Its a Langston Hughes kinda lyric in the winds today. Feels determined to be heard.

Black stomping in on dark brown clouds.

An overcast hovering over Justice’s hooded mind.

Funny how the hood still plays its part, once white with two holes for seeing and reciting the  hateful lines  in a wrongful script.

The weather won’t let up. The rains are drowning out the Truths of a child’s call.

For help.

We, the people, pick up the receiver a bit too late to help

Then

But  still in time to say something.

Say something

DO SOMETHING.

This feels like a Langston Hughes kinda morning, y’all

Where the lyrics of a people’s activism glide in the wind, feeling determined to be heard.

Determined to be heard.

(…to be continued, in movement)

(c) 2012 Brook Blander

Its been a very long time since I bought this book. To be honest, its been long enough for me to have forgotten when I bought it and even where. But apparently, it came into my life for a reason, and the season for it has finally arrived.

In my latest venture to redesign my studio, complete with painting and needed window treatments, I had to move all of my books out of my studio and into another room to maneuver books cases and shelves. Being very particular about the workings of this space now, I took the time to go through all of my books one by one and categorize them before bringing them back in.

I ran across “This Could Be a Novel”, a sort of sectional journal for all the main elements of a writing a novel…character sketches, dialogue, etc. The time of finding it could not be more perfectly aligned as I am finally finished with all of my design projects and working away at getting my novel written. What is it about, you ask? Well, with each writing session, Im discovering the answers to that very question.

You see, Im writing without an outline on a novel that has changed directions several times. While many very right-brained (or is it left brained?) writers would frown upon that, I am taking the journey or writing this novel as a spiritual one. Im praying and meditating for guidance on what to write next, and I am, (what I believe is channelling), writing the most intimate details of the lives of my characters.

While I use the colored notecards in a treasure box method of outlining and brainstorming, Ive decided to utilize its compartmentalized way of organizing along side my notecards. Why? Especially if the notecard method is working? Well, because I have no outline of the course of this story, lots of information comes at me from many different directions. I may have and idea and write it out on the notecard, and then a few hours later, the same idea comes, but totally reversed details. Which method leads you to writing a better story? I don’t know, but having more than one method of capturing the possibilities sounds like a winner to me. Who knows…it could actually be the telling of two different books in the end.

My point…capture everything, and keep it organized in whatever method works for you. You never know when you’ll get more than one idea, try one and it doesn’t turn out the way you intended. You can always quickly return to the other idea(s) awaiting you.

Until the next word,
B

So its Day 2 of NaNoWritMo, National Novel Writing Month, and Im in. But Im not in it to win it.

Let me explain.

National Novel Writing Month is a month dedicated to reaching for a writing goal of 50,000 words. The rules are write freely, crap and all. That 1667 words per day. Thats a lot of words…especially if they are words that you are writing just to hit a word count goal. For me, thats not what writing is about. And for me, thats not what participating in NaNoWritMo is about.

For me, participating in NaNoWritMo is about working towards my goal of being a writer that WRITES, producing my greatest work on a daily basis. If each day I hit the one thousand six hundred and sixty seven words, thats a bonus, a great bonus. But if each day, I write six words, well, those six words, I know, are six words of my defined greatness.

NaNoWritMo to me, for me, is a community of energy of simply writing. Its a cheerleading team cheering you on to your goal. That goal, you can make yourself. That goal, doesn’t have to be word count. That goal, can be to simply write. In my opinion, thats the best goal to have, especially if you are writing a novel for the first time. NaNoWritMo is an energy flowing around the world to write. I can get with that. Its many people doing for one month something that they’ve put off doing their whole life. I like that too. For many, making the time to write, no matter how many words, for one month out of the year is Bucket List worthy and this is their shot at crossing it off. Im totally cool with that. And to those that want to finish a 50,000 word first draft of a novel in 30 days, go for it, if that is what you want to do. To each his own.

As for this writing woman, its about riding the energy wave being fueled by writers all over the world and using it as yet another motivation to write daily. Yesterday, I wrote 21 words. Today, I wrote 2162. Both days, I feel I’ve been successful in reaching my goal. What people need to remember here, (and in life, if I may dare to go that far) is that everything that is setup with a certain motivation doesn’t necessarily have to be your motivation. Use it however you need to, in the dosage that works for you. Take from it the parts that accommodate what you are in need of and leave the rest. Its that simple. Lastly, don’t cancel it out because its intended motivation and your motivation are not the same. (Yeah, that was deep.)

So there, I really don’t care about winning…all I really care about is writing.

Until next time…

Its been a long night. I haven’t slept well in over a week and I don’t foresee any Zzzz’s at the end of the tunnel coming anytime soon. So after taking my daughter to school this morning, I returned to bed for a little while to see if sleep would make an appearance. It didn’t. So,  I reached for what at least helps me get to sleep (staying asleep is another blog post, trust me)…Reading.

Because Im determined to make it to the bookstore for my writing sessions today, I figured going the route of reading about writing would set my mind and thought patterns in the direction of todays intentions. And it did…in overload. I read one post. Then one article. Then before I knew it I was crawling my way through the blog of a writer I follow on Twitter for everything she’d ever posted about writing. (I’d like to take this moment to label this as ‘sucked in’.)

While for a writer, reading is indeed a good thing…a great thing, it cannot be the only thing we do and call ourselves writers. There really must be a balance. I have soooo many writing books. From “how to” to “why to” to “when to” to “who should” write a book. My confession with the in-denial obsession with writing books is that its not always for me and my writing. Im a writing coach and the reference material helps me with my clients. (Yeah, lets go with that). But back to my point, if we, writers, are spending most of our time reading about our craft, talking about our projects, thinking through the details of how to apply what we read, but rarely write, I have news for you… You’re not a writer, your a reader.

We are so fortunate to be writers, as it allows us to just sit and do what we love with minimal requirements. A pen, a notebook, and idea and we’re off and running. At least we should be. But if you’re anything like me, you have to have a few other things as part of your writing ritual to get your mind going in the right direction. For me, a big part of that ritual is reading about writing. The key, though, is knowing when to stop reading and start writing.

So does your writing ritual involve reading first? I know one writer that has to read after she completes her writing sessions or otherwise she can’t get her head out of her story. How much reading is too much reading for a writer? Whats the cut off point…15 minutes? 15 pages? 15 books?!?!

Its a beautiful balancing act that we must perform as writers. But hey, somebody’s gotta do it! Remember this when reading about writing (or anything that you enjoy doing) …Reading a map doesn’t get you to your destination, its when you actually start to take the journey that you ( and your writing) truly begin.

Until next time…

Its a truth be told in restarted letters kind of day

A voice in a cast iron skillet, I’ve got something to say kind of day

Its never the right time to quit, but Im watching the hands on the clock of my life kind of day

Its an offer me water, boiling hot, killing the germs of bad words kind of day.

Its tears on a tissue meant for whipping my behind kind of day

Its not fit to carry my thick girl weight, a scaled back kind of day

Been chained to a fence, cant say my name in another language kind of day

Ive flip the stations on a TV hoping to catch my interest kind of day

Sell me your products that I need to remedy the disease of the last thing  I bought from you kind of day

Casper’s a friendly ghost but I want my great granny’s spirit here with me  kind of day

I jump at the sound of the chimes dancing just as I asked them to kind of day

Write whats in your heart not your distorted thought-filled head kind of day

Pull the plug out of the claw foot basin of my soul kind of day

Leave me alone and let my pains drain away kind of day

The breath traveling through my lungs skip the last part of the trip kind of day

Pull the covers up over my head, its scary as hell out there kind of day

Wondering if the Universe hears my cry kind of day

Yep.

That kind of  day.

Dear Readers/Supporters…

Sometimes life happens, and you simply don’t want to do anything but stay in bed and mope. On those days, you’re still a writer(or whatever your love is for). On those days, when you push yourself to do what you love, even for 5 simple minutes, that’s when you learn what you’re made of and what your true calling is, and why you are here in this life.

I tossed back the covers and wrote, even if I did nothing else today…even if only for a little while…even if only for me…even if the words are never read. I wrote to breathe. And I encourage you to take time to do what you love, even if only for yourself every now and then.

Sincerely,
Brook Blander
A Breathing, Human, Real-Life Writer from the Heart…Because I Must Be

8:58am

Today is the first day that I have sat down, wiped everything from my to-do list, and am reclaiming my Wednesday Writing sessions. I’m sitting here at my kitchen table, no clue why I chose to sit here, vs going into my studio, with my three journals stacked next to me. One, I have been writing in for over a year, and Im about 3/4 the way through it. One, I recently found the lined pages that I have been searching for for over a year, so I intend to christen those today with simply a quote of inspiration for myself. And lastly one that I purchased last week with intentions of dedicating it solely to my two current projects. I also have Stephanie Dowrick’s Creative Journal Writing book that I have been enjoying for the past few weeks. Its inspiring to me as a journal writer and with my current project about journaling. So I keep it handy.  From there, two of my favorite pens, a black and a purple fine tip sharpie. Laptop, which my family refers to as “the little croissant” in front of me. Im ready.

10:35 am

But I don’t begin…

Oh how I dream of the days that I will be more able to push my writing button inside and like the old days of Inspector Gadgett, say “Go go, gadget WRITE!” Until then, I’m going to sit here, with my hand on the keyboard, an open document in front of me and wait. Cause that’s what we writers sometime have to do…

So the b(earth)day is coming to a wrap up…well at least thats what’s the calendar says. And since I didn’t really go by the calendar to get it started over a week ago, I’m wondering whether I will really let the celebration come to an end anytime soon.

The topper, on Saturday, Love tells me she is heading to the office to work for an hour after returning from a weeklong trip to Canada. I pout for about 30 seconds, then remember that I want to catch up on a few episodes of a TV show I recorded and like watching it better when she isn’t around asking 30 questions through the show…and of course, totally quiet for all of the commercials. Go figure. So off she goes to work and off I go to the chaise with remote in hand. The princess, MiniMe, out of the blue decides, “let’s go to breakfast”. Okay? Weird. Why is she up this early on a Saturday? But okay, its the start of by Bday week+, so I bite, and at her request, head off to the bedroom to get dressed. Love returns home, comes to my bathroom and asks me to come look at something she picked up while she was out. I walk into my kitchen and screamed at the top of my lungs. There standing in my kitchen was my best friend, TJ, from Atlanta. She’d flown in to surprise me. I cried, I screamed, I jumped up and down. You’d think Ed McMahon was involved somehow. She told me she was coming for my birthday, but a month ago told me she wasn’t going to make it. I had been so sad the past few weeks. Moving to a new place with no friends here, has been hard. The internet can only go so far. Sure there are people around, but everyone that KNOWS me knows that I am very particular about people’s energy and only serve my TEA (Time Energy and Attention) to those that my spirit deems a-ok. Anyhooo, I spent a wonderful five days with my best friend exploring places I had wanted to in my new city and hadn’t gotten around to as well as showing her my favorite spots so far. Between spa, and pedicures, and sushi, and so much more, I’d say we had a wonderful time, indeed.

So then Thursday, the actual day of my bday, I had already expressed that I didn’t want a big hoopla of a bday this year. Unfortunately, I woke up not feeling 100%, so a low key day was perfect for me. I spent the day sleeping in, going for a drive and sightseeing (don’t you just love looking at huge houses?) and then off to seafood overload I went. Thats all I wanted for that day. And it was absolutely perfect.

Friday, I requested a day in nature. We went to the Japanese Garden(http://fwbg.org/gardens/japanese/) and I am 110 percent in love. We stayed in the garden, acres and acres of land with bonsai’s, tea houses, a real life zen garden for nearly 4 hours. One of my bday gifts was my first bonsai tree, a japanese hand painted silk fan, and a small buddha statue for my plant. Ecstatic! Yes, I still am!. We took tons and tons of pictures, which I will be posting soon. The beauty is truly breathtaking. I am very sure its a place that will be frequenting. My favorite part of the Japanese Garden was actually not in the garden but outside of the gift shop. I have always wanted to see an actual lotus flower growing from the ground. Not a picture, the real thing. So there in the garden were the leaves (pad?) but all the flowers seemed to be dead. I don’t know anything about the seasons and lotus flower growth, but I saw the dead ones and knew this must not be the time. Then I noticed a turtle and in my attempt to get closer to see if it was real or a statue, I noticed this!!!

Saturday was a second spa day. I’m head over heels for Kings Spa (http://www.kingspa.com/). It is like Jeju spa on steroids. So much amethyst! So much energy. Its a Korean spa and sauna. Stayed there this time (went on Tuesday with my best friend also) basically all day. So relaxing, so much detoxification, so good for me. My favorite room of all is the BaseRock room. Talk about sweating, healing, and more sweating. Ahhhh! Topped the evening off with my daughter’s drumline performance at the end of their 12 hour drum-a-thon. That’s one seriously AWESOME band and drumline.

And today, Sunday, the finale, in order with my request, I am reading, journaling, and looking at my sparkly toes. Switching back and forth between Lifetime and the US Open, fresh cup of tea, and my nook color in bed. This morning, I played with my plants, watered, clipped, and gave them love and reiki. They are thankful, I know.

Its been a great entrance into this new year, and I know, the best is yet to come.

Until next time…
B

Here are your FIVE FRIDAY nuggets of inspiration and motivation (8/19/11):

1. Express gratitude as much and as often as you can.
2. Stretch your back on a daily basis. Yoga is great, if you want to take it that far.
3. Know that EVERYday is a good day.
4. Align your thoughts and emotions with your intentions.
5. Regain (or maintain) your sense of humor by making funny faces at yourself in the mirror for 3 minutes today.

HAVE A GRANDFABULOUS WEEKEND!

After weeks of packing, moving, unpacking, and settling in, I’m finally back in the studio, typing away at my word count goal for this week. I wrote a scene that though I initially set out for it to be an opening,  lacks the strength I was initially hoping for. While it will be used in my overall writing project, after lots of much needed plastic (keys) surgery, I just don’t think my original thought of placement will work. Good writing none the less. And exactly when does it work out the way that I planned anyway?  Ah, so is the life of a writer.

One of the things that I am working on in my writing is not being so attached to every word I write. So I feel like I am in a sucky relationship where I need to pull back and let some of the words I know, gently, in my its-not-you-its-me voice, “Im just not 100% in love with you”. Though Im still in the beginning stages of working on this technique, withdrawing my attachment to the work, its a process that I’m learning to like. My writing didn’t turn out the way that I intended today. Okay, thats fine. Its not the end of my writing world.  And not every word written is heading on the track to publication. My old thinking pattern would be more of “Woe is me! I spent all this time writing today and it isnt picture perfect and ready for publication just the way that it is. Im a horrible writer.” A bit drastic, but honest. Im taking this journey of simply writing. Every word released is a word closer to the words that are perfect, the words that I was indeed looking for and the words that will make it to publication.

Its okay to not be 100% in love with every single word that we write as writers. Its a process. I often think of it visually as running water. Have you ever went away on vacation or for an extended time and you return home to your kitchen sink and you run the water just a bit before catching the water that you intend to drink or cook with. Its kind of a process of letting the old stuff make its way through the pipes before you can get to what you really want use. Its the same with writing. Its important that we write regularly, daily if you can. Its a way of kind of keeping the pipes clean. Then, know that when we do turn on the faucet, its okay to let the words run a bit to get yourself cranking out more of your better writing. Warm up. Its okay. It really is. Don’t be afraid to let those beginning words know that you just aren’t 100% in love with them. They served their purpose and now its time to continue on.

So lets CONTINUE ON…