When tossing clippings last year, I noticed heaps of iris bulbs thrown in a big trash bin. I adore irises and couldn't bear to leave them, so I rescued a few and planted them...spring ta-da! Amethystine and pink petal beauty.
Winter has been far too long for me! I can't wait for springy green things again, and flowers with petals soft as silk tears...
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| *Actual roses beneath all this snow, I promise |
I used to judge myself a total failure as a writer because I couldn't make my ink bloom beautifully and consistently year round. But you know what? Even nature needs its fallow spells, its winter chill, naked branches and solitary shivers that go straight down to the soul. Sometimes, detritus is required to make rich loam for fresh imaginings.
I've been on planet Earth for almost 4 decades now, and I still don't know where my stories will take me next...but there is light in my basement window again, and I treasure that hint of sky.
One of the most important habits I picked up in my creative writing classes was to always email myself updates of my drafts. That way, if my computer died or a tornado carried my house off to the land of Oz, at least my work would be accessible online! Recently, on a whim I started adding a tiny pep-talk with each attached draft email.
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| *Embellished screenshot of email |
We writers can be really tough on ourselves sometimes...so why not be our own cheerleader occasionally, too?
I'm happy to report that I am now one-third done with my first draft of Agent Regalia!
Some friends unexpectedly invited us over for a new year's party. We played board games (I'm a Dixit fan forever!) and enjoyed scrumptious snacks and celebratory carbonated grape juice. However, I was baffled when I was asked what my "word" for this year would be. I struggled to think of an appropriate focus word to reside at the heart of all my goals, and settled on "drive."
However, I discovered an even better syllabic confection that I wish to use as the prism lens to filter all my wishes and goals this year:
EUNOIA
It is Greek for "well mind" or "beautiful thinking." I want to learn to balance all my aspirations and energies evenly. I don't want to be outpaced and outstripped by my dreams, but to work in silence and strength towards my better self . . . and best stories yet!
Wishing you serendipity with all your endeavors this year, fellow Earthlings.
