A change in the weather, a wetlands, birds and beasts and walking on clouds, as well as writing and writers, songwriting, and death. I think I covered it all...
Writing
100 Things That Made My Year
If 2022 was our pandemic junior year, then I've moved on to senioritis; I'm restless and ready to bid goodbye to 2022. I nosed through the layers of my life like a mole. I paged through calendars, notebooks, my blog... Maybe it's death's hot breath, or maybe I just like spreadsheets and lists. But here are 100 things that made my year, in no particular order or ranking.
Doing Nothing
I thought, in passing, one October morning, that I would not write anything that day. This is rare for me, but I had nothing to say. I felt wrung dry and wordless. Alan was isolating due to Covid, and I'd been on my own for a while.
Love and Death
A friend died this week. One moment she was living life deeply and the next unable to speak or move. The suddenness was jarring, and it knocked me back a bit. The odd thing was that we'd never actually met, at least not in person.
Washington On Your Side
Washington in February may have been a misguided vacation plan. Sub-freezing temps, every layer of clothing I own, more miles of walking and more sitting in the car than is good for me - I kept hearing Little Feat's Old Folks Boogie: "And you know, that you're over the hill, when your mind makes a promise that your body can't fill."
Sweeping Up
I've been using a mental whisk broom to collect my 2021 details into a tidy pile. I look them over, and then… what? Resolve to do better, repeat what works, lose my frantic grip on what doesn't? It was the worst of times, but it was also the best.
Writing Like Heaven
It's NaNoWriMo time (National Novel Writing Month) this November! I signed up to write a 50,000 word first draft of a book along with hundreds of thousands of other crazy people around the world. That's 1,667 words per day, for those of you doing the math.
The Final Word on the Absolute Very Best Time To Write
Haruki Murakami wakes at 4am to write, without variation. Hemingway wrote as soon as it got light. Vonnegut started at 5:30am.... Since successful writers have set routines unique to them, there must be an optimal time for me as well....
Remembering
Remembering, forgetting, sleep, no sleep, letting go, understanding, not understanding, the horizon in front of me....
52 Steps to Becoming a Writer
Anyone can become a writer. It hasn't been a straight path or an easy journey for me. But here are 52 steps that will get you on your way.
Rivers and Roads PDX 