It's raining.
It's pouring.
This old scribe is...
Well, what is she up to on this first day of May?
Get out your smallest violins because I've got on a pair of whiney pants for this Monday Moaning.
What, pray tell, is the point of having a plan, a specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-based strategy for getting things done, when something as simple as a telephone call can render it so irrelevant so quickly? Let me be clear - nobody died or was diagnosed with cancer, or lost a job. World War III has not broken out, though that has been a haunting concern of mine for a few weeks now (a whole other blog!). There is nothing tragically wrong. My world is still turning at a great clip but it's just not doing so according to my plan.
I arrived home last Tuesday afternoon from an amazing writing retreat.
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| Good morning, Starshine! |
The most productive retreat ever. I found the doorway into a section of the memoir that I've been struggling to get a grip on for months. I not only plotted out my way through it, I also committed some 5000 words to paper, half of the chapters. Woot! Woot!
I am indebted to Ruth Walker and Gwynn Scheltema, the dynamic duo of Writescape, for their encouragement, companionship, and occasional goading.
... and a good sense of fun too!
Indispensable to the retreat is the energy and inspiration that blossoms when a group of writers gets together for a weekend. Good conversations, suggestions, laughter and affirmations abound. A big thank you to all of you!
I arrived home all fired up, ready to move forward at good pace. I had a plan too - always an important part of a retreat. So there I sat Wednesday at the harvest table in my kitchen with pens, paper, and mind ready, at 1 pm - right on schedule. And then the phone rang. I ignored it, letting my guy answer it, while I put pen to paper. A whole sentence emerged. With great satisfaction, I tapped a period at the end. The next sentence was spoken by my husband.
"They want to start work on the solarium next week."
I capped my pen and closed the book. No words have been written since. The solarium construction was not scheduled to begin until the end of June. Nowhere in my plans for the coming week, or even the coming month was there any reference to "The Solarium." But the contractor had a cancellation and our name rose to the top. We have been able to put them off for two weeks - because we've got prep. work to do, none of which was on our radar - until last Wednesday.
What's a writer to do?
This is not a derailment. It's just a layby in a siding to let a construction train through.
So, throw off those whiney pants.
Make another plan to write my way between, around, over, through the interruptions.
Just think, in a few weeks I'll have another writing space!
Cheers!
©2017 April Hoeller
Let's start with the positive first--Cheers to that amazing looking writing space April. If I had that, I'd never write---just day dream.
ReplyDeleteYour retreat pictures have always looked inviting (you'd posted a few landscapes last year, I think) but seeing these humans in them makes me want to smuggle my way into one asap. Even though it's a photo, I can feel the creative energies flowing.
Guess what, there's no negative left--so hope those whiney pants have been put in their rightful place--bottom of a drawer:)
Wishing you a fabulous day ahead.
p.s. I managed to finish the blogging from A to Z challenge (my 2nd ) this April. Feeling quite blogged out right now.
hugs.
Arti
The retreat writing space in the cottage kitchen overlooking the lake is indeed amazing. That weekend though the view frequently proved to be a distraction. Opening day of trout fishing meant that there were a lot more boats on the lake than usual and because I really enjoy fishing, my heart and mind kept drifting out onto the lake. Good thing the creative energies of all around me, kept me on track!
ReplyDeleteSomehow I missed your recent A to Z. I'll have a look-see this weekend.
Hugs back!
April