The Friday Five!
After about five months of writing daily, on Friday it finally happened: the rest of my book fell into place. Literally one minute I’d given up on it ever being anything but agony, having lost all faith. Then I’m making a sandwich and BOOM! There it is. I grabbed a notebook, sat down, and scrambled to get it all down. Can I explain how this happens? I wish. It is maddening, in some ways. That you have to get all the down before the bounce *finally* shows up. All I know for sure is I am grateful. Even late, it was just in time.
Speaking of creativity (or the lack of it) my husband bought a book for me this week called FINDING MUCHNESS. It has the cutest little bird on the cover.
It’s not exactly a picture book, but also it is. At times it’s like a prayer. But turning the pages, I could feel myself calming down, the snow globe of my anxious mind settling. I’m reading it before bed every night now instead of the news, and sleeping much better. There is so much around us. We have to be careful, mindful, of what we take in. And I mean, look at that bird! I’m dying.
Personal goal achieved this week: I was a crossword puzzle clue. If this has happened before, I wasn’t aware of it, and I cannot tell you how excited it made me. My dad is a longtime puzzler, and I do the NYT Mini each day, which is all I can handle, personally. Thankful to whoever was responsible for this! The absolute best.
4.I’ve been writing so much that by the time I shut my laptop my brain feels full of applesauce. Which makes sense. It’s all about balance, with only so much of that spark to go around. When I’ve been inspired to make minis, I am strangely leaning towards…cakes. For some reason. Then again, do we need reasons for cake?
5. I’m finishing up this Five at a local coffee shop, where I’ve been sitting writing for the last hour. True confessions: until today, I hadn’t left the house since Monday. Whoops. It’s true that when the book (finally) comes, it’s like riding a wave. You just have to go with it, even if your hair gets greasy and your workouts suffer. But sitting here, with some women laughing on one side of me and a group playing Bananagrams on my other, it feels really nice to be out in the world again. I am beginning to believe I will not be writing this novel for the rest of my life, that there is a different era (hello Taylor) ahead. A new book! Getting back out there talking to readers and doing events! A few weeks ago, I couldn’t imagine. Now it’s close enough that I can see it if I squint. See there? Look!