At the desk, writing retreat in progress

So happy to be here. The drive was wonderful, clouds manifesting shapes of things that came to mind as I drove. This often happens, the synchronicity of the creative process, as I'm entering the zone, or the space where deep work happens.

Deep Work by Cal Newport

Just started reading this book which is about finding ways to get beyond distractions and into a "deep work" state of mind. He talks about Carl Jung and his writings on this and although I'm only a chapter in, I'm very glad to be reading this right now. I know what deep work is and I know how to get there but I need regular booster shots in doing the things I know I need to do to achieve it.

Number one for me is logging out of Facebook and staying off for several months. Check.

Just in time for some deep work on the novel!

It's so easy to do tiny bits of things and never get to a long, ponderous effort where time seems to disappear and the hours fly by.

(Not sure if I'm defying the notion of deep work by reading more than one book at the same time, but there you go!)

Day in the life of a writer, 1

I like having "series" of blog posts that focus on one topic and realized this morning I should start one for the writing life here on November Hill. Years back I hosted a blog where writers, including me, wrote posts every day of the week about writing. It was a wonderful thing but in the end became too labor-intensive to keep going. I had another solo writing blog as well and at some point became tired of having my life "split" between two blogs since, after all, it is all really one life and who is to say where the farm and the horses/donkeys/cats/Corgis and the writing begin and end?

Thus, a new series here.

Today's day in the life of a writer:

I got an email from the editor-in-chief of a literary journal that focuses on long short stories. Several years back I wrote a 12k story that pre-dates my novel claire-obscure and fills in a gap in Signs That Might Be Omens.

My plan was to use it as a promotional piece but when my writing group heard me read it out loud at a retreat that year, they all said I should submit it on its own. Most of the story takes place in Paris and I adore the Paris Review, so I sent it off to them after a final edit. Several months later I got a little note in the mail that said they loved it but couldn't take it, and that they would like to see more of my work. That's a nice rejection, especially from Paris Review.

I've been sending it out about every 4-5 months since. Several more journals rejected it, and at least another two said they liked it a lot but noted that it was quite long for their publications. I workshopped it last year and was able to cut it down to about 9k, which at least brought it under 10k!

In late spring I found a list of journals that only take long stories and submitted it yet again. Mind you, this is year three of submissions for this one story!

So this morning the editor-in-chief of one of these journals emailed to say she is delighted to have the story in hand, is getting ready to read it, and that the longer it's been since submission the more likely the story has been longlisted as having potential for publication. I hope Clairette finally finds a home!

My dilemma with this story is that it is a very long short story but not long enough to be a novella. There's technically a form in between called a novelette, but not many places seek out submissions in that word length. I've considered, instead of cutting it back, actually expanding it into novella length. Submission options for novellas seem to be mostly limited to contests though, so I decided to focus on cutting instead of expanding.

My mantra with the shorts I've written in the past few years and submitting them was to focus on finding them each the right home. So far every short I've written and edited has indeed been published. Clairette is the one that's been tricky to place, but maybe this is her time.

As you can probably imagine if you read this blog regularly, my to do list with writing is about as long as my to do list for the farm. The difficulty with writing to do lists is that the work is not a living creature and thus gets perpetually pushed aside for those that talk, whinny, bark, bray, and meow.

I suspect this is the difficulty most writers face. A story may take years to place, for no payment at all. Novels may take that much time or longer. It's a labor of love but even more so a labor of "I can't not do it." If you're a writer it's usually because writing is a way of making sense of the world around you. I can't not do it, but I also can't shove everything else aside to do it full time, front and center, because the living people and animals in my life mean even more. I won't call it a battle, but it's an ongoing struggle for me. How to keep a balance between life and writing.

One way I've managed it is with writing retreats away from home. Getting off the farm, to a place where my only focus is writing, is an odd and wonderful sort of journey. It's not a vacation, but it does feed my writing soul, and it allows me to make significant progress on work that needs hours a day of focus which is so hard to attain when I'm here on November Hill.

I've most recently tried to get 2 weeks away a year, and with time here at home I manage to get things done. This year I've decided to try a 4-day weekend a month. My September weekend is coming up and I am already feeling the energy flow. I'm at the end of a final edit for a novel that has also been underway for several years. It's gotten good feedback from my writing posse and also from an editor I hired to read it. I aim to get this to agents as soon as possible - because it's time to get this one out of my hands.

I have THREE complete drafts of new novels waiting to be edited. There was one insanely productive year when I wrote like a mad woman and got them down. Looking back I have no idea how I did it, but now I'm backlogged with work. It seems to be my modus operandi to have way too much on my plate at all times. I think I've made peace with it. I don't ever have to finish it all. There's no way to finish it all. Because I thrive when there are lists and projects piled around me waiting for my attention. That it also adds a little stress to my life that all that work is awaiting me is the core of the struggle. The bone I have to pick with myself on a daily basis. But if I look at it as a way of life instead of pressure, as treasure instead of the to do list, it becomes delightful.

So, today, I'm focusing on the email from the editor and the excitement that maybe Clairette is finding her home in the world. Later this week I'll be digging in deep to Never Not Broken. It's the writing life.

Feeling sad today, and reminded to treasure every moment

Starting the day with tears of both sadness and joy as I just watched The 7MSN's tribute to Lucy, a gorgeous donkey who left this world last week. It's so hard to say goodbye to our beloved equines. Lucy leaves so many memories for her 7MSN family to treasure, but I know the heartbreak is huge right now.

Yesterday I was at the barn with my beloved equines, experiencing the full range of emotions that come with sharing space and time with other living things: joy, love, awe, annoyance, and finally gratitude. If I'm annoyed it means they're alive and well and doing things that don't always fit with my plan of action for the day. I stopped in that moment to remind myself of that.

After two horse hoof trims and a lot of mucking, I was besieged by a horse fly who stubbornly followed the horses into the barn and decided I was the best target. In a stall, flinging a muck rake around, my glasses flying through the air because the thing landed on my face and I swatted it, and my glasses, away, I was joined by the pony, who came in the stall with me, trying to help, and by Cody, who hung his handsome head over the stall door and did what he could to offer support as the fly bit me in the one part of my back I couldn't reach.

They're my herd, and we share so much. It's heartbreaking when one of them leaves us. Seize the day. Sink deep into the moments when things are funny, hard, sad, crazy, and full of love. In the end, all of those memories will be oh so precious. But the best thing - you'll have lived them.

Hugs to Lucy's herd at 7MSN.

Harry Potter with the NC Symphony

Last night we attended a showing of the first Harry Potter film with the score directed and played by the North Carolina Symphony in perfect sync with the movie.

It was a lot of fun! The music was wonderful but it was also quite amazing to see this with a crowd encouraged by the conductor to cheer and make noise as we encountered our favorite characters. It helped that I got tickets early and we had a box to ourselves. I loved the audience experience without being crammed in the middle of a row. It was so good we got tickets for the next one during intermission.

As the credits rolled the symphony played the final score with huge fanfare and it was an absolute treat to hear. 

The place we'd hoped to eat before the show was totally booked with an hour and a half wait so we got snacks at the concert hall and had a very late dinner at another restaurant. Good but I'm not used to such late nights these days!