Creatively Rebooted

A year ago today I traveled to Santa Fe, NM to attend Creative Reboot with my BFF Karil. We had cemented our friendship in 1992 by working through Julia Cameron’s new book “The Artist’s Way.” We worked our way through one chapter at a time separately, then we’d get together for lunch or a margarita dinner to discuss the chapter, what the exercises brought up for us, and our takeaways. Creative Reboot would be a wonderful opportunity to spend quality time together since we live in different states.

We both arrived in Santa Fe early to attend an intensive Friday session; I took Julia’s session and Karil chose an art session. It seemed surreal to be in Julia’s presence after all these years. She outlined what the session would cover and gave us this warning, “Sometime during this session, you’re going to think wow, this person really knows what she’s talking about it, and another time you’ll think this person doesn’t know what the heck she’s talking about.”

It was an intense day of exercises and sharing, but the one thing she kept hammering home was the need to do morning pages. I thought, “No way, I get up for work at 4:10 and no one’s got time for that!” Later when Karil and I shared notes from our respective sessions, I scoffed and said “Yeah I’m not really impressed anymore. Julia says morning pages are a necessity and there’s no way I can do them with my schedule. But since I’m on vacation, I’ll try doing them in the morning.”

Turns out she was right. I stuck with writing in the morning until it became a habit. I fast-drafted a memoir during National Novel Writing Month in November, I started this blog, my story Semper Fi, Sister was published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Running for Good in June, and I’m continuing to make progress on my memoir.

This year’s event is called The Gathering of the Creatives and starts a week from today. I’m looking forward to thanking Julia Cameron for the kick in the pants, sharing a margarita dinner celebration with Karil, and seeing where this next year takes me. Cheers!

Book Look: The INFJ Writer

MTBI As a Psychology major studying Jungian personality theory back in the day, taking the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was required. I like to know what makes people tick and the personality test developed by Isabel Myers and her mother, Katharine Cook Briggs nailed my type, Introversion iNtuition Feeling Judging (INFJ). I’ve taken the test many times over the years and no matter the circumstances, I’ve always been an INFJ, a rare 1.6% of the population.

41lflrfsfol I explored a lot of paths for personal growth and my bookshelves are lined with writing books, but I never could get back to the page. After Julia Cameron’s nudge at “Creative Reboot“, I began morning pages again. Then in a synchronistic surprise, the next day a new book appeared at the check-out table called “The INFJ Writer“.

Turns out a lot of writers are INFJs. In a brief conversation with author Lauren Sapala, I expressed my struggle to write and she responded that I’d probably have to get my memoir out of my system before I could write anything else. I devoured the book, reading it from cover to cover by the time I got home. Lauren speaks my language.

Soon morning pages morphed into a regular writing habit. I jumped into NaNoWriMo with wild abandon to write a crappy first draft of my memoir. Reading “The INFJ Writer” helped me understand where my potential roadblocks are and what I can do to navigate the emotional writing tides that sometimes threaten to swamp my progress.

I didn’t major in Psychology to practice as a therapist, but the knowledge I gained has served me well throughout my career. While the audience for “The INFJ Writer” seems like a small niche, I’m glad Lauren wrote it. The book inspired me to quit thinking about my writing angst and just start writing. Thank you Lauren.

NaNoWriMo…By The Numbers

$969K	Funds raised by non-profit NaNoWriMo
51,473	Words I wrote to “Win” NaNoWriMo
2,068	Words I wrote for my new Blog
1,715	Average number of words per day I wrote
302	Twitter Followers
175	Tweets I sent
147	Facebook Followers
$125	Donation I made to NaNoWriMo.org
104	Blog Visitors
9	Blog Posts
6	Blog Followers
$0	Cost to Join NaNoWriMo

Experience + Community = Priceless

Twitterpated Wrimo

One of the highlights of participating in NaNoWriMo has been connecting with the amazing Twitter writing community. I was an early adopter of Twitter back in my real estate days, but lately I checked it only for breaking news. Once I signed up for NaNoWriMo, I set up my new account and retweeted NaNoPrep advice for my first tweet.

Never having done NaNoWriMo before, I sought out and retweeted inspiration. After finishing my first day of writing on November 1st, I felt brave enough to put my intention for this month out there for the world to see. I wanted to write the book I couldn’t find when I was searching for answers.

Then I found myself encouraging other writers, posting helpful articles I found, tweeting about awesome podcasts, and answering writing prompts. On Day 7 I responded about why this work in progress is important to me saying “I had a hard time relating to books about coming out later in the life. If my work can help ease the mind of another in the same circumstance, they will know they’re not alone.”

When I needed motivation, I could usually find it using the #NaNoCoach hashtag. When I needed inspiration, a quick look through my timeline was all it took.

Throughout the month I saw a lot of writers post a character visualization of their work in progress. Since I’m a NaNoRebel and writing a memoir, I thought it was something that didn’t apply to me. On the 25th, I threw caution and fear to the wind and posted my dream of how I would cast the movie of my memoir.

My memoir may never see the light of day nor have a movie made, but a girl’s gotta dream.

Thank you my Twitter writing brothers and sisters for welcoming this newbie in the fold. This month began as an experiment in what might be possible, and ends in a new place to call home.

The NaNoWriMo Wind Down

In a little more than 48 hours, National Novel Writing Month 2018 will officially wrap.

When I first heard of NaNoWriMo, I thought I might be a little crazy to try. Before I jumped in, I read the 8 Best-Selling Books Written During NaNoWriMo That Show You It Can Be Done and thought if the authors of books like “Water for Elephants” and “The Night Circus” started them during NaNoWriMo, what could giving it a shot hurt. I threw caution to the wind, suspending judgment, ditching my inner critic, and trusting the process of spewing words on the page with wild abandon.

justina_ireland-1 I wrote every day. During the weekdays got up at 3:30 AM to write before work at 5:30 AM, then once I got home I’d keep writing until I had at least 1,667 words a day. I did word sprints at local NaNoWriMo sponsored write-ins and on their website.

Since my shitty first draft was all over the place, I knew there were holes to address but there is no way I could tell you what they were. In fact, once I reached 51,473 words and wrote The End on November 23rd, I honestly couldn’t tell you what I did or didn’t write. It was a blur. At that point, it didn’t matter…I was a “Winner”.

I’ve spent this week reading and studying memoir, completed an introductory webinar called Memoirama: Everything You Need To Know To Write Memoir, and I’ve read through a few of my pages. It is a hot mess, but it’s not as bad as I had feared.

I’ve learned a lot this month, and I have a lot to learn and grow as a writer. NaNoWriMo has shown me I’ve got the commitment and discipline for butt-in-chair-time to do the work, and that my friend is half the battle.

The End…and New Beginnings

After I broke the 50K NaNoWriMo barrier to claim my Winner’s Certificate on Friday the 23rd, I thought I’d continue writing though the end of November to fill in some missing pieces of the story. Today after writing the 250 words which concluded the journey, I wrote “The End”.

I had an odd sense of finality, like even if I wanted to write more, the story was wrapped up. I also know The End is just the beginning of trying to make sense of this total pantser memoir that makes a jackrabbit look like he’s hopped up on some good stuff.

Time to study some of my favorite memoirs and marinate on how exactly I want mine to be structured. Writers have talked about revising being their favorite part so I’m hoping my Viking creative alter ego “Freya The Fearless” takes over from here. Cheers, or as Freya would say, Skol!

A NaNoWriMo 2018 Finisher

NaNo18-Winners-Cert

I’m officially a NaNoWriMo 2018 “Winner”, meaning I’ve fulfilled the goal of writing 50,000 words. This hot mess of a shitty first draft is not fit to be read by any other eyes but mine, but I’ll continue working on it until I write The End. Then I’ll start a new revision adventure and hope I can make heads or tails out of this unwieldy SFD beast.

To all the Wrimos still out there writing away, keep it up…you’ve got this!

Podcast Parade: Write-Minded

I love a parade, don’t you? I began marching in parades at the tender age of 4 and I have the embarrassing pictures to prove it. My love of parades continued through high school marching band, so I was already an accomplished marcher by the time I joined the Marines. But enough about me, I want to share a parade of podcasts I thoroughly enjoy during my weekday 90+ minute commute. It’s a great way to catch up on favorite shows, get investing tips, or learn about the writing life.

NaNoSheWrites With this month being NaNoWriMo, I’m kicking off my inaugural Podcast Parade with “Write-Minded: Weekly Inspiration for Writers”. Grant Faulker (NaNoWriMo Executive Director) and Brooke Warner (She Writes Publisher) blend interviews, inspiration, and writing tips with down to earth authenticity about their own writing lives. According to their website, they “… bring to this weekly podcast their shared spirit of community, collaboration, and a deeply held belief that everyone is a writer, and everyone’s story matters.” Love that.

I particularly enjoyed this week’s episode about NaNo Rebels, those who are not writing novels during NaNoWriMo. Because this first NaNo attempt I’m writing a memoir, I felt like an imposter among the novel writers. When I heard about NaNo Rebels, I immediately identified, “yup, that’s me”. Not only could I relate to being a NaNo Rebel, Grant and Brooke interviewed runner Cami Ostman, author of “Second Wind: One Woman’s Midlife Quest to Run Seven Marathons on Seven Continents”. Since I’m writing about my Marine Corps Marathon journey, I soaked up every minute of the podcast and added Cami’s book to my reading list.

Every podcast concludes with a writing action. This week it is ‘Write down three times you were defiantly sure of yourself.’ Okay Grant and Brooke, challenge taken:

Even though I was last chair in my high school band, I signed up to try out for All-State Band after attending Summer band camp. I not only made All-State Band, I got moved to Concert Band. It was the first time I learned that if I really applied myself, I could make dreams a reality.
I joined the Marines at 21. I was an Army Reservist but my father never believed I would go active duty. The day came when I was tired of sitting behind a desk and a Marine was the only military recruiter on duty. With “Where do I sign up?”, I was the easiest recruit he ever had and it was the best decision I ever made.
I hadn’t run in more than three decades when I signed up for a half marathon at the age of 56. I left doubters in the dust and on the couch.

So, when have you stood strong in your defiance?

NaNoWriMo Muddy Middle

I’m 18 days into #NaNoWriMo2018 and just broke 40K words. Most of them are probably shitty, but it still feels like a huge accomplishment getting the words out instead of thinking about writing.

In the past week I’ve listened to Rachael Herron’s “Fast-Draft Your Memoir: Write Your Life Story in 48 Hours” on Audible. Rachael had great success with National Novel Writing Month and it’s the basis of this book. Listening to her break down into baby steps what needs to be done makes me believe that I can do it.

I’m a recovering perfectionist and being perfect is what has stopped me from even trying to write. NaNoWriMo is all about spewing words on the page, no matter how messy or shitty they are. Just get them out there and worry about editing later. It’s not the way I normally write nor did it feel comfortable at first, but I trusted the process and after awhile, it felt liberating.

I’ve got 12 more days until the end of November so hopefully I’ll be well over the 50K target because a lot of what I wrote will be discarded like the contents of my Dyson vacuum. I’ve ordered the paperback of Rachael’s book so I can sticky note all the pages leading me through the next steps I’ll need to take. I can see the light at the end of this shitty first draft tunnel and it’s looking less and less like an oncoming train and more like the porch light of home.

Becoming Deb Sinness

I’ve always wanted to write, and for a time I did. I wrote poetry, faithfully wrote morning pages following Julia Cameron’s suggestions in “The Artist’s Way”, and frankly spent a lot of time thinking about how to monetize it because I needed to make a living. The creative well dried up. Life goes on, family obligations, break ups, job changes, and who has time for writing.

Last year I was inspired to learn the cello by attending a high school alumni music reunion, which was a magical mix of memories, laughs, and pure joy of being in the company of other musicians who love music. I’m not going to lie, learning to play the cello is damn hard, especially to an adult who is not used to using her beginner brain. But I did it, and I even performed at the teacher’s studio recital, the only student over 18!

I also took a stained glass class and using my hands to create a beautiful cobalt piece inspired me to keep the creativity flowing this year so I flew to the Women Warriors Writing Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. Women veterans and military spouses focus on telling our military stories in classes and workshops. I really wanted to write a draft to workshop, I tried, but the well was still dry.

Seven weeks ago, I attended a Creative Reboot in Santa Fe and hearing Julia Cameron urging us to write morning pages gave me the nudge to restart after so many years. I’ve readjusted my morning schedule to do morning pages and they are a welcome start to my days.

NaNo Image In mid-October, I heard about the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) event that happens every year in November. Intrigued, I checked out the website and asked on social media if others had tried it. The goal of 50,000 words in a month seemed overwhelming, but I loved the Idea of writing, as Anne Lamott calls it, “a shitty first draft”. I signed up and gave myself permission to write the shittiest of all first drafts because after all, I hadn’t done it before and I have no idea what I’m doing.

Today is Day 3 of NaNoWriMo and I’m happy to say I’m off to a good start. I’ve made two outlines, have largely scrapped them both, and that’s okay because it will be interesting to see where the story, my story, takes me. Not sure where I’ll end up, but who thought when I was a frustrated 18-year-old kid in podunk North Dakota that I would end up here?

I am called to write, so I will answer the call wherever it takes me. I will shed my “looking to see what the future holds” expectations, and write for writing’s sake…to find my deeper self and explore universal truths.