Writing rituals, totems and talismans

A ritual is a pattern of behavior, which, like Pavlov's dog, signals us that it's time to write. A walk, mediation, a cup of a particular flavor of tea, a certain kind of music...

The word ‘totem’ is of Native American origin, but totem-like beliefs have been historically present throughout much of the world. In Native American culture it’s a spirit guide. In writing it symbolizes the Muse.

A talisman is regarded as a repository for magical energy, like a battery. In writing this can be most anything that inspires us or carries symbolic power. Quartz is believed to increase inspiration and creativity.

What rituals, totems or talismans get (and keep) you writing?

The Power of Positive Thinking

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in making new landscapes but in having new eyes." —Marcel Proust

Carpe Diem (a.k.a. time management)

"A year from now you will wish you had started today." -Karen Lamb

"In truth, people can generally make time for what they choose to do; it is not really the time but the will that is lacking." -Sir John Lubbock

"If you really want to do something, make the commitment, then break it down into baby steps and be sure to take at least one step every day." -Barb Aeschliman

Writing Quote - what does it mean to you?

Novelist James Carroll put it well: "We tell stories because we can't help it. We tell stories because we love to entertain and hope to edify. We tell stories because they save us.”

Time Capsule

Write about items you would choose to put into a time capsule to give future generations a glimpse of our world today.

Story Starter

Set your timer for 5 minutes. No stopping, no editing, no deleting. If you hit a dead end, bulldoze through....

“It was many years ago in that dark, chaotic, unfathomable pool of time before . . .”

Story Starter...

Sent your timer before you read the prompt below. Have your pen (or keyboard) ready. Read the prompt and start writing. Don't stop to think. Try to write without stopping for 15 minutes. Even if you think it doesn't make sense or you want to edit - resist the urge. Just follow the train of thought until it runs out.


“They came through on the hotline at about half past two in the afternoon . . .”

Write about spilled milk...

Real or metaphorical, action or reaction, a family scene, a scene in a restaurant, use the line in a bit of dialogue (for bonus points, use it to convey subtext). Share a few sentences here.

“He found a package of seeds in his coat pocket . . .”

Begin a story with “The day he went to Disneyland, I went to . . .”

Share the first paragraph (or two) here.

Write about going nowhere in particular...

Random Words

Set your timer for 15 minutes and write a story using the following words:

Moon
Umbrella
Empty
Purple
Zebra
Violin

Write about a childhood pet.

Poetry and Musicals

My youngest has a poetry project due next Friday, so we've been up to our nether regions in verse. He really likes to write limericks and haiku. Here's a haiku that I wrote -

My baby can't write
Will he ever graduate?
Please pass me the wine

He's also in the high school musical that opened last night. They're doing "Urinetown". I haven't seen it yet. We're going next week. I think that the people at the high school like to be thought of as edgy and cool. Since (to teenagers) anyone over 25 is neither, why can't they do freaking "South Pacific" or freaking "Oklahoma"?? Here's a limerick -

My youngest, he loves Japanese
He spouts it whenever he please
His grades are a mess
Though he aces mosts tests
And he's bringing his mom to her knees

It's been one of those weeks.

A Day of Renewal

At 12:01 pm, EST, as President-Elect Obama placed his hand on Abraham Lincoln's bible to take the oath of office and become President Obama, something very 21st century happened.

The White House website changed hands.

As I listened to President Obama's speech on my TV, my iBook in my lap, I clicked into the Presidential Blog (a blog! The President has a blog!), and saw that the new President had declared a proclamation. He declared today, January 20th, a Day of Renewal.

A Day of Renewal! What a beautiful idea. For many of us, 2009 really started today, not on January 1st. 20 days have passed since we made our resolutions. How are we doing on them? I know I could be doing a lot better. So how fortunate that today, on this Presidentially-proclaimed Day on Renewal, we get to take a deep breath, and start again.

Let a new era begin, both without and within ourselves. "The fierce urgency of now," President Obama said. Let us take this moment to re-dedicate ourselves to our goals and our dreams and move forward, filling each minute with the fierce urgency of now.

We are no longer asleep. We are wide awake to the world around and inside us, so let us meet it with renewed breath, faith, hope, urgency, and grace. Amen, amen, amen!

Surprising your inner critic

Happy January, everyone! Things are getting back to normal-ish around here after our extended winter break, freakish twelve day snow event, and holiday madness. The oldest boy is back at his university, the middle boy finally applied to a college this week, and the youngest turned in a science paper...on time. Thank you magic homework pixies!

I've had quite a writing holiday, too. I haven't done much in a month or so and I want to get back on track. To bring myself up to speed, I thought I'd re-read what I've written so far, then start on an 800 to 1,000 words per day goal. Sounds very do-able, and probably easier than my wish to find an exercise that I can do on a regular basis without dry heaving.

Here's the surprise moment for me: as I re-read my work-in-progress, I found that I liked it. I really liked it. I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next. My mouth fell open - where had I come up with all this? Sure, there were a few things I wanted to tweak along the way, but this was total vomit copy written during NaNoWriMo and I still thought it didn't suck. My lovely critique group (hello lovely critique group) knows that I can be pretty hard on myself. I am my own worst critic. For me to read my own work and react like this...well, it was a huge shock-o-roonie.

So what's surprised you lately? Family, friends, your work...what's given you a little smile that you never expected?

New Year's .... Ideas

Well. Gerb tagged us over on her blog : ) And so then she had to explain to me what that meant. Yes, I feel very undereducated at the moment. Which is okay. Nothing a little chocolate and a willingness to ask questions won't cure!

So, what a bunch of us need to do here is share three of our New Year's Resolutions. Personally I chafe at the idea of New Year's Resolutions. Just the word "resolution" makes me feel like I'm setting myself up for failure. This is probably a learned response, having failed at resolutions for years. So that's why I called the post "Ideas". I'm trying to trick myself. And to that end, I'm going to take a break and end this post here. I'm going to go hunt down some more chocolate, then come back and share three of my New Year's Ideas.

November and NaNoWriMo

November is a busy time in my house. It always has been, as long as I can remember. I loved November when I was a child. I thought that school was closed all those days as a birthday present to me. Thanksgiving was a time for me to see all my relatives and usually score a belated gift or two. Yes, life was good.

Then I got older and had kids of my own. November turned into a nightmare. 'How many days off do I need to plan on for day care? How can I ask my boss for more time off? I have to start shopping for Christmas when, exactly?' And it only got worse as my boys got older. The end of the first quarter is in November, so there are loads of projects and final papers (help me Rhonda). And my Irish dance boy has all the prep and nerves leading up to the regional championships. We get to go to Phoenix in eleven days. Imagine the joy.

So this year, what do I do? On top of my ninth grader skirting with disaster in all his core classes? On top of spending three nights a week at a dance studio? On top of helping a friend untangle her new business accounting? Yep. I sign up for NaNo. What kind of cyber Kool-Aid did my friends entice me to drink?

But wait...I haven't crashed and burned. I've MADE time. I've written. I've gotten (as of yesterday) almost 12,000 words done on my new book. The words may be of questionable quality, but they're down on paper so I'm countin' 'em. The big shocker to me is that I've managed to stay almost caught up with the rest of the NaNo peeps.

It's been a crazy eight days so far. My kitchen table looks like a paper recycling bin. There are dishes in the sink and dust bunnies on the floor. But I've paid the bills and fed the kids. And in the midst of the craziness, I get a happy, warm glow from knowing that I've done something just for me.

What have you done for yourself lately?

Quote of the Week

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.” -Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)

The Wisdom of Day Two

So we're not even forty-eight hours into this thing and already I've learned a lesson or two about cranking out 50K in 30 days.

1. It isn't going to be easy.
2. The amount of time your family will suddenly want to spend with you is in direct proportion to the amount of time you have planned to devote to writing.
3. Editing at this stage of the game is Not Good. One of the reasons that I worked so long with so little to show for it today is because I kept sneaking back into yesterday's work to add a thing or two here, to tweak a little there. This is bad. Wrong. Don't do it! Not until December 1, at least.
4. I need more sleep.

That last one should be easy to fix. I'm going to bed! I'll deal with the rest tomorrow.

What's the biggest lesson you've learned so far?