What Yoga Has Taught Me About Writing, Part V

A few weeks before E's surgery in early February, my writer's brain was frantic, consumed by fears that her aneurysm would rupture before the lead physicians performed surgery to repair it.

Faced by the need to reclaim my center, and stay strong in the face of E's surgery and recovery, I returned to yoga after drifting away from the practice several years ago. Little did I know that in addition to helping me with my stress the ancient art would inform my writing.

I've written about what yoga has taught me about writing here, here, here, and here.

Here's yet another reason to give yoga a place of honor, and continue it's regular practice despite my bum foot:

A study in NeuroReport indicates daily meditators have a thicker cortex, the region of the brain associated with concentration, memory and focus. In addition, regular practice seems to offset age-related cortical thinning, one of the factors associated with Alzheimer's.

Om.

It's a Book! and Other Epiphanies

I feel like I should knock on wood before saying this: E's back at school today, which means my muse and I have the house to ourselves.

On tap for today: Serious butt-in-chair time.

Specifically: continuing the hard work of stitching together and revising the best scenes from the many versions of my fantasy novel, and finally "writing" the story through to the end.

Goosebumps moment of excitement. Breathing slowly, deeply. In. Out.

My classmates and advisors talked about this point in their writing process. I listened with awe and envy when they did.

How had they come to that place? I wondered. How many drafts did they write before they knew their characters well enough to write their story to the end? Did they begin with a living, breathing character--one they knew inside and out? An outline? Both? If they wrote like I did--following a whisper, a bit of dialogue, a feeling, an image--how many versions of a novel did they write--and toss--until they knew they'd written through to an ending that felt right and true for the story that needed to be told?

What I know is this: A shift has taken place. I'm ready. The story's ready. The character's are ready. I'm convinced I now know enough to write the story through to its true end. Even more exciting, I finally know I know my story well enough to do so.

Curious that nine months after graduation--in the time it takes to grow a baby--I finally get it.

Crit groups, Deadlines, and Uninterrupted Sleep

Slept through one of E's med times last night. Woke in a panic two and a half hours later. Found E sleeping comfortably, and cool. Would have done a happy dance if my foot wasn't broken. Hobbled back to bed, and managed to get enough uninterrupted sleep that I can imagine tackling creative after E's visit to the pediatrician this morning.

This is good. Now that I know what chapters and segways I need in order to patch the best of my many versions together, I'm eager to return to my world, and finish the job. Also helps that I face an end-of-the-weekend submission deadline for crit group.

Thank God for crit groups and deadlines. Without them, I'm afraid the distractions of everyday life--like kids and high fevers--would be enough to keep me from the hard work of BIC.

*Raises mug of steaming green tea.* Here's to scenes that sing, and characters that act in character. Happy writing to all.

Fevers, Zombies, and Vampires

This past weekend was not a good one. Most likely because E came down with a nasty bug--the coughing, sniffly, snuffly, feverish, all-over-body-aches kind where you'd rather whimper and curl up under the covers.

Last night was the worst. At one point, E's fever rose an entire degree in less than half an hour. To say we were concerned would be an understatement. E has a history of spiking HIGH fevers when sick. In the past, she's gone up to 105 in between temp checks.

Frantic, we called the doctor. By the time the pediatrician called us back, the fever had risen another half degree--to 103.5 two hours into Motrin. Out of options for controlling the fever, the doctor told us to start the car.

We were packing up E's blankie bundle and pink hamster when she suddenly became less chilled and more talkative. Slowly, over the next hour, the fever inched its way down. It finally leveled out at 101. We counted the minutes until we could boost the Motrin with Tylenol. We prayed the fever wouldn't spike again, and alternated Motrin and Tylenol every three hours the rest of the night.

I am now a zombie. My need for sleep trumps any hope of writing a scene that makes sense today.

On the plus side, in-between nursing duties and round-the-clock meds to keep the fever under control, I'm finding I have enough focus to delve into my current read, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, reviewed by Cynthia Leitich Smith on her blog Cynsations here. Meyer's book is a must-read for fans of intrigue, suspense, love stories, and vampires.

Explore the Forest

The April issue of the Edge of the Forest online children's literature journal has hit the cyber newsstands. Plan a picnic, bring your friends, keep to the path, or forge your own.

Just a few of this month's features:

Kelly Herold of Big A little a interviews Michael Buckley, the author of the Sister's Grimm series.

In honor of National Poetry Month, children's writer and poet, Heidi Roemer, talks about her writing life, and shares a favorite poem for reader/writers.

Louise Hayes of Students for Literacy Ottawa interviews children from her Reading Circle about their favorite books, and why they love them.

Explore the Forest. I can't vouch for the critters and enchantments you might encounter along the way, but the articles, news, interviews, and reviews will be worth the journey.

Lamb Cakes, Mayhem, and the Zone

Yikes, Wednesday already? I've been silent for far too long. I suppose it's to be expected when Easter collides with creative, and exciting things come of it.

Here's what happened:

The girls were home for a long weekend, and since the weekend included Easter prep and Easter, much of our time was spent filling baskets and hopping from one gathering to another.

E's service dog Jewel visited for the weekend, too--her first visit since I broke my foot. Thankfully, I've been in walking boot since Thursday; so, I was able to hobble alongside Jewel correcting her when necessary, and reminding E that commands require a firm, strong voice.

One of Jewel's weekend outings included a Girl Scout meeting Friday night making lamb cakes. Even with another dog in the house, Jewel remained on task, helping E into and out of chairs, retrieving dropped items, and playing with gusto once the vest came off.

In the midst of the mayhem, I've been writing--finally writing for hours at a time--the way I used to write while in hot pursuit of my MFA.

Since graduation, I've longed to return to this place. The writing-in-flow zone. The place where time stops, and the need to return to the story after taking a break wars with the need to return to the real world where meals must be cooked, homework must be done, and the kids need underwear.

Feels good to be back.

SCBWI Chapter Meetings, Walking Boots, and The Powers That Be

The only reason I left the house this am instead of pretending to work on creative while counting the hours until I met with my podiatrist for the first time since THE BIG BREAK last Friday is my SCBWI chapter meeting. Boy, am I glad I went.

Seven of us crowded around three tables in the second floor Barnes and Noble cafe.

G reported that she's still waiting for a yeah or nay on her multi-cultural picture book manuscript. (An editor asked for the book months ago, and its even gone to committee, but The Powers That Be have yet to bless it.)

CB talked about making revisions to her picture book manuscript for the same house, and receiving a glowing email from the editor who said she loves the changes. The Powers That Be have not yet spoken. She also reported she finally finished revisions to her novel and sent it off with fingers crossed to the editor who requested it after reading the first chapter.

CA, writer/mom of three young children, expressed surprise at how quickly her year has gone by as a student with the Institute of Children's Literature, and how important the built-in deadlines have been for getting any substantive writing done.

A bubbled about learning a new craft--jewelry making--and added with surprise that the diversion has actually informed her writing, giving her new perspective on revisions.

We all commiserated about the creative mind, and its ADD-like ability to remember the most minute details about a person or place, yet forget where we left the car keys five minutes earlier.

Good meeting. It reminded me of how important it is for me to leave my cave now and again.

Medical Update:
The podiatrist set me free today by sending me home in a walking boot. Thank goodness. I was feeling really confined and ineffective having to rely on crutches and other people. Too many things have piled up. Laundry. Papers. Dishes. Now, I can do a much-needed archaeological dig in the kitchen. And hopefully, work on creative, too. Cheers. :)

Appetite for Writing: Hungry. But before I can get to creative for next week's crit group, I'm on deadline for the next issue of Edge of the Forest. My due date's tomorrow.

Current read: The Blue Girl by Charles de Lint. Told in three alternating, first-person points of view, the urban fantasy tells the story of two high school outcasts and the school's resident ghost who end up on the wrong side of a malicious gang of fairies.