Thirty-Day Yoga Challenge

Yesterday, I began my thirty-day challenge, thanks to Source Yoga in Tacoma. I've done yoga off and on for at least fifteen years. Sporadic is probably a better word. Moments of real dedication and long spaces of self-doubt and laziness. I realized today that this is exactly how my writing started. There are several similarities as there often are. My yoga informs my life, my writing and vice versa.
Sanmakaras refers to the road blocks, obstacles or shadows that cloud our way. They are impressions stored in the mind and form the basis of our beliefs, attitudes and personality. These are unavoidable but they can be recognized and eventually released. I have had to learn to allow them and accept them before I can let go of them to flow on through, allowing my true spirit to emerge. Too new-agey for you? There is science to back it up, but that is for another post...or not. Here are a couple of my personal shadows:

1. Perfection 

Coming from a highly Protestant-like spiritual perspective, I have been obsessed with perfection. Perfection in everything, even my thoughts. This hasn't served me very well, at all. For me, this view of life has often left me feeling unworthy and broken. This, much to my relief is something I have slowly, with much effort begun to shed from my life. Yoga continues to instruct me in that direction.

Yoga is about the journey, not the destination. It is a practice, a living, breathing, evolving part of my life, as is my writing. Just as focusing too heavily on the product of writing can block the flow, yoga isn't about achieving the perfect position. In its purest form it is about letting the pose bring you in tune with your higher self.

2. Limitations


When I walked into the yoga studio, a wall of hot air slammed into my face. Mats scattered the floor where muscle toned bodies had just finished their advanced practice. Those of us that had been waiting for the meeting to begin joined in the cacophonie of chatter. What was I doing here? Have I made a terrible mistake?



After some jumbling about the atmosphere settled and one large circle formed. First, I was surprised by the sheer number of those accepting the challenge, but then I began to spot others like me. Heads adorned with strands of gray and bodies softer, rounder with obvious mileage on their sinews. Maybe I wasn't so different after all.


The unifying characteristic was the fact that we had all gathered here at this hour, this place, this moment to enter into the same challenge. The energy reminded me why I love this community of yogis: an acceptance and vision that we are together on the path. I did not feel pandered to as a senior or outsider or that others were looking down from their superior position. There was a respect for each others individual paths, unique styles and beliefs. No separating distinctions of level or grade. We were one in our vision and our quest. I was home. 



We all have limitations in our health, our age, our own body's individual characteristics, even our minds. The practice teaches us that when we embrace who we are—limitations and all—only then can we rise above them, through them, in spite of them.


Join me on the quest or simply follow my journal to read about my ups, my downs and an occasional epiphany here and there. 


Do you have a spiritual practice that is part of your writing ritual?




      

Anyone Can Be A Teacher It's Such a Breeze Contest

 Tweet
     What on earth can teachers be whining about? How difficult can it be to work only nine months out of the year and get off work at 3:30pm? Right? 

*Read This And Enter The Contest Below*

     During the last 30 years I have spent hours volunteering, working and spending time in the education system. My children have graduated and now my grandchildren have entered the public school system and I'm taking time out again, to lend a hand.  I find myself in awe of what a teacher is required to do on a daily basis.

    These challenges would never be tolerated in a normal work environment. The amount of extra time and money spent outside of school in any other profession would be reimbursed or rewarded by overtime pay or merit increases and bonuses.


What would happen if people in other professions faced the same realities teachers do on a daily basis...


1. You manage 28 employees that all talk at once, won't stay at their desks, aren't catching on to the expectations of the job, stop you every 5 minutes to ask a question completely unrelated to the project at hand or don't finish their work. What happens? THEY'RE FIRED.

Teachers don't choose their students nor can they terminate being their teacher. 
   

2. You're a doctor and you have 28 patients that all need to be screened, evaluated and appropriate treatments found all at the same time in the same exam room. RIDICULOUS?
  Teachers do it everyday. 


3. You are an hourly sales employee and a big event is coming up that requires extra preparation and training which means you are working longer than 8 hours. YOU'RE PAID OVERTIME.
  Teachers on average spend two hours each evening correcting papers, calling parents or planning curriculum.

 

4. You're a lawyer and you have a client that insists on discussing the progress of their case on a daily basis through email and phone calls, another client needs to be coached for tomorrows trial, you win a settlement for one of your clients. HOURLY CHARGES APPLY AND YOU TAKE YOUR PERCENTAGE OFF THE TOP.

Teachers may receive an apple, coffee mug, maybe even a brownie, however usually they are lucky if they receive a thank-you. There's no bonus for students that are successful on tests or graduate.


5. You work for your company long enough to earn six to eight week paid vacation so you plan a trip to Europe and maybe a cruise. YOUR VACATION IS YOUR TIME.
Teachers summers are filled with learning new curriculum, continuing education(at their expense) and running summer programs. And besides, who can afford a cruise on a teachers salary.

6. Banks take our money and invest it, create a sub-prime crises, shatter the economy and create the highest unemployment rates in years.  THEY GET A BAILOUT. (Still our money.)

  Teachers spend at least 10% of their own income supplementing their classrooms: paper, pencils, art supplies, hats and gloves, books, lunch money, materials, snacks, student awards, special programs...where's their bailout?


7) The average salary in the U.S. is $52,029 the average teacher salary in the U.S. is 42,225.  
      NO ONE GETS RICH ON A TEACHERS SALARY. 
  More and more quality teachers are leaving the profession in order to support their families. 

I challenge anyone to spend an entire week in the classroom and see how easy-breezy it is. When was the last time you visited a public school? 


In honor of the hard work teachers do on behalf of children I'm running a contest. 

The prize is a five page critique and a $25 Office Depot gift card for the teacher of your choice or you if you're a teacher.

To Win: 
1) Must be a follower.
2) Mention this contest In your blog.
3) Tweet about this.
4) Enter a comment about the teacher you would like the gift certificate for and why. Confirm that you have done 1-3. 

Shakin' It Up A Bit

Tweet    Okay, so I have the blogging thing down, kinda. I post, you comment, we all feel better. There is just one problem. I'm using too much time to cruise other blogs and writing my posts. Unfortunately, unlike some of you great bloggers, (um..Elana), I am not that tech saavy nor as super human. So, this is my solution and I hope that you all will understand.

     My blogging will be held to once a week. I will aim for Monday but if it doesn't get posted until Wednesday, don't panic. If you're following on networked blogs or blogspot you will know when I have posted something new.

     I know that I take the risk of losing some of you great followers, but this is the deal. I'm still trying to figure out this whole not-being-a-mom deal. I have been a mom since I was 19 and I'm not sure I can be an adult without children. So I'm afraid I am going to have to become a little self absorbed while I work on this discovery thing. 

Here is my new posting schedule:

  First Week: Update. I'll let you know how I'm fairing in discovering my adult self.

  Second Week:  Book Reviews focusing on Middle Grade.

  Third Week:  Writing Update. Where I'm at in my process, something cool I learned, etc.

  Fourth Week: Just For Adults. This is where I will let you in on fun stuff my hubby and I have done, great restaurants, movies, site seeing... (G-rated...where are your minds.) We have always had children so this is the first time that we will actually be just "a couple".

What Star Wars and Seseme Street Can Teach Us About Story Structure

   The other day I was looking at an article on Cracked.com entitled "17 Images That Will Ruin Your Childhood". I'll warn you, if you love nostalgia this will definitely crush some memories. 

So, it got me thinking about what I have been learning about story structure and plot. What made our childhood images so powerful was the effort that writers, artists and directors took to "suspend disbelief".  

Wait...isn't that what we are trying to do in our writing? 

Catherine Brady in her book Story Logic and the Craft of Fiction states," to think like an artist is to understand that story structure depends not on baldly advancing a literal conflict but on constructing a plot that articulates the exact parameters at the stories heart."  

Wow! That is a mouthful but think about it. What stories have you read that leave you changed and hungry for more? Why?

When I read a story, I don't want the author to come out and tell me what to think, just like a child I want to discover it myself.  It's how many of us are wired. Would the parables in the New Testament have as much impact if the true message was blatantly laid out?

Think about Faulkner and Munroe, their ability to use literal action to build the tension of the bigger story is epic! There are, of course many more that use this artistic scaffolding, invisible to the reader. It is only at the climax of the story do the questions that the tension aroused make sense. It's magic, a sleight of the hand.

What magic have you read lately?

Am I Really a Writer?

Source: yuribaranovsky.com

Tweet     Of all the questions we ask ourselves, there is one question that does more to gum up a writers muse than all others:   Am I Really A Writer?

   By itself it seems harmless enough and self reflection is good for us. Right? So why does this question carry such dire consequences? 

    Sometimes the very act of discovering the perfect descriptors, a basic exercise for any writer, for what it is we do creates an insurgent inadequacy powerful enough to knock the pen from our hands.  

    For we idealize the artist as we do the movie star. Each of us carrying  a vision of what a true writer looks like. 

    Perhaps yours is of the lone writer struggling tirelessly against the curse of vagueness.  Or a Stephen King-like voraciousness that continues to spew forth published works or the Emily Dickenson-like surreptitious strength of brevity bubbling quietly from within.  

     An impossible measure that can leave us barren.

     A writer, not unlike an artist,  is someone who views the world in a way that demands the act of expression and wields the pen like a brush upon a canvas.  

      Roland Barthes  said  "... I cannot but ascribe to some super-humanity the existence of beings vast enough to wear blue pajamas at the very moment when they manifest themselves as universal conscience."

Source: kaboodle.com

So as I don my pink footie pajamas armed with nothing but my keyboard and a cup of joe I plunge again because I don't know any other way to live.

What's your vision of a writer and how do you remind yourself that you are indeed a writer? 

Monday, Monday, I'm Not Cryin' But I Could Be

 Tweet    Monday's are sometimes tough for writers, at least they can be for me. This is when I plan my week. What I have to do, what I want to do and especially what is most important to do.

It is always easy to plan the have-to's,  they are usually scheduled appointments, things that have deadlines this week, people you have committed to. Done!

Similarly, want-to's are often easy simply because they don't even have to to written down and they still have a pretty good chance of happening. You know...read that book, eat that last piece of pie, call a friend, watch a movie...buy those boots you saw on sale... Done!

It's the most-important-to-do's that seem to have the hardest time finding space on the calendar. Now, let me clarify. I'm not talking necessarily about need-to's either. Need to's are like the laundry, changing a diaper, cooking a meal. They will happen and if they don't there are consequences: screaming baby, nothing to wear, starvation. What I'm talking about are the things like...cut calories and eat healthy, exercise, work on my WIP,  the things that no one is going to call you on if they don't happen.

So, how can I make this happen? Here is the hard part...schedule it just like an appointment.

You have to set aside a special time to actually do it. Even more important is you have to be specific. Exactly, what is going to happen during that time. What is this bite going to look like? This is where I often go wrong. I either plan way too huge a bite that I choke on it or I make it too vague and spend most of the time fumbling around without really accomplishing anything.

Is this easy?   Hell no!  Do I always succeed? Double hell no! Why do I keep trying? I try because I believe that is why we have new days, new hours, new minutes so we can try it again.

How is your Monday going? Sometimes I have to push my Monday to Tuesday, what about you?

I Really Do Want To Do Some Things This Year...

OK, so after yesterday's post you probably all think I am the resolution/ goal scrooge. (You're probably right!) If you knew me 15 years ago you would understand.  I was a young mother with five children, trying to make a difficult marriage work, and an endless list of should and shouldn't do's.  So I'm a bit soured on the whole lets go conquer the world mentality.  Short story...life is way to hard without having people, God, or anybody looking over your shoulder and second guessing yourself. 

That said, I do have several things I plan to add to my writing life.  They say if you share them with someone you're more inclined to actually make the changes. (Oh, here it comes...OMG... *stomach churns* could I be committing to something...no, no...just breathe.) I'm pretty new to this writing life, so be gentle.

Stuff That Would Be Really Cool In 2011... (OK,  so I like lots of sugar with my medicine.)

1) Complete rewrites on my middle school novel.

2) Join a writer's group.

2) Find some awesome beta readers to critique my work.

3) Attend my first writer's conference.

4) Start work on my next middle school novel.

5) Write 3-5 blog posts a week.

6) Work with reluctant readers and coach kid's writing.

What cool stuff do you want to do? Any suggestions on how I can succeed in having a cool 2011?

Why Wednesday: Seeing the World Like A Four-Year-Old

     When I look back on raising my children I can pick out ages that I especially liked and some that were not so enjoyable.  I would say some of the hardest were the ages of 12 and 13. Interesting enough when I think of my own childhood, those were some of my most difficult years. (More on that in another post)  One of my favorite ages was when my children were four. Everyday, almost every hour an innocent little face would turn to me and ask why. 

Let me tell you about my four year old grandson, Luke. Like most children his age he is interested in the why, what and how of everything around him. He can't learn and experience everything fast enough. One day when he was playing with some children the familiar question of size came up. "I'm bigger than you," said the big kid. Luke looked hurt but then quickly quipped, "Well, I'm smarter." *stifled laughter* It was then that we realized we had a live one and he was ready to hit the world head-on.

Four-year-olds don't miss a thing. Every nuance, every detail is absorbed and stored, only to come out later, hopefully not in an embarrassing way. (You know, the cuss word yelled at the top of their lungs or a detailed description of last nights argument to a complete stranger) If they don't get something they question it.

Somewhere along the way, we lose that intrinsic curiosity and confidence. We become complacent observers.  As writers we need to tap back into this mindset. We need to ask why our character wants what they want. What is it that makes this character so mean? How come he's afraid when he sees a spider? The real challenge is how do we train ourselves to see the world as if we are seeing it for the first time?

What tools do we have to get us to that paradigm?