There’s such pressure when returning to something like blogging that it feels like I should give an account for where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing. Have I been writing, is something new in the works, etc etc. Surely the reason for this absence is nothing short of marvelous, so that I might emerge with brilliance and wisdom that would give merit to my disappearance. I wish that were the case. I wish I could sit here and write—this, the first prose I’ve put to paper in six months, save …
writing
Hope, Ashes, and Closure: Ending the 100 Day Project
What happens at the end? What happens when you complete something—something longish-term and immersive, something that has a definitive beginning and end date? Something you’ve poured yourself into that’s taken, say, a hundred days? What happens when you start off optimistic and wide-eyed, believing in the power of spontaneous generation and showing up every day, with a plan in place for a hundred days and a plan for what to do after that, then slowly find yourself worn down by your work …
Productivity, Burnout, and the Creativity Cycle
T. S. Eliot wrote that April is the cruelest month, which is a joke to me and an endless source of joy. April is seldom the cruelest of the months, though it can be a little necessarily soggy to bring about all the buds and blossoms, and all that rain can be a drag. This year, April crept in with the springiest of spring weather—warm and sunny and full of promise. It didn’t rain for at least a week and we were blessed with a beautiful Easter. Once the rains did come, everything around us …
Panic in the Messy Middle of a Writing Project: A 100 Day Project Update
This past weekend was the tipping point for the #100dayproject. We’ve crossed the halfway mark, and now we’re on the back end, the downward slope. That feels like relief, but I know I’m still squarely in the messy middle. This is the hard part. This is where the trust comes in, that this is a worthwhile project and not a giant waste of time. I’ve had a hard time believing that, especially last week. I found myself sitting down and writing terribly just to check the box and say I did it. …
The Scary Freedom of Ten Minutes a Day: A 100 Day Project Update
When I decided to do the #100dayproject at the end of January, I wanted to make it as easy as possible, though that’s not really my nature. I like big challenges. I like going all in. But I knew if I did something too big this year, it would likely crush me. So, I kept my ideas small, then made them even smaller. The idea I came up with—time lapse videos of me freewriting for ten minutes a day—was the simplest thing I could think of. It required me to write (which was my goal), but not to …