Snowy Days and Writing

From Cheryl's Writing Crate

Today, my kids had their 80th snow day off from school this year.  OK, you got me--not really 80, but it sure does feel like it.  Winters in Rhode Island seem to alternate between mild and absolutely freezing including lots of snow, ice and gray, drab days.  This is one of those snowy years for us, although, I'm sure the folks who live in places like Minnesota and upstate New York would laugh out loud if they saw the actual snowfall we get in comparison to their average winters. But for folks here, particularly mothers like myself who have to change their well-laid plans on the turn of a stormy dime, this winter is really taking it's toll.

I had such wonderful intentions for my Wednesday before Mother Nature and Old Man Winter (probably Jack Frost too!) decided they would interrupt my plans and instead I ended up spending the day home with 7 of my 8 kids and their hungry appetites that always accompany  a snow storm.

After making 6 dozen sugar and chocolate chip cookies, serving up at least 8 mugs of hot cocoa, drying off the two dogs a handful of times after they frolicked in the newly built snow forts with my kids, I decided I would take an hour to myself and get inspired with one of my books on writing.

I randomly approached my overflowing bookcase (a nice problem to have!) and grabbed one of my favorite books that practically jumped off the shelf at me--Walking on Alligators, a book of meditations for writers written by Susan Shaughnessy.

This really was the perfect book for me to peruse today because it was completely in sync with my needs--finding a little quiet time to read about my never ending passion to write.

Written over 20 years ago, it's one of the classics--a book that acts as a coach, an old friend, a mentor and always delivers some wit and wisdom and certainly a bit of much needed inspiration when I need it most.

My ritual for reading a book such is this is always the same--I open it to a random page and just start reading.  Today, it was no different and as always, I got just the 'write' fix when I opened to page 35.  Here is the meditation and writing prompt I pondered today.

Talent isn't enough.  In fact, too much talent can stunt good work.  We all remember the classmate whose casual excellence at a sport, a subject--maybe at life itself--presaged a life of stumbling.  This too-talented person never got the hang of holding on.

Discipline is a solitary.  Only you know what you'd rather be doing today.  Perhaps you yearn for a long walk, or a cozy quilt and a good book.  Perhaps you succumb to the "unwanted" interruption to a friend calling with a juicy story.

These treats have their time.  But their time is not the writing time.

The writing time is when your discipline meets your talent.

What awaits you in the refining fire of discipline?

PROMPT.....I'll defer my temptations today.  Today, I am curious about where my discipline may lead me.

Am I ever grateful for this unexpected snow day today.  I got to spend extra time with my family, enjoy some warm chocolate chip cookies, and get refocused and embrace one of the most challenging words in my vocabulary--discipline.

Are you a disciplined writer or do you feel talent is simply enough? 

Reads for Writers: Walking on Alligators--Quotes and Insights About Writing by Susan Shaughnessy

From Kate's Writing Crate...

 

Walking on Alligators: A Book of Meditations for Writers by Susan Shaughnessy is, as the back cover states, a daily motivator for people who write—and people who long to write. The black and silver cover can be off-putting: a skeleton walking over five alligators, mouths agape, with drawings of flowers, fruit, the alphabet, and an alarm clock raining down. Go beyond it to the wisdom and writing advice inside.

 

 

Each page starts with a quote by a writer or successful person followed by insights written by Shaughnessy. At the end, there is a suggested writing goal—perfect for writers who are blocked or procrastinating.

Among the quotes:

Discipline is the refining fire by which talent becomes ability.   –Roy L. Smith

Opportunity just exists in the air for a few minutes. If you don't obey your gut feeling right away, you've lost your chance.   –Ken Hakuta
 

Success is a finished book, a stack of pages each of which is filled with words. If you reach that point, you have won a victory over yourself no less impressive than sailing single-handed around the world.   –Tom Clancy
 

I write for a couple of hours every day, even if I only get a couple of sentences. I put in that time. You do that every day, and inspiration will come along. I don't allow myself not to keep trying. It's not fun, but if you wait until you want to write, you'll never do it.   –Dave Barry
 

One of the marks of a gift is to have the courage of it.   –Katherine Anne Porter
 

The novelist's job is to reveal and unfold, not simply portray. The novelist works with the things that pass unobserved by others, captures them in motion, brings them out into the open.   –Joao Guimaraes Rosa
 

We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.   –Charles Kingsley
 

 

Among Shaughnessy's insights:

It's a dreadful fact that writing is like any other work. Having written is another matter. It is a joy; it is fulfillment. (p. 26)
 

…sit with your project. Even a couple of lines is progress. And, more important, it is the victory of writing every day. (p. 98)
 

To write is to move beyond wanting to write. It is to take a step toward constructing the future you want. (p. 99)
 

Your gift will grow in proportion as you exercise it. Your courage will grow in proportion as you feed it. (p. 137)
 

[Readers] ask of you that you lay out for them the essential truths that are hard to know and hard to say. (p. 158)
 

Write to increase your own understanding, and to share your discoveries simply and vividly. (p. 187)
 

Unseen forces support you. Unknown wells supply you. Your work will be rewarded…If writing is to be a part of your life, the time to write is now. (p. 203)
 

Honor your gift/calling, keep writing.

What writing quotes inspire you?