Last week I moved to Burbank, California, which is nestled in the Valley, the hottest part of Los Angeles County. Right now we're having a heat wave of temperatures over 100 degrees.
There's a tendency to slow down when it gets this hot, to sprawl out with a mint julep and five air conditioners pointed right at you. But I think there's a way to cultivate heat and use it to our advantage.
What if we internalized that heat and used it to build a fire from which all of our creative energy flows? Imagine a pan filled with all of your favorite vegetables. It's not until the heat is applied that it becomes a sizzling masterpiece.
Instead of the lazy hazy days of summer, let's use the heat to fire up our writing. If you find yourself sitting on your couch, complaining that it's too hot to move, try this little exercise:
Close your eyes.
Picture a banked fire in the pit of your belly.
Inhale deep for at least five counts.
Exhale slow for another five counts. As you exhale, imagine your breath stoking the fire in your belly.
With each exhale the fire grows a little bigger, the flames lick out to other parts of your body.
When the flames reach your fingertips, pick up your pen or touch your keyboard.
Then let the fire spill out of your body and onto the page.
At the end of your writing session, reward yourself with a mint julep. Happy Midsummer, everyone!
1 comment:
Nicole, what a terrific post! I'll try the exercise as soon as it gets warm here. *g* Not that I'm complaining, or anything. It feels glorious not to be sticky all the time! We're having beach weather - coolish, highs in the low to mid 70's.
I'll be aiming the heat at two different aspects of my writing - getting five queries out by July 1st, and writing 500 words per day on something new. Don't know if the something new will be the YA trilogy, or something else. I'll have to see where the warm winds blow me this time.
Yay! SUCH a good post!
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