May the (Creative) Force Be With You!

Believe me, I can use all the help I can get since this May, I will be participating in Story A Day! 

Story A Day is all about promoting creativity. The goal: write - and finish! - a story every day in May.

Now, as founder Julie Duffy says, there is some flexibility:

"Since the StoryADay May challenge began in 2010 I have always said: make your own rules. For some people, the challenge of writing a story every day is the thing that excites them the most and helps them to embrace the challenge. For other people it’s unrealistic. Those writers simply decide how many days this month they’re going to write. The key is to make your own rules and then stick to them. Some years, for example, I take Sundays off."

But she is a stickler for one thing: FINISHING.

"This is the only place where I am quite strict. There is a power in finishing a story and so I encourage you to push through to the end of your story every day. This does not mean writing a brilliant draft. Sometimes you have to cheat. You can write “[something clever happens here]” and then sketch out a resolution and final paragraph if that’s what it takes to get used to the end of the story. Doing this at least teaches you to keep the mood to keep the story moving towards a place of resolution."

So, my plan for May: write and finish a story Monday through Friday with weekends off OR five stories a week, just in case I need a little wiggle room. I hope to reconnect with the core of my writing, the joy and the passion I used to feel. I'm going to have fun with my writing again, people. 

Wish me luck!

*****

Have you heard of Story A Day? Plan on giving it a try? There's still time to sign up! Are you participating in any other challenges, creative or otherwise? 

Gratitude, Passion and NaNo

"TO ME, 

NORMAL IS THE ABSENCE OF PASSION.

I WANT TO CRAVE AN EMBRACE,

LOSE MYSELF IN THE TASTE OF A

DELICIOUS PIECE OF DARK CHOCOLATE,

FEEL EVERY HAIR ON MY ARM STAND ON END 

FROM THE LICK OF A COOL BREEZE.

NORMAL?

NAH, KEEP IT.

I'M TOO BUSY 

BEING GRATEFUL AND PASSIONATE 

ABOUT THIS LIFE I'M LIVING."

(Kristin Cast)

Busy being grateful and passionate? That's me! Hopefully, it's all of you, too. 

For the rest of the month, I'm throwing myself into my NaNo novel. I will come up for air. And turkey. And chocolate. And to remind my husband and the tortoises who I am. But otherwise, I'm pretty much on a blogging break.

I wish you all a wonderful rest of the month and a very happy Thanksgiving! See you in December!

The Pursuit of Passion . . . and Possibly Salt and Pepper Shakers.

Back in July, I read an interesting article by Maura Rhodes in Parade Magazine called "Robots, Gnomes and Beatniks - Oh My!" about people who collect things.  One person collects desk service bells. Another, exotic beads. An eight-year-old boy is really into garden gnomes. 

My Dad collected salt and pepper shakers. They were on shelves all over the house. He would buy them at garage sales. People would bring ones back from trips. Some were from my grandparents' time. My sister and I rolled our eyes and teased him, saying when he died we'd have a fistfight over who would get them. That didn't happen, of course. (Although I could take her. If I had to. Just saying.) But some came home with me, just as a keepsake. I don't think I'll start collecting them myself, but I guess you never know.

After all, my Dad didn't collect salt and pepper shakers until he was older. I don't know why he started when he did and why this particular thing. A lot of people in the article seemed to get started almost by accident. The person with the service bells originally bought one as a gift then ended up keeping it. The boy with the gnomes discovered them at an environmental center.

I don't really collect anything. Sure, I've got lots of books, tons of seashells, more beads and crafty things than I know what to do with, but none are true collections. I'm missing out! I want that passion, that drive, so many collectors have. I want to go on a hunt! 

Hmm, maybe I'll pull out those salt and pepper shakers, give them another look . . . .

*****

Do you collect anything? What do you collect? Why? Do you enjoy the hunt? How about your characters? Are they big collectors of anything? What do you think it says about them? 

Pacing Yourself . . . the Tortoise Way

We put a parsley plant in the tortoises' tank. It was full and leafy and dressed up their home quite a bit. They both seemed to enjoy it, although Larry munched for longer and enjoyed poking around under it.

See how pretty the plant is? Okay. Now, the next day, I walked in the door and this is what I saw...

The chewed up plant was tipped over on its side. Mrs. L was waaaaaay over on the other side of the tank. Larry, however, was still nibbling the evidence.  

Now, did this happen because they were bored or because the plant was a novelty? Did they just enjoy having it so much, they couldn't resist reveling in it? I don't know, because all they did was look at me all innocent-eyed, even Larry who had parsley stuck to his face. 

As I pulled the ravaged plant from the tank, I also pulled a lesson:  Sometimes it's good to hold back, pace yourself, show a little restraint, but there's also something to be said for letting go, letting yourself go, and throwing yourself into something you love and relishing it.

So, go ahead - find your parsley plant...and do with it what you will.