My blogs are my friends because they give me a forum to write about things that are important or insignificant. They present me with space to write about topics I consider worthy. Whether I’m imparting ideas based on where I’ve been or those spawned by where I’m heading, the choice is mine alone.

That’s powerful and frightening too. There’s no one to keep me out of trouble, or to blame when things go seriously awry. In part because of these things, I blog very happily. It’s fulfilling and helpful to me to have a record of ideas when they happen. It’s a great reference tool. There’s another reason, too…

Ultimately, I do it because I’m grateful. Gratitude is my overarching motivation for much of what I do. It permeates my efforts here.

…for writing in my life

I started this blog to share my insights and adventures in writing, editing and living in a creative and grateful manner. Gratitude informs every aspect of my life and is my main motivation for sharing. Instead of keeping it to myself, I want to let it out and hope that others catch the feeling.

It’s a joy to share the things that inspire and motivate me, like the practices I’ve developed and collected, which help me.

…for people who share with me

Another reason for continuing this project is that I’m hoping to grow it into a community when time permits. Along the way, it’s interesting to hear from people with interesting and thought-provoking ideas. Hopefully, together we’ll do some growing as we share.

…for the chance to make a difference

When I write a post, I’m hoping that others might benefit from what I have experienced. Hitting the publishing button is a pleasure when I have worked up a post that meets the expectations I have. Before it’s out for people to read, I have said yes, this may help somebody. It’s a good feeling. Whether it sparks an idea or a answers a question, if it falls on the plus side, then I’ve done a good thing.

…for the chance to have some fun

Writing is great for many reasons including discovery. In writing this blog and others, I am ever on a journey inward through myself in life. It can be daunting and fun too. But overall, to write about things that move me is a way of cherishing, which brings me full circle to the beginning where I started all this, at being grateful.

Does blogging make you happy? If it doesn’t make you happy, why do you blog? Even if it’s for money, it’s a good idea blog about something meaningful if you have a choice. Try it out, and tell me what you think.

I got up this morning all set to write and catch up on my poems for the PAD November Chapbook Challenge. Then, I was going to write toward NaNoWriMo. And guess what, I’m on my way to it.

I made my list last night, and allowed for Twitter and Facebook and blogging. After that, it was down to the projects that had deadlines. Two things went into this plan.

Time to Play

Twitter and Facebook are like play time for me. It’s where I get to relax, share with and learn from others. It’s my personal growth resource and that’s important. People try to say social media is bad, like guns and hate mail. You know, I find it’s always the person driving the vehicle that determines it’s benefit or danger.

And there are those who say it’s useless. The stats paint a different picture. If you are participating in marginal activities and hear naysayers in your head, it can be distracting. Know what’s important to you and include it in your tasks. Including the lighter tasks breaks up your day in positive ways.

Clear Outcomes

Sometimes my list is murky at best, with varied what ifs and maybes, and open ended deadlines. Those lists are helpful guides. Still, when I can be concrete, it helps me to formulate a clear vision in my head. Visualization helps me to know where I’m headed, how I’m getting there and when I’ve arrived.

Knowing What Comes Next

Generally, I like to go with the flow. And I like that flow inside of structured time. This afternoon, I’m going to be free and veg out in front of the TV for two hours. I’m going to indulge a guilty pleasure and watch back-to-back episodes of Murder, She Wrote. I’ll be sitting in the midst of a pile of books on writing and one for book club meeting this Sunday. And when I’m done with that, the next thing on my list will be waiting for me.

So, I have my list of things to accomplish. The goals are clearly delineated and I’m free to get to them however I see fit. And, at the end of the day, when I’ve put a line through as much as I can do I will feel content as long as I’ve done my best.

Do you find that planning helps or impedes your progress?

I’m always amazed by how much things can change in writing.

My Celebration Poem

For Mother’s Day, I decided to write a poem for my mom. Getting a jump on things, I started writing the night before. But, I thought about it for longer than that. Anyway, I had this bumpy, lumpy and awkward thing that halfway through, started to resemble what I wanted to say.

After a while, I put it to bed. The project was leading me to that area of my brain I didn’t want to go. The signpost reads:

r u kidding me? you say you write poetry? hahahahaha, tell me a nudda one

I loathe that area. That’s the CENSORS’s room and if I wake them too early, it’s really hard to shut them off—at least not when I’m tired.

It was the last thing on my mind when I went to bed. A few other random thoughts crossed my mind and then I was out. In the morning I jumped out of bed and wrote the thing. I referred to the draft to make sure I’d touched on the points that mattered the night before.

The words dripped down from my brain, fell out of my fingers, as they clicked away at the computer. I heard her stirring as I laid on the finishing touches. I had words on the page and I wasn’t sure they were the right choices. Definitions to check, revising to do, editing, then picking the write pictures, and one more edit.

An interesting thing, had I thrown the whole thing out, as almost happened anyway, I would not have missed much. I at least had the draft to refer to.

I guess it worked. My mom loved it. In fact she was so pleased by it, she decided that I can’t post it because she wants to keep it to herself for a while. She doesn’t know about my traffic.

My Understanding of Drafting

Drafting is the key. When I write to a project, I begin by listing everything that might be pertinent to the subject. This stage is where you unearth all your ideas and allow them room to run around with other ideas, make friends and change their clothes, if needed.

Willingness to let go is crucial. If you’re not willing to let go, then you’re stuck with the first thing that spills forth. That is way wrong. I usually know when a thing really blows. And these days, I’m very much willing to work on revising and editing.

Willingness to revise means more work gets done. When I first started writing I worked at it. That was in grade school. For a long while I stopped writing and then picked it up again. That was years later. In the time between those bouts of poetry, I forgot about revising as a viable step. I’d convinced myself that if I didn’t do it right, if it didn’t come out whole in the first draft, then it was to be scrapped.

Some people still write with that belief—poetry anyway. Fortunately for me I revised that way of viewing my work. And it’s a good thing too. Because if I were still thinking that way, mom would not have gotten her Mother’s Day poem. Even more, I would have a pile of stuff in the trash instead of saved for the revising stage.

All you need is editing sometimes. Having said all that, sometimes they do still come out whole, practically writing themselves. Instead of trashing it in disbelief that I can still get those, I snatch them up and run with them. From time to time, I will write a poem that just needs to be edited. Once or twice I can remember changing just a word. It’s a good feeling.

The above picture is one that I shot from the New Orleans Riverwalk Marketplace.

I love traveling. Really. Sometimes, I’ll get to a point when I feel the need to take a trip. A feeling washes over me and I will think It’s time I took a flight out. Without leaving town, I would indulge myself by picking a place away from my house.

When writing is a factor, I need to know where I feel like going. I’ll pick a location that resonates properly in my spirit, as well as a place that facilitates my work.

My Ideal Writing Weekend

When planning my getaways, I take advantage of my ability to create my personal space pretty much wherever I need it. And that is a great help to me when I find that I can’t be alone, or when I don’t want to be. My ideal writing weekend stirs these things into the mix: writing tasks, atmosphere, people, solitude and toys. I really did include toys, because it’s not all writing in my writing weekends. It’s important to remember to play. And, it would have to be 3 days long.

My best writing weekend happened during a visit back home to New Orleans, Louisiana, with my parents. It was quite impromptu. I found myself on my own once I got my parents to the city. And once they were out of the hotel, I decided to pack to go off and work.

What was in my bag?

• Writing tasks: Everything that I needed to accomplish and some extra things in case I was feeling ambitious
• Tools: My dictionary, pens and paper
• Toys: Drawing tablet, pencils, camera

How did I choose my location?

• Atmosphere: It was a long time since I’d visited the riverfront and The New Orleans Riverwalk Marketplace shopping mall with a food court
• People: I like people-watching, imagining their stories. There are times when I just want to be around people, to watch them and hear the hum of life in my solitary work
• Solitude: I was able to keep to myself in the sparsely populated mall, or return to the hotel
• Transportation: Because it was so close to the hotel, it was a nice walk for me on a very clear, kind of cold morning

So, how was it? It was a lot of fun. I didn’t write a lot. I didn’t draw. I walked the length of the mall and took pictures, including the one that opens this post. This was about 12 months after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita had gone through. I was curious about the city so I stopped and talked with workers about the shops and eateries that hadn’t yet returned.

I had a really good time, because I did what I wanted in those 3 days. The freedom to just go with whatever came to me was exhilarating. I had the tools for work and play and the space to choose what I would do.

What did I take from this group writing project?

It’s time to go further. I had several different places I’d visit to write back home in New Orleans.  And now that I’ve really focused on it again, I think I need to plan an ideal writing weekend in another city I adore, Boston, Massachusetts, writing, walking and taking pictures along the Charles River. Thank you to Joanna Young’s My Ideal Writing Weekend competition for breathing new life into that idea.

The deadline to post your entry is midnight on September 1. And the results will come shortly after that. So link over to Absorbing Writing and get the details, because I’m sure that the responses will be very interesting.  When it comes out, I’ll add a link at the end of this post for you to see what others wrote.

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