Oh, the hubris. That strawberry was so lushly red and plump at 6:00 a.m. When I went out on the deck at 7:00 a.m.... Manise, you may want to click away rather than read this travesty: it was half eaten. Half! What, bird, it wasn't good enough? I would have eaten the whole thing.
Yesterday I shared the first watercolor in the journal that I'm keeping as part of the Creativity Boot Camp project. I'm late to the party, but I just love the idea of taking creative risk in a medium I mess around with but don't dedicate much time to. Watercolor painting, like ice skating, is something I know I'm not too good at, but I have a whole lot of fun doing.
A few days ago, a friend of mine posted on my FB wall that she needed a writing pep talk. We arranged a lunch date, and I scanned my writing books shelf for some encouragement. The photo above shows the little stack I brought her. She's a well-read woman (a librarian. I'm really attracted to librarians. I want to be a librarian.) with a fantastic idea for a YA novel. I can't wait to read it--the idea is THAT good. This is her first stab in the genre, and I remember that wallowing feeling all too well. I thought these books would provide just the right encouragement for a new writer in need of a pep talk. What would you have added to the stack?
I have had an encouraging writing week. In fact, I honestly can't remember the last time I was this excited about and in love with my novel. I'm moving away from the protagonist into the story of her mother as I've decided to make it the story of how the three generations (original protagonist, her mother, her grandmother) and their secrets entwine. It took a few weeks, but I found the voice with which to narrate the mother's section, and this week, for the first time in ages, I was surprised by plot. I even got choked up by the scene I was writing today!
Today I went to a writing group that meets at La Paloma in Hartford. I usually steer away from writing groups as too often they descend into complaining about the publishing industry. This group simply writes in each others' company. I like it. I'm going back for more.
It feels fantastic to be so inspired, to have my creativity feeling "on" for the first time in so long. Call me silly, but I really think I freed my head when I moved the beast of a loom out of my house and took back my office, made it a studio. There's something to be said for honoring one's work with a special space, no matter how big or small.
Hope your Friday was wonderful, too!