“Of me writing,” she said.
What happiness! A small sprawl of seventh graders swarmed my classroom floor and wrote this morning. Today we NaNo WriMo-ers are living our dream of writing. What propels us from our ‘such stuffs’ into reality? Or, a stiffer metaphor, what shots of inspiration are you knocking back? Here are a few of mine:
1) A practical, hilarious list of NaNo preps on Lola Sharp’s fantastic blog. Do read it; you’ll be so glad to learn that others stock freezers, warn spouses of hygienic neglect, and of course, avoid all hosting responsibilities.
2) Laini Taylor’s recent post on Creating Your Life. It’s pasted beside my kitchen sink, so I can remind myself not to shrink my dreams while I’m cleaning Clara’s breakfast dishes.
3) My kitchen. This is where the magic will happen. One of Laini's Ladies smiles down amidst a flourish of mirrored butterflies. The script on the side of the purple-winged fairy quotes Rumi: "I am so happy, I cannot be contained by the world. I have blossomed so much, I am the envy of gardens." So mote it be. :)
4) M.T. Anderson’s talk at the National Book Festival last year. Quite a bit of his talk here is the same I heard last month; the Dogtown anecdote is missing because it was new and therefore had, as he said, the vigor of the unrehearsed. Watching this clip, you will be inspired by his glorious romance with geography. Also, you will learn he is hypoglycemic. Terribly, terribly important resource material.
4 1/2) M. T. Anderson's talk on Place from 2007. As mentioned in my earlier post, it’s by my mirror so I can memorize it while coiffing. I’m up to, “I would like to speak of Stow, Massachusetts.”
Okay, now I'm off! I have seven pages to write before my girl gets up in an hour. :) Wish me the best of luck; I'm sending all my best loves and laughs to you. Happiest of writing, Dreamers.
I love your writing area-- definitely much more inspiring than my so-called writing space. Good luck with NaNo!
ReplyDeleteI really love the earnest picture of you in the mirror. Please recite this for me at Thanksgiving, will you? My main sources of inspiration are: Laini's Creating Your Life Blog (so amazing!) and Daughter of Smoke and Bone (her whole metaphor of hope is so moving). Also, Beth and Stephanie's 15,000 word live-blog bet (that really got my fingers itching to work). Thanks for posting these great links to M.T.'s talks!
ReplyDeleteSophia! I tried commenting on your blog tonight, but your blog is smarter than I am. I posted under my email name, delvaux, rather than my name-name. But thanks for the luck; I'll take luck! :) And thanks again for your great post on another super writers' book.
ReplyDeletejldy, I'm still in awe of the 15,000 word challenge. I just finished 1100 today and am crawling to bed. :) But I did find time to watch Anderson's talk again. Always time for that. I hope you watch it. Tres adorable.
How did you do? I love your writing area - I want to bring over coffee and write with you in the mornings! It looks like such a peaceful, inspirational place.
ReplyDeleteYour kitchen sounds like the perfect place to write. That photo is SO cosy!
ReplyDeleteIt' hard doing NaNo cos I have full-time university, but I strive along ;)