Pam Bustin
creator, editor, story tender
Shake and Bake 9: The 51K in 30 days NaNoWriMo Edition
Wherein Pam does a happy monkey dance and waves a fond farewell to the NANO rush of 2012.
Happy Saturday, and Happy December to all!
… I hope your week was full of beauty and adventure …
In homage to Havi’s Friday Chickens over on the The Fluent Self — This is the place I review my week – in an attempt to track some things – like progress on my novel and… living intentionally. I shake out my week and lay it out. Let the hard burn off and the good sink in. Call it an experiment in paying attention. Feel free to join in.
The Quick Chicken (The Doings that help me with the Being):
Work on NIP: Whew. More below.
Walks: Oh yes… and some dancing too when I had the “hairy faced kid” who doesn’t love the long walk anymore in the cold, but will come to the top of the hill with me.
Guitar: A sad neglectful week for Pree my beloved purple guitar. Oops
Yoga/Meditation: Outstandingness! Serious Mat love this week.
THIS WEEK’S EXPERIMENT: For one hour each day – go lie down.
THE RESULT: I didn’t make it EVERY day – but I did try…
I made it to a prone position 3 times in the early afternoon.
I read – mostly, but I did close my eyes once and just relax.
I believe it DID help with the tiredness this week. I sure feel better than last week.
I also crawled into bed quite early with a book on a few nights and oh… that was lovely too.
And…the rest of the week…
THE GNARBLY BITS:
– Composting toilet trauma…. oof. Ahhh the FROZEN northlands…Trouble with the umm… liquid run-off. Nuff said.
– It was a struggle this week to keep the words flowing “fast enough” for the nano. I’m glad that I did nano but … well… It is a strange exercise in some ways. The crazy making WORD COUNT focus leads to all manner of … strange behaviour. Heh heh. But I do understand that the main challenge and opportunity is to use the month as a time to sit down and work and to do it… In company. This is good. The pressure that can result…well… not so good, I fear. But we can talk about that some other time.
So WHY was I there? Exploration of a new way of working. Using the word count GOAL to… free myself up actually. To slip away from the over active critic who lives in my head.
To confess…. I actually ADDED to the madness on this front by heightening the experiment a tad. I wanted to see if I could get the word count within an even more stringent CONTAINER of time. I worked on the nanothing for two hours Monday to Friday. There was one day “missed” because of… life jazz. So… I crammed my nano (51,397 wds) into… less than 44 hours.
I don’t really recommend this 😉
Unless you take it on as a playful challenge to yourself.
I’m not really sure why I did it this way. I just … wanted to see if I could and also see what would come of that sort of… break-neck writing. It isn’t really my style at all.
Let’s say – I found a lot, and had some fun, but will be glad to return to my usual methods on Monday.
I found my characters careening into the larger events of history – which is cool and leaves me with A LOT to research to do. There was no time to edit, no time to second guess that left turn into the Suffragette movement on the prairies… I just went with whatever came up – much like I did in the fall with the 3day Novel Contest.
Do we see a theme here?
I am exploring and reaching and enjoying the surprise of this sort of… free fall fiction. It is freeing me up and it is also leading me places that were previously outside of the “plan”. I like this.
Doing it for a month was harder than doing it for three days.
As in everything, I hope to aim for balance in my way of working. The days of thoughtful slower work, the blasts of trance-talk, all working together to get this first draft completed.
And then will come the fun of revisions. When I will see what I have created and … find the real story within.
Ooh – gives me shivers! I am full of inspiration, fascination and determination. Huzzah! Guess this is also a TASTY BIT, eh?
THE TASTY BITS:
++ Yes indeed it is a PLUS … Finding so much in the “book within a book” experiment of this whole month. Both in the way of working and the CONTENT and FOCUS of the piece. Working on Ira’s book has opened up some things and revealed many an interesting tid-bit about Asiloverde and the townsfolk…. especially the ones who live up on the hill….(yes…I’m still evasive about the NIP – sorry. Still a bit … skittish around revelations and talking “too much” about a work in progress).
+ And yes… I am Celebrating “finishing” nano and getting that purple “winner” banner along with all my 3-day cohorts. There were 7 of us playing this year and we all wrote over 50, 000 words. Woot Woot!
+ Receiving beauty and joy on my walks through the snowy land we live in. Full up happiness as I trudge up the lane in my ski-pants and big boots.
+ Allowing rest. Welcoming rest. Resting by the fire. Resting on the couch. Resting under the covers with a book. Rest.
+ Gathering warmth and comfort from the morning sessions in front of the wood stove on the yoga mat.
+ Grateful for the final session of The Compassionate Brain The whole series was great. I will miss my Monday night dates with Rick Hanson. Maybe I will listen to them all again. Actually that is a grand idea – there is so much to glean from each conversation.
+ Also Grateful for flannel pj’s, red wine, hot water, good books, icicles in the sunshine and our resident fox who leaves us tracks through the snow each morning.
NEXT WEEK’S EXPERIMENT: Learn a song on the guitar.
I have been very focussed on the practice aspect of learning guitar and I would like to have a bit more fun on the playing guitar front. There are some songs I am stumbling through as I get the hang of strumming and teach the fingers to move move move on those chord changes. I don’t sing along yet. I’m not sure why. Well I am sure why, actually. I’m having a hard enough time learning to keep time – can’t tap my foot and play at the same time. Working more with the metronome, which is helping and I do know that SINGING will help too. Maybe I am just to shy to sing. Hmmm.
I hereby decide that this week I shall choose a song and have fun playing and singing along.
GULP.
That’s it for me…. I’m off into town to attend a tea and help my MiL decorate for Christmas. Yay tinsel!!!
Thanks for stopping by.
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
go easy -p
SHINY BITs: Compassion and Peace
Actually… today it is a TWOFER – Two SHINY BITS in one post. (With a myriad of other wee shinys along for the ride). A free web series called The Compassionate Brain and a new book called Peace Anonymous – The 12 Steps to Peace.
For the past eight weeks, I have been enjoying a series of FREE online conversations thanks to the good folk over at Sounds True.
It’s called The Compassionate Brain and you can go and watch the videos here.
They are free to view, but you do need to register.
Sounds True will send you some emails – featuring their products, but you are under absolutely no obligation to buy anything.
Just for the record – they have some great stuff over there. I have some cassette tapes from the way-back that I bought from them. One favourite being A Conversation on The Writing Life featuring Julia Cameron and Natalie Goldberg. I am also eagerly awaiting some new material from them – this one in CD form with Clarissa Pinkola Estés.
But I digress…. Back to The Compassionate Brain...
The series explores different ways to use the power of neuroplasticity—how the mind can change the brain to transform the mind—to open the heart, build courage, find compassion, forgive oneself and others, and heal the world.
It was conceived and hosted by Dr. Rick Hanson – who wrote Buddha’s Brain and, who I first “met” as a speaker in the Awakening Joy course a few years ago.
The guests are fantastic!
Hanson chats with Richie Davidson, Dan Siegel, Tara Brach, Dacher Keltner, Kelly McGonigal, Kristin Neff, and Jean Houston.
Sounds True is keeping it available for at least six months.
Check it out if you are at all interested in… meditation, compassion, how the brain works, finding joy… It’s a good way to spend some time with a cup of tea and your self.
And while I’m talking of Shiny Bits – I’d like to also let you know about a book that I was recently sent a copy of to BLURB (a blurb in this case being those quotes of praise from other authors). It is, thank the good LAWD, a fantastic read and I had no compunction whatsoever in supporting it.
In fact, I like it so much, I wanted to help spread the word about it.
It is called Peace Anonymous – The 12 Steps to Peace.
There is also a blog, if you’d like to check that out.
Here’s the long version of the blurb I sent back to the publisher:
This book is a gift.
It is, as all good books are, a map out of the darkness.
Johnny F lays his truth on the line with bravery, clarity and astounding grace.
He is also funny as hell.I’ve never really been able to understand why we wage war. Oh, I know what “they say” — that it’s about Freedom, mostly. It’s to protect our way of life. To protect ourselves, we say. A War on Terror. But war is terror so… I don’t understand. I also read a lot and I know damned well the Economic “benefits” of war. I don’t like it, and I sure as hell don’t want these thing done “in my name.”
So, I do things. I march. I sign petitions. Sometime I write about it and read at events like “Writers for PEACE.” I try not to shut off the news—from Israel and Gaza, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya. I seek out OTHER sources of news. I try to unravel the complications, knowing full-well that I’m missing vital facts and that, in truth, I am incredibly ignorant about the history behind these conflicts. I think about how right now, as I type this, someone’s world is changing forever. How RIGHT NOW—the wars go on.
I went into Peace Anonymous with open eyes and an open mind, looking for … solace, I suppose.
This book cracked my heart open and I thank you for that, Johhny F. As the man said, “That’s how the light gets in…” It is also how the light gets out.
You shine, Johnny F.
I hereby send up a big wave of gratitude to George (who I like to call Mr. G), for keeping you around.
– Pam Bustin (Author of Mostly Happy and Ground: Hanoi to Hiroshima in the Wake of 9/11)
It’s a good read.
And the convo series is a good listen/watch.
May you be warm and cozy.
Thanks for stopping by.
go easy -p
Shake and Bake 8: The Getting Down with the Dog Edition
Wherein Pam works to “…slowly awaken the body mind…” Don’t panic – it’s not too woo-woo.
Happy Saturday, my wild and lovely readers!
In homage to Havi’s Friday Chickens over on the The Fluent Self — This is the place I review my week – in an attempt to track some things – like progress on my novel and… living intentionally. I shake out my week and lay it out. Let the hard burn off and the good sink in. Call it an experiment in paying attention. Feel free to join in.
The Quick Chicken (The Doings that help me with the Being):
Work on NIP: Full steam ahead!
Walks: Yup!
Guitar: Didn’t hit EVERY day – but pretty good. Think it might be time to move on to Stage 3 with my trusty guitar teaching man.
Yoga/Meditation: Not bad, Bustin. Not bad at all 😉
THIS WEEK’S EXPERIMENT: More exploration on the yoga front.
THE RESULT: It’s official – the BEST time for me to make it to the mat is … right after my morning Scribble.
I got to the mat four days in a row this week.
Always right after the morning scribble.
The house has warmed up a bit by then, as I light the fire and make coffee before the Scrib.
I come out and give the fire a stir, add a log if necessary.
The sun is usually up by then, so I take a moment to enjoy the view.
I lay a blanket and then my yoga mat on the floor in front of the wood stove and I do my thing.
I use my ipod.
My current “thing” consists of a short flow series of stretches, followed by a 15 minute meditation (using a timer found at Insight Meditation Centre). The yoga is from a video called AM Yoga – it’s an old version from Rodney Yee – I don’t see it on his site anymore but it is still my favourite. It is simple and slow and helps wake my mind and my body – GENTLY.
And…the rest of the week…
THE GNARBLY BITS:
– WaVeS of … exhaustion. I’m not sure what the deal is with this tiredness. Comes upon me in the early afternoon. On a few days, I tried to take an hour to lay down and read and even close my eyes for about 15 minutes. That seems to help. Lordy – do I need an afternoon nap? I’ve never been a napper. Hmmmm…. Dunno.
…Thinking on this for a minute… I remember that when I worked at Tamara’s House, I used to get home around 6pm and I needed a hot soak in the bath for about an hour before I carried on with my evening. Maybe the same is true here – needing to BREAK away from the work and online world for an hour to recharge. Something to think on.
– A bit of heart sadness around family secrets. I’ll take a silent retreat on this one.
[Silent Retreat is another fabulous phrase from Havi and the gang over at the Fluent Self. It’s a simple and I think quite graceful concept – allowing people space to… keep things private… even when they also feel a need to speak a BIT about it. Like me noting this heart sadness today]
– Too much computering hurts my eyes and eats my time and it is isn’t that the computering is BAD, in fact it has become in someways a magical wonderland but… it is just… I think I need to leash it a BIT. Or something.
THE TASTY BITS:
+ Receiving a tasty box of LOVE from a friend afar. Much thanks to the coffee roasting goddess of the northlands and her cookie baking sELF.
+ Finding my way to the yoga mat – it feels so good. One of those things I KNOW and yet canNOT seem to hold onto and make a true daily practice. As I tip the age scale towards 50, you’d think I would simply…do the things that feel good and that nurture me, but…. NOOOO…. apparently I still don’t think there is enough time in the world to care for myself. Silly, yes?
+ Celebrating time spent with family and freinds – either in person or online or on the phone. I tend to hermit a lot and it gets even more pronounced when I’m working on a big project. I need so much time… alone… but I also need to connect with my peeps….balance balance balance….
+ Allowing openness and curiosity to be my guides. In life and in my work.
+ Gathering gifties of all sorts and sizes for the big give-away day.
+ Snow snow snow snow — turning my world into a winter wonderland! And maybe even letting me hermit a bit LEGITIMATELY – nothing like a snow day to declare a day of curling up under a blanket with a book!
+ cozy clothes to wear on said snow day – huzzah for hats and leggings and big socks and my serape!!! OLE!
+ Surprised by a full day offline. Friday. It was past 4pm before I even thought of turning on my sweety machine, Tippy the Typer. I was reaching for the ON button… and then I decided… I’d rather watch a movie. And then another. And then… go to bed with my book. A lovely way to end the week.
NEXT WEEK’S EXPERIMENT:
Well… It will have to do with rest…won’t it?
I’ve been thinking of two things:
getting into bed earlier
building in a “rest hour” to my day.
I will try……..
A rest hour.
For one hour each day – go lie down.
See how you feel at the end of the week. Simple – right?
You’d THINK so.
That’s it for me…. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
Feel free to share a Shake & Bake of your own. Or let me know what you are experimenting with this week…
Thanks for stopping by.
go easy -p
What did YOU read today?
Hey there all you readers out there – want to raise some money for a cool cause and maybe win yourself a KOBO in the process?
Support Canada’s National Reading Campaign by posting a picture of yourself reading in your Facebook Profile or on Twitter.
And hey if you tweet what you are reading at @readingcampaign with #whatdidyoureadtoday? you will raise a dollar (from KOBO) for the campaign and get yourself a chance to win a Kobo Glo!
Hmm…. I gotta get on that twitter thing…..
Happy reading, all!
go easy -p
Related articles
- What did you read today? (blogs.vancouversun.com)
Shake and Bake 7: The Otter in the Water Edition
Wherein Pam ponders the idea that her greatest success at establishing new routines involve slipping them in FIRST thing in the morning…how long can a morning LAST?
Happy Saturday, to all my wild and lovely readers!
In homage to Havi’s Friday Chickens over on the The Fluent Self — This is the place I review my week – in an attempt to track some things – like progress on my novel and… living intentionally. I shake out my week and lay it out. Let the hard burn off and the good sink in. Call it an experiment in paying attention. Feel free to join in.
THIS WEEK’S EXPERIMENT: Turning my focus to this ongoing yearning for yoga time.
I planned to try to find my way to the mat at different times throughout the day and see how it felt.
THE RESULT: Not AWESOME but not AWFUL either.
I managed two yoga/meditation sessions on two consecutive mornings – Mon and Tues.
I slipped it in between the SCRIB and my Writing Hours.
It fit sweetly and wonderfully – though it pushed the “finish line” time of my mornings by about 1/2 hr.
Interesting FACT: I got way more written in the Writing Hours on the days I did the yoga/meditation. There were more words and yet not that feeling of rushing past things. It also felt GREAT physically.
so… then what happened?
Dunno.
Tried to find other times to do it and just… didn’t do it.
I even had a LIST:
…do it AFTER your walk but before lunch
…do it Mid Afternoon sometime before guitar practice
…do it right before bed
Nope.
If I didn’t make it to the mat in the dark time before dawn, I didn’t do it AT ALL.
Hmm…
The Quick Chicken: The Doings that help me with the Being
Work on NIP: Full steam ahead and it feels so good to be working STEADY again. Huzzah!
Walks: 6 out 7 days. Lovely NECESSARY time.
Guitar: Loving it but realize that if I don’t hit the “before preparing dinner” time slot, I just … DON’T do it. Good to know.
Yoga/Meditation: 2x more than last week – that’s good right?
And…the rest of the week…
THE GNARBLY BITS:
– PANIC – spilling coffee on the typer machine. Ooooof – felt so stupid and horrified that I had killed her.
– TIRED – just so tired this week. I’m not sure why.
– Struggling a bit with the word count focus of NaNoWriMo. This really isn’t the way I work. Some days I feel like a fool just PUSHING ahead at such a rapid pace when what I really feel the need to do is sit and stare a bit, have a think, rework another sentence…. But I am forging ahead with this way of working for a few more weeks.
WHY?
Because I am finding such interesting things along the way.
Working this way is truly… well… FORCING me to just… follow along… anywhere my characters want to take me, I follow along. And it takes me odd places like.. this week I got to thinking about Women’s Suffrage on the prairies in the early 1900’s and where we get Tyndall Stone. All fun. Have begun exploring the Saskatchewan Archives online. Now there be a BUNNY HOLE!!!
This … following along…is like what happened to me this last fall with the 3day Novel Contest with Finnegan Begin Again.
I believe there is something for me to discover here.
Something to work with – a new type of energy.
Not that I will ever LOSE that need to … stare and think… that is my true way of working, but I feel that it is useful to carry on with the experiment that is NaNo-ing.
We will see…what we will see, yes?
We are half way through the month already.
I can do 2 more weeks with this more rushy-pants focus.
It ain’t gonna damage me.
– Also struggling with The Vein of Gold. Dunno why, but I am resisting it right now. Resisting each task. Ooof. Even thinking about it to write this note makes me want to go lie down. Which makes me think that there is something to be GAINED by diving in and DOING it. Ahh life. S’wonnerful, eh?
THE TASTY BITS:
+ Reading Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. What a great book. She is so hilarious and honest and WISE. I’ve read it all through and now I am going back through it to mine it for nuggets. I also want to find her novels and devour them one by one.
+ Finding myself referring to the typer machine as a “her” and seeing how important she is to me. This shift is fascinating. I spend so much time online these days, exploring other blogs, chatting on forums, getting to know people. She is so much more than “THE TYPER MACHINE”. I wonder what will come of this realization.
+ Celebrating the facts that Tippy the Typer is alive and well and SO ARE WE ALL.
+ also celebrating the fact that this was my 4th week of rising earlier and giving TOP priority to my Writing Hours. Wow. I did it – for a whole month! Yippee! I’m going to renew my contract this weekend. Did I ever tell you about this contract?
+ Allowing myself to take the rest I need when I am tired. Working on finding the balance – when it is best to get up and MOVE, go for a walk or do a bit of … something… and when it is best to crawl into the bunky with a book or a movie or just to close my eyes for a bit.
+ Grateful for trips to the second hand store to discover treasures for myself and others.
+for the library and for boooooooooks and more books.
+for eyes that can see and ears that can hear.
+for the TWUC webinar I attended on Friday, learned much and giggled a bit too.
+for things like… the otter we watched eating a fish and playing just off the shore today, gorgeous wee beasty!
+and for time and space to breath and think and play with things like this blog.
NEXT WEEK’S EXPERIMENT: More exploration on the yoga front.
….oh the yearning and the….
…..not doing…..
What is up with that?
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
Here’s to playing like otters in the water!
Feel free to share a Shake & Bake of your own.
Or let me know what you are experimenting with this week..
Thanks for stopping by.
go easy -p
Shake and Bake 6: The “I Got Rhythm” Edition
Happy Saturday, to all my wild and lovely readers!
In homage to Havi’s Friday Chickens over on the The Fluent Self — This is the place I review my week – in an attempt to track some things – like progress on my novel and… living intentionally. I shake out my week and lay it out. Let the hard burn off and the good sink in. Call it an experiment in paying attention. Feel free to join in.
THIS WEEK’S EXPERIMENT: Exploring rhythms… NOTICING how it feels as I move through my days.
THE RESULT: Verrrrry Interesting.
I am loving up my new(ish) morning routines. My blah-est feeling days this week were days when I … purposefully “gave myself time OFF” of some things. Sort of testing the waters…. I suppose to see how it felt.
These things I DO each morning… they are making me happy AND productive on the work front. How cool is that?
The new time for Guitar Practice is also working out nicely.
Now… as for finding my yogi-spirit-rhythm…well… oof on that.
The Quick Chicken:
Work on NIP: Woot and a woot and woot woot woot! I’m on FIYAH!
Walks: Love ‘em. NEED ‘em.
Guitar: Really enjoying my practice sessions and… learning to strum. IT’S HARDER THAN IT LOOKS!
Yoga/Meditation: My … nemesis…. no my… haven’t found the right time for you yet THING.
And…the rest of the week…
THE GNARBLY BITS:
– Watching people I love hurt themselves – locked into patterns of anger/sadness and resistance.
How I wish I could facilitate some sort of … healing here. I know it is not “my stuff” and that I must leave them to it. It is an old old old, well established pattern… but OH I do wish I could… help.
– I become more and more aware of the fact that my default setting is… SCARCITY. I worry so much about … money, time… and so on.
I am turning my thoughts and focus to ABUNDANCE… This week I have been working with the idea that it would be really wonderful if I felt that TIME WAS ABUNDANT. I have this on “list of lovelies” that I am walking each morning. We’ll see how it goes.
– Fear. Still so much free-floating fear.
I seem to have moved a bit with this though. Now it seems that I just WATCH it with a sort of “Isn’t that interesting” type of attitude. Hmm… Interesting, non? Probably related to the scarcity mind-set.
THE TASTY BITS:
+ Walking – the morning walks are saving my life. Seriously.
+ Reading Havi’s Archives – so much wisdom within… so much SANITY. I thank you!
+ Watching these online, chats, lectures, conversations… especially The Compassionate Brain. Again, so much wisdom and things to think on.
+ Finding comfort and satisfaction in my dedication to writing hours focussed on the NIP and in my morning rhythms over-all. This was week 3 of rising earlier and so on. The simplicity of it makes me smile. I have always KNOWN most of the things I am currently putting into practice and/or experimenting with but – for whatever fabulous reason – I now find myself able to put them into practice. Rise early, Scribble, WRITE, Walk…. and don’t forget to EAT. It’s all good. And it’s all simple. So thankful that I am where I am right now and that I have the time to work this out and see how well it actually works. How good it feels.
+ Celebrating someone I lurve getting some AWESOME news on the work front. A well earned, well deserved BREAK of sorts. The beginnings of a new relationship and a wonderful new opportunity. YAY!
+ Allowing myself to rest. Taking time to curl up and read. Crawling into bed a bit earlier at night. S’good.
+ Also loving… Banana and Peanut Butter Smoothies, Cozy clean sheets and my lil BUNKY OFFICE.
NEXT WEEK’S EXPERIMENT: Turning my focus to this ongoing yearning for yoga time.
I shall try some different times, different routines this week and see how it FEELS.
This is the beauty of the the weekly experiment.
I can focus on TRYING SOMETHING OUT for a week and report back.
The Week Long frame makes things seem… do-able to me.
And the Reporting on it here in the S&Bs gives me… incentive to really TRY.
Thanks for being my sounding board on this whole thing.
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
Feel free to share a Shake & Bake of your own.
Or let me know what you are experimenting with this week..
Thanks for stopping by.
go easy -p
A SHINY BIT – Motivation…Inspiration… Solace…
It’s a SHINY BIT!
Sending out a “Thanks for being awesome!” to The Living Notebook and sharing his fabulous experiment with you all.
Pop over for…inspiration / support / solace this month.
Over the past two months, I’ve been writing short nondenominational prose poems or “psalms”—one for each day of November—that are intended to motivate, inspire, and channel creative power.
Shake and Bake 5: The Dilithium Crystals Edition
“Ay cannae hold her captain, she’s breaking up!”
wherein Pam confesses that she seems to be STILL piling too much on and reins it back to reaching for gentle growth
Happy Saturday, to all my wild and lovely readers!
In homage to Havi’s Friday Chickens over on the The Fluent Self — This is the place I review my week – in an attempt to track some things – like progress on my novel and… living intentionally. I shake out my week and lay it out. Let the hard burn off and the good sink in. Call it an experiment in paying attention. Feel free to join in.
THIS WEEK’S EXPERIMENT:
To TURN OFF the TYPER MACHINE by 7pm each day
– except Monday when I watched episode 4 of The Compassionate Brain from 8-9pm.
AND…. to have one day entirely FREE of said machine.
THE RESULT:
Epic FAIL.
Well no… not epic. I DID manage to turn off said TYPER MACHINE by 7pm four days out of seven.
But boy howdy – I turned directly to the TV AND to … eating and eating and EATING. Yoik.
And on Wednesday I totally had an online tv binge late into the night.
Anyone else think I’m … maybe… avoiding something????
The Quick Chicken:
Work on NIP: Groovy scary week. Made the shift on Thursday into the BwaB (book within a book). Having a TAD of worry around whether this whole Bwab focus is a good idea. (see below)
Walks – Loving them! Didn’t walk on the stormy days, but every other day I was bundled up and out the door right after my Writing Hours were done. Woot…I say WOOT WOOT!
Guitar – missed two days again – boo hiss! Shifted the TIME I do it and… it is feeling like a good fit. Now… if I could just get that third finger closer to the fret on the Dm…
Yoga/Meditation – Oh I hang my head in… no…there will be no shame…but oh it would be really lovely if I could find my way to the mat on a more … regular basis.
And…the rest of the week…
THE GNARBLY BITS:
– recognizing how hard it is for me to TURN off the outside STUFF.
Meaning, this week – the typer and the tv.
I have a bit of a clue why this happened.
I’ve begun working with Julia Cameron’s book The Vein of Gold. The first task of the book is to write a Narrative Timeline. Basically – the ole life story. I just did NOT want to do this. Too huge. Too scary. Too damned “been there done that and had the fight with my family already – thanks.”
ooof – right?
So, I found myself…
– Resisting HUGELY the VERY idea of doing this.
The good news is… I didn’t spiral into self hate over it.
I just… sat with it for awhile once I managed to pry myself from the TYPER and shut off the TV.
I set my timer and said… just a 1/2 hour… just one hour…
Kept at it – GENTLY and managed to work through it but…Oh my friends, it was hard hard hard.
– Trusting my self and my process was hard this week – even though things are actually going pretty well, in fact… AWESOMELY well on the work front.
I still doubt myself.
sigh.
Any “small waves from afar” to cheer me on are much welcome.
I spent a good deal of time this week gnawing on a book that has… appeared in the novel. It is mentioned in a few places and it seems to be looming larger and larger for Izzy (the gal who started this whole adventure rolling). She reads the book and thereby gains insights into the town she finds herself in and the people who founded it (some of whom are blood tied to characters living in her world today).
As many of you no doubt know… November is NaNoWriMo time – that’s National Novel Writing Month for those who like it longform.
I got to thinking maybe I should WRITE this BwaB instead of just … referring to bits as Izzy reads it.
I don’t imagine that the BwaB will be included, intact, in the book.
But I have decided that I do need to write it – if only to allow Izzy (and mySelf) to read the darned thing!
So… I’ve stepped out of the current world of the NIP to write the BwaB. And I’m doing it as part of NaNoWriMo. For .. the company, maybe 😉
My worry is that I will lose the flow and forward momentum of the REAL book.
My hope and belief is that this will deepen the story. It will provide historical background for this new world and the people who inhabit it.
We’ll see how it goes.
OK – on with the week…
THE TASTY BITS:
+ All friends surviving the onslaught of SuperStorm Sandy intact. Some minor damage to homes and yards but all humans, pets and wine sellars (and cellars) safe and healthy.
+ Celebrating another week of rising early.
This is really helping with the shift into seeing Time as … more abundant. Uh…maybe because…it is (she giggles).
I allow myself a bit of a lie-in on weekends.
This is helping too. 5 is easier than 7.
This is week three – and all is well.
I think maybe it is more about… doing what really does feel good.
If I stay in bed “too late” I feel behind the eight ball right off the hop. Rising up early gives me time and space to … have more time and space.
It really is a no-brainer, but it has taken me a long while to actually put it into action.
+ Finding a sort of fun way to ease myself into a new Gratitude ritual.
It’s an online research type of thing. 14 days of gratitude at THNX4.org I’m digging it.
For some reason it has always been easier for me to do things for OTHERS. I signed up to help with the research.
What shifts if you say “thank you” each day for … something or someone…
What happens if you begin to recognize and soak it in when someone says Thank-you for something you have done during the day?
What happens if you SHARE this with others?
We’ll see.
+ Allowing rituals to form organically instead of trying to force them.
By rituals I mean things like…
this weekly check in…
my walks…
guitar practice…
and, most importantly – the Writing Hours.
It’s been a good week.
NEXT WEEK’S EXPERIMENT:
Allowing myself to carry on – exploring rhythms and finding my way.
Nothing NEW piled on. Just a desire to NOTICE how it feels as I move through my days.
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
Feel free to share a Shake & Bake of your own.
Or let me know what you are experimenting with this week..
Thanks for stopping by.
go easy -p
Making Strides…
So I’m in my work journal today, thinking about the steps I am taking with this new novel and in my life and I go to the thesaurus and it is fascinating to me…
Yes– this is what I am doing… taking steps, stepping up, pacing, striding, taking it forward a hop-skip and a jump.
I’m walking it, finding the rhythms, moving into step with the woman and the writer I so desire to be. In harmony.
Making Strides.
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From the thesaurus in Scrivener...
step
noun
1 Frank took a step forward: pace, stride.
2 she heard a step on the stairs: footstep, footfall, tread.
3 she left the room with a springy step: gait, walk, tread.
4 it is only a step to the river: short distance, stone’s throw, spitting distance; informal ‘a hop, skip, and jump’.
5 the top step: stair, tread; (steps) stairs, staircase, stairway.
6 each step of the ladder: rung, tread.
7 resigning is a very serious step: course of action, measure, move, act, action, initiative, maneuver, operation, tactic.
8 a significant step toward a ceasefire: advance, development, move, movement; breakthrough.
9 the first step on the managerial ladder: stage, level, grade, rank, degree; notch, rung.
verb
1 she stepped gingerly through the snow: walk, move, tread, pace, stride.
2 the bull stepped on the farmer’s foot: tread on, stamp on, trample (on); squash, crush, flatten.
PHRASES
in step he is in step with mainstream thinking: in accord, in accordance, in harmony, in agreement, in tune, in line, in keeping, in conformity, compatible.
mind/watch one’s step just watch your step when Mrs. Kline gets here: be careful, take care, step/tread carefully, exercise care/caution, mind how one goes, look out, watch out, be wary, be on one’s guard, be on the qui vive.
out of step the paper was often out of step with public opinion: at odds, at variance, in disagreement, out of tune, out of line, not in keeping, out of harmony.
step by step I followed the directions step by step: one step at a time, bit by bit, gradually, in stages, by degrees, slowly, steadily.
step down it’s time for Rowland to step down: resign, quit, stand down, give up one’s post/job, bow out, abdicate; pack it in, call it quits.
step in 1 nobody stepped in to save the bank: intervene, intercede, involve oneself, become/get involved, take a hand. 2 I stepped in for a sick colleague: stand in, sit in, fill in, cover, substitute, take over; replace, take someone’s place; informal sub.
step on it informal if we don’t step on it we’ll miss the boat: hurry up, get a move on, speed up, go faster, be quick; informal get cracking, get moving, step on the gas; dated make haste.
step up 1 the army stepped up its offensive: increase, intensify, strengthen, augment, escalate; informal up, crank up. 2 I stepped up my pace: speed up, increase, accelerate, quicken, hasten.
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I like it.
I’ve decided to revamp my weekly check-in/chickens to reflect this way of thinking.
So as we contemplate our Shake and Bakes…. let’s not forget to … Take it all in Stride.
And my newest stride… I signed up for NaNoWriMo.
More on this…anon…
Wishing you all a blessed Samhain.
Thanks for stopping by.
go easy -p
…a bunk of one’s own… A place to work.
“When I was seven, I said to my mother, may I close my door?
And she said, yes, but why do you want to close your door?
And I said, because I want to think.
And when I was eleven, I said to my mother, may I lock my door?
And she said, yes, but why do you want to lock your door?
And I said, because I want to write.” – Dorothy West
I’ve been thinking this week about work – about where we work and how we work.
With this rolling about in my brain, I happened upon another lovely post over at Bliss In Images – about our creative spaces.
I have worked in a lot of different spaces.
When I was writing Mostly Happy, I worked:
- In a small studio apartment by a park.
- At a desk, beside another desk, in a big bright empty room in Windsor Ontario.
- In coffee shops – especially for the really heavy bits when I needed to be in public to let the scary words flow and not collapse into them.
- In various bath tubs – I share Bean’s love of bath tubs and work well in them – especially old claw-foots that you can lay a board over to prop your scibble book on. I don’t have a tub right now and I miss it sorely. I dream of once again owning a bathtub, and a bright room to set it in…One day…
- and finally – I finished the novel in a room of my own. We landed back in Saskatoon and got a two bedroom apartment on a sunny street near the library. My love set up his work space in the living room and gave me the “spare” room. It was full of books and sunshine and room to dance and it had a door that locked. I never locked the door, though I did close it a few times. Mostly it was enough to know that I HAD a door.
Things have shifted again and as I work on Sanctuary (yes that is the working title of the NIP)
I find myself building creative sanctuaries for myself in the shakey-shack on the Bay.
In A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf said,
“A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.”
I don’t have much dough right now and I don’t have a room of my own – though there is one in progress…
Here’s what I need work well:
—– my back to the wall —-
Seriously.
I think that these might be the only things I NEED. The rest is gravy.
I was given a lovely gift, this summer. A trailer to write in. A new friend from down the lane heard that I was looking for a trailer and said, “I have one I’d like to get rid of. Come and take a look. You can have it if you want.”
Not only did he give me the trailer – he also delivered it and helped us get it set and level. What a huge act of generosity!
And… I love it.
I worked in the trailer during the 3day Novel Contest in Sept.
Then, I purposely told myself that I must turn my focus back to the NIP and leave the trailer to settle itself for the winter. In the spring, I shall make it my own beautiful writing/dreaming studio. I have all winter to dream on it.
For now, My lovely raggedy-man and I share the big wooden work table that fills our 
living room … and …I am working in the lower bunk in the bedroom. I have made it into a little office – with my lap desk and a bulletin board. I love it, actually. It is warm and downright cozy bananas. I rise up, start the coffee and light the fire. Once the fire is set to burn for a while, I take my coffee and head to the bunk. I have a lamp beside me on the dresser.
I have candles and incense and a wee desk altar — some rocks and a shell, a tiny beautiful silver shell (gift from a friend) and a small fierce rune-casting woman I’ve been carrying with me since…the beginnings. She stands, beside the shell within a shell on a heart shaped rock. Casting.
It’s a good place to work.
A bunk of my own.
Have you claimed a space to do your creating/dreaming/working in?
What do you really NEED to work and what fills you with joy?
Let loose your imagination and tell me about your DREAM SPACE.
Thanks for stopping by.
go easy -p
Places I read
some places i hang out
Pam Bustin 