf survives being neglected while I’ve been in Kingston. I’d really hate to see that little sprout whither and die again. I guess all it takes is a little determination, right?

For the most part, I’d have to say my time here in Kingston has been well spent. That being said, not one of the workshops I’ve attended has been what I thought it would be from the description. And I will admit to being a little disappointed in a couple of them. But that’ll be a post for next week. :-D

Tomorrow the proof will be in the pudding. It’ll be my first full day back and I’m really hoping I’ll be able to slide back into the routine I was starting to establish last week. The only thing I have in my day planner for the week is the stitch-in at the library, but will all that free time inspire me, or hinder me?

You know I work better under pressure, and there won’t be any pressure next week. My time is pretty much my own. I can’t help feeling that I got so much done last week because I had so little time to do it in.

I’ll have to come up with a really good installment for Winter’s Child to make up for skipping it last week. And that, to me, means I need to start working on it earlier. But it’s getting a little tricky, now that the creature’s getting a say in things. But honestly, I think we’re really close to the end. A couple more scenes with Joey, and then one with James.

I need to find my Illezie notes and get back to working on Elemental Spirit. Or maybe there’s a reason I can’t seem to find them. Maybe it’s a sign I should be starting over with them. I really think I need to start with the prophecy, because everything else revolves around that. Then maybe the rest will fall into place.

The poetry has actually been going fairly well lately, except for me dragging my heels about updating my poetry book. I think it’s even more important for me to do that now, because the workshop on poetry has got me all fired up about getting a poetry book out there.

Ideally, I’d like to get the writing stuff done during the day so I can go back to crafting at night. I want to finish the kit I’m working on so I can get back to my zentangle sampler. I will try not to think about beading, because that way leads to another project to work on. LOL

I was doing well with my exercise, then I came to Kingston. I’ve been getting some walking in, but I forgot my weights. So first thing on my list for next week is to get back on the exercise wagon. And the dietician said that walking every day after breakfast will help with my blood sugar, so I’m going to start doing that too. Lord knows that after Writersfest I’ll need to!

It’s been a long few days. I haven’t done any site seeing this time around, but I’ve done a LOT of shopping on Princess Street. And the writing I’ve done has pretty much been limited to the workshops. But the good news is, that starting next week I won’t have any problem figuring out what to write about on my Sunday blogs for a while.

I’m actually eager to get back home and see if I can nurse that new leaf into growing again. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll be here holding a workshop.

Stranger things have happened.

Fallout

The frightening assaults of pandemic terror have vastly increased our vulnerability. At the outset, hope and humor were able to alleviate the sabotage of our living together, until bit by bit, the raging roars and the thundering crashes of the death toll called the shots. The ground zero of our mental structure must inevitably make us remold another thinking pattern.
― Erik Pevernagie

The world needs huge positive energy to fight against the negative forces. Go to the center of your inner begin and generate that positive energy for the welfare of the humanity.
― Amit Ray

It is the poets, artists, and musicians that will carry us through the pandemic attacks into a new reality. They are the ones who tell us how to navigate, breathe, feel, think, enjoy, and fully live our lives. (“Because the world had corona”)
― Erik Pevernagie

There were three of us manning the display booth at the fair yesterday morning, and we were talking about how much we hated technology and how much we resented it being forced upon us. I believe what prompted this was how the city of Toronto is changing their parking meters to ones that you have to use your phone to access.

Anyway, this segued into a discussion about the pandemic, and about how the world has changed – how so much was taken away from us that we’ll never get back. So then I started thinking about how the pandemic changed things, especially when it came to writing and writers.

The first issue we had to deal with was the isolation. I know many writers who are in the habit of using coffee shops for their office. Even when you’re not being social at a café, you’re surrounded by voices, the sounds of people interacting, and the energy of others. Suddenly, this was taken away. They were, in effect, cut off from the world.

Worries and fears became a form of procrastination. Doubts formed. Real world events made fiction seem rather pointless. When the world around us has changed so drastically, who can muster the energy to worry about the lives of fictional people? If you weren’t careful, things could start seeming pointless.

For some, however, the pandemic with its lockdown didn’t really change anything. Writing is already a solitary endeavor. When real life becomes too overwhelming, we can take out our imaginary friends to play with. And the lack of being able to travel left more time to focus on the writing.

The pandemic was an event of historical, epic proportions. History will remind us of the challenges we faced and the losses we suffered. But it also taught us perseverance. We did not give up but triumphed over adversity.

It allowed us to be more in touch with nature as we stayed away from social gatherings. People planted gardens and went out for walks. Some learned to stay in touch using technology, like Zoom.

While some took advantage of their lockdown time and accomplished great things, or at least made good use of their time, others . . . did not. I have to admit, I did not handle the pandemic well. I found it a little overwhelming and, like many others, I tended to withdraw into myself rather than deal with it.

Like it or not, there’s no putting the genie back in the bottle. The pandemic changed the world in ways we’re still discovering. Things will never be the same.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

WORDAGE REPORT

THE WEEK IN REVIEW
The word for last week is . . . hopeful.

While I still have not got that new leaf turned over, neither have I stomped it right into the ground. The week started out fairly slow, but then seemed to gain momentum as it progressed.

Remember how I used to start out my weeks strong and then they’d peter right out? Well, I seem to be doing the opposite now. But it wasn’t entirely my fault. Yes, I did take Monday off and spent the day reading, but I regretted it the following day when I had my dental appointment and really didn’t feel like doing anything while I recovered.

I rallied on Wednesday and put in a very satisfactory day’s work. Ditto for Thursday. Friday was okay, but it’s usually a short day for writing anyway. It might have been a better week if I hadn’t blown off Monday, but all in all it wasn’t a bad week at all.

Thankfully, the weather has turned more fall-like. The days are still sunny, but not so hot. And the nights are cool enough to sleep comfortably. Yep, it’s my favorite time of the year!

NEW WORDS:
2600+734+405+920=4,659
UP: 207 – words

I have to confess, other than Friday’s serial installment, I was late with every one of my blog posts last week. Not late as in getting them up late, they all showed up on time, but late as in late getting them written. And that includes Monday’s post.

Why was Friday different? Because as I said, my week got better as it went along, and I spent more time in my office. I even watered my plants so their dying wouldn’t distract me. LOL

I’ve been using the original short story I wrote as a kind of outline for Winter’s Child, and I have to say it makes a big difference. I can’t believe how smoothly this serial story is going (*knock on wood*). I’m starting to think there might be something to this plotting business after all. ;-)

I’m still spending too much time just farting around on the computer, and I didn’t really need to spend an entire day reading, but then again, maybe I did. I don’t need to be productive all of the time. I deserve a little downtime once in awhile, don’t I?

Goals For Next Week:
Try to get the blog posts done a little earlier; find some other writing to work on.

EDITING:
Last week – 32 pages
Total pages – 149 pages

Once again I did a little bit of editing at a time, fitting it between other stuff, and it paid off. The first run through is done. After this I’ll have to switch to keeping track of my time instead of my pages. Not quite sure how I’ll do this – there used to be a really cool application called TraxTime, But it hasn’t been supported for 10 or more years, and I haven’t been able to find anything like it. I might have to do it the old-fashioned way and use my watch, recording my start and stop times and doing the math.

The good news is, Elemental Spirit isn’t is as bad of shape as I thought. The bad news is, there’s still a lot of work to be done. Especially in the first half. I need to figure out the prophecy and what’s going on with the Illezie. The good news is that the second half just needs to be fleshed out with more detail. And yeah, character lists with details will definitely help to make my characters more three-dimensional.

Goal For Next Week:
Pick a notebook for character sketches and ideas. Figure out how I’m going to time myself.

POETRY:
I picked a somewhat longer form to do for last week, however, I blew off Monday and was forced to find a shorter form to do Tuesday. It’s funny how distracting pain can be. And how muddled your thinking becomes when you take something for it.

But while I was looking through my list of unused forms, I pulled out a few to be working on when I get the chance, just so I’ll have a few done ahead of time. You never know when there might be a poetry emergency. And I’ve left the files for these forms right on my desk top so I can’t miss them. br>
I made no progress on updating my big book o’ poems. Maybe I’ll write myself a note and stick it to my desk. Something like: Don’t forget to start printing out poems! Think it’ll work? It probably couldn’t hurt.

Goal For Next Week:
Find a new form to share; work on the extra forms. Print poems to update big book o’ poems.

CRAFTING:
I finished my second square on my zentangle sampler, and I have the box ready for the third. I haven’t quite settled on the stitches for that one, but it will be several different ones, not just a single stitch like the last square. Maybe something with angles instead of curves.

Tuesday was a regular meeting with the stitchery guild. There was a large turn-out, which was nice to see, although I kind of like the smaller group that meets at the library just as much. It was mentioned that we were once again putting out a display at the fair in the next town, and volunteers were needed to help set up, tear down, and man the table during fair hours. A sheet was passed around, and it was kind of sad to see how few people were willing to spend a couple of hours doing their part.

I went and helped set up, and volunteered to man the table for a couple of hours both Saturday and today. And I’ll be going over later today and to help tear down again. And yes, I was actually able to get some stitching done during my shifts.

I like wearing skirts. That’s my favourite part about the summer – sundresses and skirts. And just because the weather is cooling off I see no reason to give up my skirts. Somewhere in my fabric stash I have two pieces of a very fine corduroy that had been purchased with skirts in mind. I just have to find them.

Goal For Next Week:
Work on my zentangle; pick a pattern and material to make a new skirt (or two).

WHAT I’M READING:
Still making progress on Trashlands by Alison Stine, although my reading slowed down a bit last week.

I finished Bearly a Chance, by Krystal Shannon, Dragon’s Captive, by Cassie Alexander, and Tiger's Gambit, by Minette Moreau. Now I’m between books again.

However, I updated my Goodreads (finally!) and I am 6 books past my goal for the year. My goal was to read 50 books for the year, and I’ve read 56.

Goal For Next Week:
Try and even out the reading between the tree books and the Kindle.

THE WEEK AHEAD:

I’m taking one more shot at turning over a new leaf, because you can only turn over a leaf so many times before it becomes mulch. But if that happens, I’ll just come up with a new plan.

This week I have a coffee date on Monday, a stitch-in at the library on Tuesday, and Thursday I play chauffeur to the hubby who needs a ride to and from the hospital for his five-year post cancer colonoscopy. And there might be a trip to Costco squeezed in there at some point, but that’s only a possibility.

Winter’s Child may not end up as long as I would have liked, but I still really like the way it’s turning out. I’ll have to see if there’s another one of my failed short stories I could try this with. Who knows, I could end up with a volume of short stories, as opposed to my volumes of flash stories.

The editing went well last week, and as much as I hate to leave the hard copy behind, it’s time to start making changes to the electronic version. But first, there’s still handwritten parts to be done. Like the Akash prophecy, the hierarchy and role of the Illezie, and the character sketches. I’m starting to feel like I’ve only got the tip of the editing iceberg under my belt. Time to dive deep this week.

I’ve been putting off updating my big book o’ poems the same way I was doing with the editing. Time to suck it up and just do it, maybe break it down into manageable parts. I can go through the poems first and make sure they all have a date on them, then print them out. I might get it done this week, chances are good it’ll take more than a week. But I gotta start somewhere.

Now that I’m making progress on my zentangle again, I need to figure out just how big a tote bag I want to make. Do I want to have six squares on the side, or nine? Nine would bean I have to cut another piece of material to make the other side, and then sew it together, I couldn’t just fold it in half. Although the benefit there is that I could make a reinforced bottom for it. And do I want to do zentangle on both sides, or do I want to do an applique on the other side?

I did nothing towards a Christmas craft list last week, and I’m pretty sure I won’t get it done either. Nor did I check out that new crafting kit I’ve got. Maybe I need to make a separate list of craft related things I want to do this week.

Part of my turning over a new leaf is supposed to be getting regular exercise, and I have to admit I’ve been very slack in that department the last few weeks, and I’m beginning to feel it. It’s strange though, I’m getting up at pretty much the same time as I was, so I’ve got lots of time to get my workout in, I just . . . don’t.

I don’t know what it is. Maybe because it’s so extra dark in the mornings now. If that’s the case, I need to get over it, because it’s not going to be getting bright again until next spring. Time for some tough love, I guess. No reading on the Kindle unless I’m on the bike. *sigh*

I should print out this section of the wordage report and post it on my desk. Just to remind myself of my goals for the week.

Think it’ll help?