Perfect Circumstances
“Someday, when I have (fill in the blank), I will (fill in another).”
Here’s the thing about perfect circumstances: they rarely occur. Not without a lot of effort anyway. To wait for them to present themselves is a complete waste of time. I hear a lot, however, about that fill in the blank version of living a passionate life.
“Someday, when the kids are out of the house, I’ll start painting again.”
“Someday, when my mortgage is paid off, I’ll take that trip to Paris.”
How about, “Someday, when I retire, I’ll wish I hadn’t waited so damned long to do what my heart desires.”
One of the biggest misconceptions about following a dream is that the planets have to line up before it’s a good time to begin. Nonsense. The only good time is now. What it comes down to – planets aside – is priorities and effort.
There are plenty of days when I don’t exactly feel like writing. There are plenty of days when anyone who’s accomplished anything has to push themselves to get out from under a ticking clock and into a groove.
Circumstances are created; they are not something to be anticipated. Waiting brings nothing but frustration and regret. Make the extra effort now. Be the catalyst of your own creativity.
The Steady Climb
My dog is learning how to climb the stairs in our building, and yes . . . it’s adorable. He’d mastered stairs long before coming to live here but not the kind that have spaces between them. Ours allow you to see straight through to the bottom floor, and from his perspective, that’s pretty scary stuff. Each day, however, he becomes just a little braver and a little faster at reaching the top. The echoing chorus of “Good boy” that bounces through the stairwell after each flight is no doubt helping, as are the hugs he receives when there’s no further to climb.
I smiled a little broader at Toby’s accomplishment this morning, because we almost reached a sprinting pace climbing those big scary stairs, and because he reminded me of the challenges we humans face that can start with just one hesitant step.
New adventures – whether chosen or thrust upon us – come with a certain degree of apprehension. For some, that apprehension is minor. For others, it’s overwhelming. At times we’re able to keep our heads high and think only of our destination. More frequently, it seems, we maintain a clear vision of where we started from and are fearful of landing right smack back down there with nothing but wounds to show for our efforts.
Like little Toby, the trick is to keep repeating the required action until it becomes effortless. Don’t give up at the outset; don’t stop half way. If you can’t help but look downward, do so while your feet keep moving up. And for God sake, find someone who will cheer you on during your ascension and hug you at the top. Support is the greatest motivator, and your greatest gift. Receive it, give it, and wag your tail. Everything becomes less scary if you don’t give up.
Writing Past The Fear
Is writing scary? Everything has potential to be scary, but it doesn’t have to be. For those of you who do feel fear, I’m betting it manifests itself something like . . .
‘What if they hate it?’
‘What if my work actually sucks?’
‘What if I can’t stop staring at this blank screen and spend the rest of my life resenting everyone who’s ever gotten published?’
Writing itself isn’t as scary as NOT writing. Not writing sends you into a dark dungeon full of tormented, frustrated artists and leaves you feeling like your throat is closing off. Do I exaggerate?
I think we’ve all been there at some point, but my best advice is simply to write – something. Maybe not a chapter in your novel, but something.
Journaling helps me. It’s one of the best conduits for creative energy. The act of putting pen to paper takes me out of the mechanical act of it all and puts me in a more cerebral state. I connect better to a physical page, and even if I’m writing about the frustration of not writing, I’m writing. Make sense?
To quote Charles Bukowski, “Writing about a writer’s block is better than not writing at all.”
Journaling can unravel that string of chatter in your mind by spitting it onto the page and leaving your mind with more freedom to create outside of the confines of frustration.
Try it. You can get yourself unstuck and stop berating yourself. You can simply write.
A Matter of Perspective
I was reminded of the value of perspective recently. A few weeks ago I went snowshoeing with a friend, and during our little adventure I snapped the above photograph. The vision left me pondering as the branches only formed the shape of a heart from one particular angle. If I moved even one inch in either direction, it completely disappeared. I’d actually snowshoed passed this spot three previous times before seeing the familiar shape in the branches.
Photo credit: Helene Anne Fortin
I think of this heart in the same way I think of character development. While preparing to write my second novel, I’m forming a visual of the key players knowing that each one will need to be as elusive as the vision in the snow. Average people that you’d likely walk past several times without noticing. People for whom, if we shifted our perspective, could display a vision of beauty and complexity. Real people. People with heart.
Of course, we could stand to take the same approach to real life characters as well. We all have hidden visions of beauty in our branches. Shifting our focus can prove to enlighten and inspire.
Prepping For Book Two
It may be a while before I start the actual writing of my second book, but it’s coming – I can promise you that. The entire story exists from start to finish in my head, and prep work is under way.
I can’t just sit down and start a novel. Instead I meander down a twisty road of catharsis before landing at the doorstep of chapter one, and I do that by performing a few practical exercises (and one or two quirky ones as well):
Step one: Purge! I just donated four large garbage bags of clothes to Goodwill. Why my closet still looks stuffed to capacity is anyone’s guess, but the task is complete, and I’ll now move on to digging through drawers. The act of discarding clears a path to creativity.
Step two: Scrapbooking. I make scrapbook pages of images that I see in my mind’s eye. That means tearing out magazine pics of streets, houses, trees, cars, and anything else that may define my character’s environment. It gives me clarity.
Step three: I create a spreadsheet of characteristics for each person in the story. Where they grew up, what their belief systems are, where they went to school (if they went to school), even their favorite colors. Regardless of whether or not the material makes it into the book, it creates solid histories for my key players. I can keep them consistent if I know their backgrounds.
Step four: The cast. You’re damned right I do. I choose the actors who’d I’d like to see play my characters, and I stick their pictures in the back of my scrapbook for easy reference. A girl can dream. This exercise is just plain fun. And, by the way, Anne Hathaway has been my choice all along to play Candace Bradford in “CONTROL SWITCH – The Movie.”
Step five: Build a soundtrack. I compile a playlist on my iPad that relates to the story, and I listen to it when I’m not writing. When I’m writing I need silence. When I’m not, the music keeps me in touch with the process and the characters.
I’ve garnered my list of preparation tips from various writers, mentors, and magazine articles along the way, but every writer has their own unique style when getting ready to dive into a new manuscript. It may seem time consuming to do so much work ahead of time, but you can’t jump into the deep end if you don’t know how to swim. Be open to suggestions and find what works best for you.
Oh, and the most important thing I do before beginning? I come up with the title.
Stay tuned for updates on “Seasoned With Pepper.”