This is a picture of a project that I have been working on since September of 2016; draft 8 to be exact. Today, I ran over it after almost two months of not touching it, and was able to revise some things with a clearer mind. Something about the distance from a project–it’s like when you come back to it, you see it in a different perspective and are able to really take note of what you’ve created. Most people think that writers get it all right on the first draft, but–I can’t speak for others out there–that’s not how it works for me. The first draft is just me getting the story down on paper. Revision is my favorite part of writing. It’s where all the magic happens. It’s probably the funnest and most enjoyable part for me. You get to add things, take away things, look at the story and characters from every single angle, and challenge yourself. i.e. How can I make this better? How can I succeed in getting my point across in a different way? What does the story need to work better?
The whole point of me sharing this with you is that creativity takes time. Nothing is created over night. It takes motivation, effort, heart, soul, and anything else you got in ya. As one of my professors likes to say, “We write the thing to write the next thing.” When I first heard him say this I didn’t really understand it, but then one day it finally clicked. I was actually writing a poem for his poetry workshop class, and I was drawing inspiration from another poem to write that particular one.
It’s funny how things take us from point A to point B.
I wrote a blog a while back about taking a break from writing, and how it was awful and I was never doing it again. Okay, so I was wrong. It wasn’t that bad. I mean, maybe a little bit, but it gave me a few months of solitude. I was able to clear my head, and then step back up to the plate sharper and more focused than before. It was refreshing and relieving. So yeah, I was wrong. It was a nice little vacation, but there wasn’t a day that went by I wasn’t thinking about some kind of idea, jotting it down in my journal.
So, with all of that being said, I took this day to write. I skimmed through; jotted down notes and ideas; outlined a few things. Of course, eventually, I had to enter into the outside world, because I couldn’t avoid the inevitable of Adulting.
Piece of advice: NEVER go grocery shopping when all you’ve had in the day is a chocolate protein shake and some granola, and it’s like four o’clock in the evening. I mean, I kept my mind occupied and drank tea and coffee like nobody’s business, but still… I got to good ole’ Walmart and was throwing crap like Bean Dip and Funyuns in my buggy.
I’ve also made it a little ritual of mine to stop by my favorite little place in the world before heading home.
I live less than half a mile from this. The picture on the top is unfiltered. Either way, they’re both gorgeous. The water was slightly bumpy from the wind, and it had that glassy shine to it. And can we just take a minute to soak in that beautiful sunset… Ahh, the joys of nature. I take about ten minutes to just shut my car off and sit there while listening to the waves roll on the bank and the fish flop around. One time I spotted an otter swimming across the water near the bank. Late in the evening you can watch the same herd of deer–fawns and doe–graze the campground. They’re so used to people that they don’t scare easily. So they will literally look up at you watching them, and then continue on eating grass as their white tail twitches and flips around. It’s adorable and I love it.
No matter how busy your day gets, take a minute to look at something as beautiful as this. It’s a perfect reminder of how gigantic and wonderful the world is. And it can brighten your day. Even just a little.
Well, I’m officially hungry and that bean dip is calling my name.
Until next time.
Randi Garner 