Painting Holiday Wishes with Words

This is the 2014 edition. I haven't
started the 2015 edition.

Words, a writer’s paintbrush.  Storytelling, essay writing, and poetry carry music and rhythm in the words.  Writers paint images and whole worlds with words.  Writers fill the senses with vivid smells, sharp textures.  Writers create life through characterization. The characters are real, feel emotion, endure drama, and some may even survive the story.  A writer is an artist.  

Embodying that artistry can be stressful, especially during the holiday season.  With all the concerts and cookie bakes, the parties and gift-buying, sometimes writers need to place their creative talent with words on hold until after the rush.    

Or do they?

Holiday cards.  I don’t know about you, but I still send them out.  Not everyone I know is online.  At least some of my relatives aren’t.  Yet they all know I’m writing.  Because of this self-inflicted artistry I placed upon myself, I feel obligated to produce an entertaining Lees Through the Year 2015 letter to accompany an original photo card with pithy or poetic wishes on it.  Relatives and friends I haven’t seen in a while look forward to these letters and cards each year.  They tell me so.  They thank me profusely when I send them. 

                                                                                  

Yet I fret over the letter, what to say, which events, which memories to include.  As a writer, I feel my talents judged by the receivers of these cards and letters, be they friends or relatives.  I don’t wish to sound boastful in the letters, simply entertaining.  I don’t want to bore; I want to infuse my words with laughter, with story.  The letter isn’t memoir it’s conversational, I remind myself.  No themes or pithy insight.  Yet I imagine the need to appear witty, to create memorable lines. 

I consider myself a writer even though I’ve sold only a handful of stories and essays.  The key word in that statement is sold.  I’ve written plenty for local free markets.  *Sigh*           

The holidays are a time to catch up with family and friends, tell stories, enjoy delicious homemade baked goods with tea, and linger over wine and cheese platters.  It’s a time to enjoy one another’s company.

            With all the list-making and gift-buying; the home decorating and meal planning; baking cookies and breads, pies and cakes, do you ever feel the added pressure of creativity with words at Christmastime?  Please let me know how you fit creativity into the holiday rush or if you worry about words because of your craft. 

Have a wonderful Christmas and holiday season! 

Writers: Know Thyself

If only this would work!

Just as there are many ways to outline a novel or memoir, there are many ways to set up a writing routine.  Finding the time to write can be daunting.  Not many writers can afford—whether it’s time or money—to go away to write.  That is for the lucky few.  Most writers carry many pens…and lots of paper.  I know I do.  Writers are parents, teachers, caregivers, or executives.  Some writers are doctors, lawyers, chefs, or small business owners.  The fact is that most people have too much to do.  

            So what should writers do?  First and foremost, a writer needs to know thyself—intimately.  What works for you?  Do you like to get up early to write, before your regular day begins?  Or rather you could be like me and be awake anyway so you may as well get up to do something constructive.  One of my favorite writers, Mary Higgins Clark, who also has five children, would get up at about 4 a.m. to write before her children stirred in the morning.  Some writers come alive at night when the house is quiet and dark, the only illumination coming from their computer screens and faces.  Some writers are lucky and can tuck in what I call “writing chunks of time” throughout the day and thereby rack up the word count and storyline.     

            However you can find time to write is good and right for you.  Then try and make it a routine for yourself.  Like exercising.  In fact, when I’m exercising, I’m usually writing in my mind.  Sometimes, I work out scenes and passages in my stories or essays, so I always keep paper and pen nearby.  I use exercise tapes, or rather DVD’s now, an old habit from the days when my children were too little to leave alone to go to a gym, so I can pause the DVD to jot down ideas for my writing.  Walking or hiking outdoors is a good exercise to help me clear the mind of all my obligations and think about my writing.  Sometimes, I carry a small tape recorder.

The most important thing is not to get too discouraged if you miss a writing session.  Tomorrow’s a brand new opportunity to get back into the computer seat and start creating.  I’ve written about 13,000 words this first month of my Write Your Memoirin Six Months course and have many thousands more to write.  This is only the beginning.