Bloom

Today has been a day that has felt like taking a long, deep breath. I have been experiencing some extreme stress the last couple of weeks and today was a welcome calm. I slept well, did yoga and wrote on the patio in the sun.

I also signed up for a flash fiction contest. I participated a couple of years ago and scrambled to get the first story submitted in, under the 48 hour deadline.  It needed to be less than 1,000 words, any genre, set in a butcher shop and include the image of a block of ice. I received great feedback and was moved onto the next round. However, the next story elements I received were hard to wrap my brain around. Same word count, but it needed to be set on the roof of a building in the horror genre and the object needed to be a wheel chair.

The only story idea I got was very dark in nature and I was too frightened to attempt to even write it. I bowed out of the contest. Over the past two years I have read articles about earning violence in storytelling and am being led to write much more “adult” content than I am used to. I’m planning on exploring that more in blogs the next few days.

It feels good to be writing again. Better than good. It feels like exhaling and coming home. I know that I feel grounded as a person when I am doing certain things that uplift my spirit. Writing is an important part of that.

Light a Fire

It has taken a couple of weeks of mostly being a sloth, but today I feel rested and I actually had some good productivity. I have been staying up way too late. My night owl soul has had a grand ole’ time with not having a bedtime. I have been up until 2:30 or 3:00 am for at least seven days. It’s easy to lose track of what day it is when you don’t have a bedtime.

Being in class this last week has made me have to be somewhat responsible. I have been enjoying the class a lot. It’s hard to imagine that I’m doing an entire semester worth of work in three weeks, but that is the beauty of summer school. Yesterday it was a little cooler and I sat on my patio for a bit and read outside. It was a little slice of heaven.

I’m settling into a slower way of life. It felt odd at first because I have been on a dead run for so many years. Even though I’m still taking a class this summer, it seems rather strange to have this much leisure time. Today was the first day that I really relished in the knowledge that I can do whatever I please for the next two and a half months.

I have been reading and writing. I think I might have finished a short piece I have been revising for the last year. I’m eating healthy and exercising.

I am lucky enough to be able to participate in a weekly writing workshop this summer. Just reading and doing some of the warm-up activities have lit a fire under me again. I found a book online about outlining and I just got another book that focused on character development and archetypes.

As I come back to my center, emotionally, mentally, spiritually and physically – I am feeling inspired to create on a regular basis again. I cleaned my house today, did laundry and the dishes. The organization of my surroundings has made me feel more grounded today as well.

I’m excited to keep working on myself and my creative life this summer. I worked incredibly hard this year as a teacher, but having these couple of months of freedom is making it all the more worthwhile.

Talk soon.

It All Starts With A Story

I have been trying to find an image for close to an hour now, but I’ve already taken my cough medicine and it’s becoming quite futile…

I have been very ill with asthma and an upper respiratory infection so I haven’t had much energy for anything this week. I did manage to write a scholarship essay today. Tomorrow I need to write a handful of cover letters and apply for teaching jobs. I’ve really been blocked by these letters. I think it’s all the pressure of wanting to land a teaching position soon and all the other people out here trying to get those positions too. I know that I need to rip off the band-aid and just get my applications out there. So…tomorrow is the day.

I also started a new short story this week. I have been working on it in small spurts, but it feels good to be writing something new. It’s the first short story I have written that is semi-autobiographical. It is fiction, but inspired by real people and places in my life. It’s cathartic to write it out and explore reality and fantasy at the same time.

I’m hoping to get more sleep tonight and feel better in the morning to tackle my cover letters and my new story. It should be 73-75 degrees tomorrow and it will be nice to sit outside and get some writing done.