I've been writing more. Working more. Sleeping less.
Enjoying my days but finding that they spin rather fast and the resulting centrifugal force has been scraping a few things off my plate. Narrowing my focus.
- Baking Day – at its inception, a chaotic day of dishes piled to the ceiling and flour suspended mid-air where I'd churn out bread and muffins and cookies and a headache – has retreated into simply Bread Day. It's filling us, though – with a warm and well-loved daily staple. And I've been finding time to squeeze it in more than once a week – its getting easier, and doesn't need its own "day," as I'm finding ways to weave it into the flow of regular life.
- Walking the Dog – once a daily escape for me – squeezes in as part of family outings or as the occasional solitary indulgence. It's enough, though the dog does not exactly agree. And its fun to watch the girls run ahead, wind in their hair, playing some crazy made-up adventure that usually somehow revolves around The Wizard of Oz.
- Yoga – formerly a consistent morning routine – can't seem to come home with me from class. But attending twice-weekly is sustaining me, at least for now. I found a teacher at the athletic club who teaches in a similar flow style as my previous [beloved] instructor, but she ups the intensity and the change has invigorated me.
- Swimming – at first a light in that late-winter tunnel –occupies the dusty space in my maybe column. I'm okay with that, though, because there just isn't time. My suit has been hanging the basement for weeks now, but I know I can jump back in if I find some space and motivation.
What about you? What are you doing more? Doing less?
***
So. Writing more. Motivation and inspiration have been swirling all about me, and I feel the need to throw my kite into that wind, and soon. I guess I've been held up not only by fear, but by all the pre-writing I know I must do – plot outlines, character sketches, scene cards. But maybe that doesn't have to come first. Maybe I need to pull out the stopper and let some stuff flow out, even if its sludge at first. I can filter it later. So very soon, I think I'm going to commit to some kind of writing challenge – a page a day? a certain word count per week? Not sure how it will shape up but I know I must write out a commitment. Because writing a novel is not something that I will let fall off my plate – its cemented in.
