Tidying Up

From Kate’s Writing Crate…

If you cannot think of anything to write, try cleaning or organizing your desk or Writer's Crate. Doing something mindless like dusting or tossing old papers, gives your conscious mind something to focus on, but your subconscious is free to roam and come up with ideas.

          We’ve been spring cleaning the house as many friends and relatives will be visiting this summer. Recycling old papers and magazines, tossing junk, and boxing up donations is invigorating. A clean and organized space has new energy, but clean and organize to your own specifications.

          I’m a vertical organizer, i.e., a pile person, so my idea of organized may not match most people’s—and that’s okay. I’m the one who works in my office so it only has to meet my standard. While others may think I’m disorganized, I can find what I need within a moment or two.

          Like everyone else, I can be surprised at things I find in drawers and cupboards. Out of sight, out of mind so I keep important things in sight.

          I did have fun with the Marie Kondo, author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, method of clothes sorting. She recommends putting every article of your clothing on your bed then deciding quickly whether to keep, donate, or toss them. I thought it would be daunting, but it was the easiest way to do this. I filled one bag with ripped or stained clothes (mostly with ink as I love red and blue liquid ink Pilot V-Ball pens). Another bag was filled with clothes I rarely wore or new clothes I have never worn to be donated. The rest are in drawers or the closet. No piles anywhere except the laundry hamper—and I can live with that.

          All this cleaning and organizing gave me a visitor-ready house as well as ideas for this post, my Viewpoint column, and my Editor’s Facebook Thoughts. Always fun when a chore turns out to be a creative outlet!    

Word Count for the week of May 28-June 3 was 11,266.

Spring Clean Your Writing Life

From Cheryl's Writing Crate

Anyone that knows me well understands my fetish with cleaning and reorganizing projects.  I don’t mind how pathetic it sounds, I love to clean and organize my home.  The fact that I have 8 kids may have something to do with that, but I really believe it’s that sense of accomplishment and peace I feel after tackling a messy cupboard and clearing away all the clutter with the finished result of an orderly area that functions better and is fun to look at once it’s neatly organized.

With spring here, many of us are embarking on spring cleaning projects in our homes, but there are lots of areas in our lives that could use a little freshening up, and for those of us who are writers, it’s the perfect opportunity to take a good inventory of what’s working in our writing life and what could use some rearranging and straightening up.

Here’s a list of 4 things I am going to focus on this spring in regards to breathing new life into my writing life:

1. Re-evaluate My Goals and Actions

Do I still have the same goals that I did six months ago? Am I choosing activities and writing rituals that are  in keeping with making these goals happen?  (For Example, one rather large writing goal I had in January was to really get cranking on the novel I started nearly two years ago.  I still have this as one of my most important goals, but I have definitely not committed the right amount of time and habits to making it happen.)

As a writer you can help relieve troubling thoughts by journaling about them. Some writers use these ideas and thoughts from the past to begin their memoirs.  I am doing this with my “morning pages” that I referenced in a blog post earlier in the month.

2. Stop Doing What isn’t Working

·        Am I procrastinating because I am bored with my writing projects? 

·        Do I still carve out quiet time to work in my writer’s crate every morning like I was doing in the fall?

·        Why am I getting distracted when I start a writing project—is it the environment, e-mail distractions, too much time checking out facebook?

·        Do I need to reconfigure my writing routine and work in the evening after the kids go to bed instead of getting up so early each morning only to find laundry waiting to be folded or lunches to be made for school that day?

By honestly assessing where my writing habits need some fine tuning, I am staying true to my most important goal which is writing each and every day.

3. Polish My Space to Shiny and Bright

Yes, I love to clean and organize, but like so many moms, I tend to focus on the main family areas in our home rather than my own sacred writing crate.  I am going to use the renewed energy that spring brings to do a little redecorating in my writing space and clear out some of the clutter.  I have some new inspirational quotes I plan on getting framed and will also rotate some of my favorite writing books off my book shelves and onto my desk for easier reference as well as a change of ideas from the several books I’ve been using over and over again for the past 6 months.

Even writers need to spring clean their "writing" lives!

4. Plant new seeds

Spring is a great time to do something new. I’ve always loved gardening and decorating because of the creative satisfaction I feel when I accomplish a pretty project.  When I work with paint or plants, it usually sparks some ideas for my writing projects.  I will be taking some time to devote to my creative muse in hopes that it will plant some fresh new seeds that will sprout into some exciting writing projects.

Simply by creating the above list, I already feel inspired to revamp some of my writing projects!  What about you—how do you clear out the cobwebs in your writing life and freshen up your spaces and ideas?

An Inspired Space to Nourish Creativity

From Cheryl's Writing Crate...

I was introduced to the Little House on the Prairie series written by Laura Ingalls Wilder when I was about eight years old. The characters and their adventures captured my imagination—and my love affair with books began.

This adoration for books, especially the mystery, thriller, and romance genres, cultivated my passion for writing. I knew early on that I wanted what my favorite authors had—the opportunity to let your imagination flow, capturing the ideas onto paper with the hopes of crafting a page-turning adventure to mesmerize readers. 

Sounded simple enough, but instead I followed my second-choice career of business school as I didn’t want to starve as my guidance counselors warned I would if I pursued a writing career. My writing waned rather quickly. Though I still kept a journal, I didn’t write nearly often enough to feed my muse.

Once my husband and I began raising our eight kids (now ages 6-19), along with two dogs, my life was one big combination of tireless wonder, delightful chaos, and, in all honesty, slap-happy exhaustion. The only thing I was writing were notes to myself like: Cheryl, don’t lose your mind!

While my kids were very young, I was inundated with diapers, spit-up, and sleepless nights. At the same time, I was enraptured by many sweet moments that I would never have known if I weren’t a mother.

 

I put my reading and writing needs on hold. How I wish I had just grabbed a book of interest and read a measly 15 minutes every other day—at least I would’ve been keeping my dreams alive. What better escape from a day of cranky kids than a racy love story where the heroine didn’t have to worry about the drudgery of vacuuming the dust from behind her fridge, but instead she could pretend to be her lover’s French maid with the focus of buttering his hot croissants! Oui, oui! 

I wish I had had a reading and writing nook then as I do now. I call it my Writer’s Crate, symbolic of the crates that both Kate’s family and mine have used to train our dogs when they were puppies. These crates were safe havens for our precious dogs, and that basic need of staying contained when there are too many distractions around is exactly why Kate and I created our blog. Our unique writing spaces keep us grounded and on track so we can meet our individual writing goals and deadlines.

My writing space is a cozy nook in the dining room. I have computer armoire that I washed with a pale turquoise stain. The dining room walls are a soft yellow so the combination reminds me of the tropics which always lightens my mood when I want to get creative. 

My Writer's Crate is easily accessible because I can open and close the doors  anytime I have a few quick seconds or, even better, an hour or two to sit and write, write, write!  

Inside my armoire, I have a laptop, writing journals, and a framed vision board with some favorite quotes and photos that inspire me whenever I’m feeling stuck. This space is sacred to me--a place where I can nourish my creativity.

I also have three bookshelves close by that house my favorite writing books and novels by authors I admire and enjoy. A copy of my first book, Pregnant Women Don’t Eat Cabbage, is close at hand, too, as a reminder that, even with my crazy life as the mom of eight kids, there is always time to feed the muse and write!

Though I never refuse an opportunity to visit my Writer’s Crate, recently I implemented a regular writing routine. I awaken an hour before the rest of my family so that I can enjoy the peace and quiet of each new day alone with my thoughts.

How about you—do you have a special writing place or writing ritual that keeps you focused so that all your writing dreams can come true, too?  Kate and I would love to see your special writing places, so please share your photos with us.

A Writing Studio Filled with Power and Energy

From Kate's Writing Crate...

Mission Statement:
        
          Live a writer's life. Take yourself seriously. Set up a Writer's Crate--a nook, a corner, or a room dedicated to writing filled with items that inspire you--then sit there and write every day.
          Here author Cheryl L. Butler and Editor Kate Phillips blog about their experiences and adventures as writers as well as share useful tips and recommend books they love. Join in the fun and live your writing dreams!


          The Writer's Crate blog was created to help writers do what they need to do most--sit and stay at their desks or in their chosen writing spots until their work is done. It is based on the crates Cheryl's family and mine used to train our dogs. Our Writing Crates help us stay focused and inspired while we meet our daily writing goals.

          I think it is vital to put some favorite objects and art in your writing space. Along with several framed seasonal prints, I have an adorable penguin statue and a stuffed green and gold dragon that make me laugh as well as a mottled blue and brown ceramic vase holding my pens. Mostly, I love being surrounded by books that inspire me.

          These are some of the items that make my writing space welcoming, but use whatever you have, no excuses. (In his book On Writing, Stephen King shares that he wrote in his attic bedroom surrounded by Sci-Fi books when young and, when married, in the laundry room of a rented trailer home.)

          In my Writer's Crate, I also have a three-shelf tall bookcase on top of my five-foot long desk. This makes it easy to find and grab my reference books as well as my favorite writing books: Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott, Championship Writing by Paula LaRocque, Zen and the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury, The Writer's Home Companion edited by Joan Bolker, Ed. D., and many more.
                            
          There are numerous writing books I have found helpful, but the one that turned me into a true professional is The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield. The book concentrates on overcoming resistance so you will write whatever you dream of writing. Other books can get you started or improve your writing, but this one motivates you not only to begin, but to keep going, and to finish novels and other projects which is what makes you a professional writer.

          My copy is filled with underlined sentences, circled passages, and marginalia. On days I don't feel like writing, I pick this book up, open to a random page, and read until my writing drive kicks in. This routine hasn't failed me since I bought the book a few years ago.

          I believe in The War of Art so much, I have two copies--one in my Writer's Crate and the other readily available in my reading nook where I occasionally write. I often wonder how much farther along I would be as a writer if I had found this book when it was published in 2002.

          I also recommend reading "Writing Wednesdays" at StevenPressfield.com. On April 7, 2010 he wrote:

          "To have a practice, you must have a space. But it is the practice that makes the space. The daily application of intention, the seeking of excellence over time saturates the studio with power and energy."

          Give yourself that power and energy--write!


Has The War of Art inspired you? What is your favorite writing book?

Turning Pro: Tap Your Inner Power and Create Your Life's Work by Steven Pressfield was published recently. I recommend it, too.

Please send in a photo of your Writer's Crate.