In September I had the chance to go to Nashville.   It’s a neat town, and I got to travel with some pretty neat women!  After the fun of being together for a weekend, we were inspired to stay connected through an informal writing group.  We all had projects that could use a little more time and attention.  So we made the committment to write for 30 minutes 3 times a week in October.

I am learning how I work best and finding ways to build on those strengths.  I quickly adapted the requirements to fit how I work best–15 minutes a day every day.  It’s way easier for me to show up every day rather than wrangle with myself about whether this is a writing day!  You’ll be happy to know that we are continuing into November–our own tiny nod to NaNoWriMo and daily practice.  I’ll be stacking the deck in my own favor at the beginning of the month with three wonderful writing practices to nudge me along if inspiration flags.

Hand lettering by Laurie Blackwell

First up is Laurie Blackwell’s Tips for Keeping a Gratitude Journal.  I love the way Laurie looks at life–open and inquisitive with a touch of whimsy.  Her offerings are always worthwhile, and you can get this invitation into gratitude by signing up for her newsletter.  But move fast!  It goes out tomorrow, so you need to get on the list today!

You’ll want to keep up the gratitude practice with Michelle GD’s Gratitude Week.  This is one of the most amazing things that happens on the internet!  Each day for a week, Michelle slips quiet, thoughtful, soulful emails into your inbox…and then the wonderful community that Michelle has built starts posting on Instagram.  Following #GratitudeWeek2017 is such a pleasure.  Women, who are looking at their lives with fresh eyes, put words to their experience.  Registration closes on Saturday.

That same week, I’ll be immersing myself in poetry.  I found the work of Holly Wren Spaulding at the end of the summer and felt an immediate attraction.  She is a poet who weaves the natural world into her poems.  She lives by the seasons and let the earth touch how she works.  I am so excited to learn from her.  I’ll be taking Seven, a week long class that she describes as “an experiment in following your curiosity and desire.”  Come on, give yourself a little bit of space to see where this path might lead.

The filmmaker Werner Herzog says that the most important book about making movies is The Peregrine.  The book is a natural history of the bird who depends on laser focus to hunt.  The analogy we’re supposed to draw is that a filmmaker also needs that kind of focus.  It’s a variation on the idea of deep work.  If you want to create meaningful work, you must devote large chunks of uninterrupted time to your art.

In a recent episode of the Type A Creative podcast, Caroline Donahue offers another model.  She is a writer, podcaster, teacher, and executive assistant.  She’s got lots of irons in the fire.  And she thinks that kind of range across a number of responsibilities is one way her “Type A” tendencies play out.  Even though I wouldn’t call myself Type A, her list of responsibilities sounds very familiar.  I’m a mama, I homeschool my children, work as an executive assistant, and I’m a writer.  This is a life I’ve chosen and crafted.  Still, my days feel full, and it’s the writing usually gets the dregs.  If I make it to the page to note an image or write a few lines, I count that as a win.

All of the different streams of my life feed each other.  I’m a better homeschooler because of the work I do.  I use my writing skills to form real connections in my work.  And the writing flows out of the life I live–books and trees and pots of soup.  This diffused attention is the opposite of Herzog’s falcon. I simply don’t have regular, extended time to create in this season of my life.  And yet there’s a vitality, a liveliness to this patchwork life.

But this year I’ve been feeling the pull toward more concentrated work, not just sketches, but finished drafts.  This week I started a writing workshop that meets for 2 hours once a week.  I was exhausted by the end of that stretch of writing.  I was also completely exhilarated.  I realized how much my writing needs not just the daily bursts but also the extended time at the page.

I’ve also discovered how restorative time away can be.  I just might be dreaming of an Unworkshop at the Highlights Foundation.  But for now, most days will find me at the page at least briefly.  And I’m thinking of how I can add in longer stretches of writing time periodically–my own version of deep work.

P.S.  The title of this post comes from Grace Llewellyn’s quote that’s a part of this post on deep work.

It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.

–J.R.R. Tolkien

Bokeh lights…and the snow moon out the kitchen window at the end of winter.