Revelation and Inspiration

I’m still pretty tired. It’s amazing how being back at school is taking it out of me. I haven’t been sleeping very soundly the last couple of days either and that probably has a bunch to do with it too. It’s crazy how easily I can slip back into my old ways of staying up way to late. I had a major power struggle with a student today, which was a bit exhausting as well. It wasn’t a power struggle, per se, because I was very consistent and would not budge with it. I am very stubborn and it actually served me well today. I was calm and firm. It was hard to hold my ground, but he was looking for an inch of wiggle room and I never would have got that authority back. I love him. He is bright and I enjoy working with him every day but he challenges me almost everyday as well. I think the is on the Autism spectrum and he is being observed this month. I am grateful for him because he makes me a better teacher. We are learning from each other.

On a nicer note, two of my 5th grade students finished my book over the Winter Break. One of them saw me in the hallway today before our group and stopped to give me a hug and tell me she had completed it over break. She struggles with reading, but she works hard to improve. She was so happy to talk to me about the book and she asked me when she could read another one of my books because it was so interesting. I said, “Well, I’m still writing it…”

She said, “You better get busy! I want to read it soon!”

That is inspiration and a lot of pressure 🙂

I told her how proud I was of her for finishing it and doing such an amazing job. It was the biggest book she has ever read and she read it in less than two weeks. It was above her reading level and she really pushed herself. She had a huge grin on her face and I knew she felt my pride and excitement for her awesome accomplishment.

I haven’t been writing. I think about it all the time, but I haven’t even tried to write anything other than journaling or Morning Pages in months. Having the students enjoy my book so much and be excited to read what’s next has been a revelation and inspiration to get off my duff and just try to get some words down. I have had little spurts of inspiration with these WIP’s, but mainly a lot of one step forward two steps back.

I resolved to write more again anyway, so time is of the essence!

What inspires you to keep writing and persevering when writing gets tough?

I know I will see that student’s grin in my head from now on when I sit down to write.

Auld Lang Syne

Happy New Year’s Eve!

2011 is on its way out and 2012 is knocking at the door, ready to come in and play.

I have been awfully neglectful to this blog these last couple of months. I have been busy with work and not writing. That is going to change in 2012.

I’ve learned this last December that my writing is important in ways I didn’t realize. That realization was a wonderful gift.

I got behind on getting The Christmas Child  printed this year. It was more work than I expected getting the book ready for reprint and even though I made contacts with some stores, I couldn’t afford to get the new copies printed fast enough for the book to be featured before Christmas. 2012 will be more about advancing the book. I will be working on marketing from January to July so that I will be prepared in August to really steam ahead.

I was disappointed with the lack of forward motion this year, but it was a reflection of the time I put into it last year. I teach a group of fifth graders literacy everyday. One of them found my book on the classroom bookshelf and asked if she could show it to the rest of the group. They were excited and wanted to read it. It is above their reading level, but we all agreed to work hard on vocabulary and I brought them copies the week before we went on Winter Break.  The excitement and rate at which they devoured the book amazed me. They were begging to read more and everyday they would come back having read 15-20 pages at home.

They are asking when they can read the next book and I don’t have anything to offer them yet. Their enthusiasm is good motivation to get back to work!

I still devour books like that. When a great story grabs at you and takes you out of your everyday life, it is a gift. I’m excited that my book is offering that to these six students.

I also received a text from a friend right before Christmas that her brother-in-law was reading my book to his kids for the third time this year. I couldn’t help but be honored by this. This book is special to me in ways that I can’t even express, but to realize that it is special to other people, to strangers is a revelation that I never really expected. You hope that it will matter to someone, but it is such a wonderful surprise when it does.

As 2011 comes to close, I want to thank it for all the wonderful opportunities it brought into my life. I’m excited to see what 2012 has in store for me and my writing.

I make resolutions each year, but I’m never too good at keeping them. I did the best job to date this last year. In terms of writing resolutions, I want to write daily. I am going to start small with a time frame not a word count because that seems to be easier for me to tackle. I think I will start with 10-15 minutes and try to increase it a bit every month.

What about you. What do you hope to accomplish with your writing or art in 2012?

I’m a big fan of Julia Cameron and her Artist Way books. I realized a week ago that I have never finished The Vein of Gold. I remember starting it in my early twenties, but not getting very far. I think a journey into my creative heart is exactly what I need in 2012. I am looking forward to co-creating a life of creativity this coming year.

Happy New Year’s Eve! See you next year.