She inhaled sharply, assessing the damage. She knew she didn’t have many other options. She had to be quick, people, neighbours would be coming past soon, asking their questions. She gripped the wire coat hanger in her hand and looked around to see if anyone was watching. All clear. She took a deep breath, set her eyes, put one hand slowly on to the gate, and quickly got to work.
She bent the last part of the wire with the pliers, twisting it around itself. It was secure. She had not thought that a fix was possible, or even in her control, but here she was. She had fixed the fence herself. It wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t perfect, but it was practical, and affordable, and she did it with her own hands. She smiled to herself as she put her tools away. “If I can do this, imagine what else I can do!”
Dear friend I think you would like my creative newsletter, do you want to check it out? love, Me
Dear friend sometimes it feels like I’m invisible because you only initiate contact maybe four times a year. I had hoped I was more special than that? love, Me.
Dear friend I’m too afraid to ask you if you want to chat or call or hang out for coffee because I will get my hopes up or you just won’t answer the question. love, Me.
Dear friend I really need someone to talk to regularly, will you be that person? Love, Me.
Dear friend Will you please bake me a cake and we can sit together and eat it all and watch a movie? love, Me
Dear Whale I really want to see you in person. Could you please time a spectacular jump for when I am gazing out at the ocean? Thank you.
Dear Stranger I need help working through this new area, will you please take me under your wing? Thank you!
Dear Rain I need you but you are making me angry at the moment and your mess is encroaching on my space. I need some alone time then we can go back to rainbows and jumping in puddles together again. Love, Me
Dear Family I love you, I’m flawed. You know this. So please stop pointing out my imperfections, while being surprised that I’m not wonder woman in the space of two minutes. I’m not your saviour. Use Jesus for that. Love, me
Dear Me I love you. I don’t tell you enough. Thanks for being you, I really enjoy it, and I enjoy hanging out with you. We have lots of fun and I’m thankful. Love, Me.
Story: When you make a connection with a girl at a party, but wake up to find that she didn’t write her number on your arm as you’d hoped. All you have left of her memory is a meaningless diagram drawn on your skin in permanent marker. Did she ghost you or does the drawing mean something more?
We ask ourselves a version of this question, every day. “What do I need to do to get to work on time?” “How am I going to get dinner ready and return this phone call?”
Most days, we do figure out what we need to do to get it done, and we make it happen! Multiple times over But why is it so hard to get the project done when it comes to creating?
I’m sorry but I do not have all the answers. I’m still asking myself, “what do I need to do in order to get this book done?” (over and over again) but here are some thoughts which might help us both!
Make a list. Make a list of achievement steps and break them down as far as you can. Include how much time you would like to allocate to that task. Things can suddenly seem much more achievable! For eg. Step 1: Write 43 extra scenes for the new characters. I allocate 15 mins each scene. So that is about 11 hours total If I decide to allocate an hour of each day to write four scenes. I could be done in 11 days!
Make your project smaller. (at least to begin with) If you have never finished a creative project before, it’s far easier to start small and work your way up. For example if you want to write a novel- Start with a short, but complete story, then repeat, and gradually lengthen the stories as you go. Break the novel down into chapters and outline them, and write a chapter at a time.
Get gathering. Working with others can give you an outside source of motivation, ideas, encouragement and also accountability. Choose your circle wisely and they will enrich your creativity and productivity immensely.
Believe in yourself. Others already believe in you, probably more than you do. Take some encouragement out of their book. Repeat some affirmations to yourself, and act like you believe you will achieve it. If you believe that you can achieve the project in 11 days if you prioritise it, you will prioritise it.
Ask yourself why? Why is this project so important? Is it feeding your curiosity, your ego, or is it serving a better purpose? Maybe you discover that the reason for the project isn’t as important as the space and freedom you will feel in your mind and heart if you let the project go instead. Yes there may be a bit of grief, but that shouldn’t be a weight if the why is not worth it. If you remember the why, this can also help you harness the motivation you had for beginning it and use it to help you complete it.
I’m sure there are more great strategies out there, and please when you come across them, send them my way!
I’m surprised to say that even doing this for four days is making a difference to me.
In four days of showing up, I’ve learned quite a bit.
I’ve thought about problems in a new way, and solutions have come to problems I couldn’t even conceptualise. I am looking forward to seeing where we will be by the end of this month!
I’m trying to think about what other things I can challenge myself with.
Cleaning? Drinking 2L of water a day? I already know I can read a novel a day for a month. I know I can write 1700 words a day for a month and end up with a 50000 word novel draft. I can draw a picture a day for 30 days. What is next?
Is there something that you need to overcome?
Maybe all you need is a bit of practice?
I know there is a challenge I’m following right now which is all about decluttering and ridding your house of something, one a day for 30 days.
Maybe it’s not for you, but what if you did give a 30 day challenge a try? What if 30 days was all it took to solve that problem for you?
This year I am participating in NaNoWriMo and at Day 25 of the 30 Day challenge I feel inspired to put down some thoughts about what I’m learning for the first time, realising, or experiencing.
I can consistently write over 1000 words in an hour, and do it every day.
I can overcome, even on the days I really don’t feel like doing it, and can achieve my word count (1700).
I can catch up a day’s amount of words in a few days.
My brain is stepping up to the word count challenge and find creative ways to write new things when I feel stuck.
I can write two lots of 1700 words in a day, and not just be filling up the word count with fluff.
I can make up a plan and generally stick to it.
I can write a novel length story draft in a month.
It took me three weeks to get the most basic hang of writing in first person.
Reading non fiction, but related to the topic, gives me ideas.
My drafting is very basic, but I can live with it.
I’m not a naturally detailed writer.
I do enjoy writing. I’ve enjoyed writing every day.
I can overcome writers block, scene block or character and plot block.
The staring into space thinking during the day helps. Even if all I get is a rough idea to begin writing with.
Our emotions can distract us from writing. But I have been able to channel those days into writing the sad, tired, angry, upset parts of the story. I just have to get the feeling to a point where it’s not overwhelming me, so I can feel it, and write.
I’m surprised that I can actually do this. Yes really I’m surprised every day.
Having a support team makes such a difference. Having other people you know trying to write more than they have before helps a lot. Having people to talk about your story difficulties with, helps a lot. Celebrating your milestones helps a lot. Having a spouse who nags you to write, helps a lot.
Keep listening to yourself, if something is telling you it’s wrong, listen.
Don’t be afraid to put stuff in your book because you know it will be taken the wrong way. There is a reason why you added it, and it’s giving people an opportunity to discuss something they might not otherwise.
Writing a novel helps you uncover your thoughts, or beliefs.
Writing a story can be cathartic. You have the opportunity to put some of your experiences into words. Sometimes you don’t even have to resolve them or explain them neatly, the characters can be in the same place as you in these things.
I write best with a routine. Things I do first, things I do after, where I am, what I am writing on/with.
My grammar needs improvement.
I can write at night or during the day, but I need time to myself.
I can write a story and then have enough brain power to write a semi understandable blog post.
I am not brave enough to write my own novel while reading someone else’s romance or adventure novels. The books are sitting there waiting for the 1st of Dec.
I want to expand my vocabulary and my knowledge of body language.
Even something simple can be engaging.
I felt like a teenager who wanted to jump up and down and scream excitely when I got to 25000 words.
Sometimes you need the learning from the first try to be able to make it. This is my second attempt at NaNoWriMo and I was much better prepared for success.
You can do things every day.
Finishing things is awesome.
Hopefully I’ve got a few more things to learn in the next 5 days, but happy writing everyone, and don’t forget to celebrate what you have done, because you are one step closer to finishing your story than you were before!
One thing that I can do at this time (with all this extra spare time!) is create things for you! So please check out the ‘Free stuff’ menu for some recipes and colouring pages. This is just the beginning!
Let us get creating to construct with all we do some care, co-operation, and community!!
