The Opportunity of Newness — Paying Attention to the World Around Us

Hello! After a few weeks off from blogging, I am back! And officially living in a new state!

Things are going well, and while there is certainly too much to talk about in terms of moving and navigating a new city and starting a new for just one blog post, things have been going well overall. And I've started writing (or actually revising) consistently just like before I moved. While I will admit that writing has not been my number one priority over the past few weeks as I prepared to move and have thus been trying to settle in. But moving provides a unique experience that can definitely grow and expand your writing if you let it.

Over the past few weeks I have seen new sights and places that I did not know before. I have started a new job and learned new processes. I have met new people and moved into a new apartment. I completely changed my life and now have to start building anew. But I've also done the little things, like figuring out where the nearest grocery store is, how to get from my house to a friend's, and what to do when you the train you need isn't running and unsure of where I am. Being in a new place, even the small things that seemed so second nature to me back in Boston now have a whole new challenge built in. Simply put: Things are foreign to me. Figuring things out is not part of daily life.

And with the challenge of figuring things out, there are often a lot of experiences and thoughts and emotions that arise. Sometimes, once we settle into our daily routines and feel comfortable in our surroundings, a lot of these feelings tend to dissipate. Things like stress and worry and vulnerability and amazement aren't always as significant in the day to day. You know how to solve a problem. You know where you are going and how to get there. But being the pre-comfortable, shall we say uncertain, state affords a lot of opportunities as a writer.

As writers, we often create situations that require imagination. We build worlds and make up characters and create conflicts and solve problems. And while imagination and creativity are extremely important, drawing from our own reserve of life experience is equally as important. And the more life experiences we have, the more we can draw from ourselves.

This is in no way to say that moving is necessary for everyone or that we can't write about things we've never experienced ourselves. But I do think that as writers, we do want to keep our eyes and ears open. We want to absorb as much as we can from the world around us to inform and better our writing. And when dropped into new situations, whether hours away or in our very own neighborhood, we want to pay attention. To seize the opportunity and take in the emotions and sights and people and newness, and later transform it into a detail or plot twist or character trait that will enhance our writing.

Perhaps it's not actually seeing something and then rushing home to start a new idea, or incorporate it into your story, but rather it might just be tucking it away in your mind for later, or recognizing an emotion or conflict or feeling hidden within the scene you just witnessed. But being aware of newness, and the many ideas and opportunities it can provide, is important for all of us, everyday. Moving has reminded me of this, and I hope that New York brings me many ideas and makes me a better writer.

Change Is in the Air — But What About Writing?

I'm moving! It's official. As of September 5th, I will be the new Junior Project Marketing Manager at a really great academic publisher in New York City. And there's so much to do in such a short time!

Interviewing last week and receiving the job offer two days later, I took the weekend to make my decision. Officially accepting the job this past Monday, it seems as if I have virtually no time to pack up my life and get myself down to New York to start anew. But so it goes, and the adventure begins!

In all of this — interviewing, contemplating, visiting, apartment searching, packing, and saying my 'see you later's  — my writing has certainly taken the back-burner. What can you do, right? Still, I've been feeling bad about this. I so want to finish my final revisions and send out my manuscript and start a new project, but some seasons of life just don't provide for that. Sometimes things get busy. And priorities must be shifted. Yet it is these times that remind me just how much of a discipline writing it is; just how much we have to protect our workspace, or it might never get done.

For the first time in a long time, I will admit that I see how easily writing can slip away. I understand again just how much of a discipline it is. Writing won't just take care of itself. It doesn't magically make time in your day for you to sit down and be magically productive. We have to make that time. We have to carve out the physical and mental space to create and shape our work. We have to set aside the time, set writing as a priority, and stay committed.

And it's okay that I've haven't been doing that right now. It's just not happening, and I accept that. But it can't be okay forever. Not if I really want to pursue these dreams.

So after another week or two, when I get settled, I have to start writing again. I have to be on a schedule that works with my new life, in my new city. The discipline of writing has been part of my life here in Boston, and so, too, will it be part of my life there in New York. Because I want it to be. Because my writing matters to me.

So here's to new adventures and chasing dreams. May we all remember what's important to us, and keep the discipline to make those things happen.

Shifting Gears — From Finishing to Beginning

Hello, everyone, and happy December! It's amazing how quickly these last few months have flown by, and just how much has happened during that time. As we move into the holiday season, and into the new year, I can contentedly say that I am finished with the final revision of my novel, and moving onto starting the next! Of course, this season will bring an interesting time known as the agent search, and hopefully some rest as well, but as I leave this one project and start on the next, I have begun to think about just how wrapping up one project provides a natural segue to the next.

As a writer, I think it is super important to always be thinking about future projects as you dive into your current one. Part of this goes back to the idea that you never know which novel, and which idea, will be the one that gets you an agent, or a contract, or a widespread readership. But also, being forward thinking and eager to create new, good ideas helps you in your commitment to the craft. Writing is no easy thing, and while it is great to take some time to celebrate your accomplishment of writing or revising your manuscript, you also want to make sure that you keep writing. There is no better way to become a better writer than to simply write more. I know this sounds totally cliche, but the more I write, the more I realize just how true this is.

Right now, I am waiting on the final comments from my mentor and then will officially be done with this novel. And part of me would love to kick back and relax for the next two months as I will admit I am quite tired from the hectic schedule of this past semester. But at the same time, I know it is time to move onto the next project and begin the process again.

I definitely think I am ready to move on from revision and begin writing something new again. While revision can be great, agonizing over sentence level details and deciding if the word "just" should go before or after the verb, and rereading a sentence with and without a contraction is really only fun for so long — at least for me anyways. You can really drive yourself crazy spending so much time on just one word placement when there are thousands of words you need to work through. Of course, this is not to say that revision can't have its great moments, but for now, I know I am ready to jump into the phase of creating anew, and leaving the meticulous nature revision behind.

I've heard some people say that after working with a project for so long, sometimes it can be hard to leave that world behind, with all of its characters and storylines and nuances that have really become a vivid reality to the author. I know I've spent a lot of time in my own fictional world and can see just how true this might be. But right now, because these three months of revision has been so intense and I feel at peace with where the story is at, I am happy to take a break and leave Carter and his world behind. But much like the way that every draft gets better, and your knowledge and craft of writing continually grows and builds upon itself, I think that Carter, and the stories I've written before, will always be part of the fabric of what I write next. They will never truly be left behind.

Your books become part of the fabric of who you are. And while some people might scoff at this idea as overly dramatic, it is really no different than the way that experiences and memories come to shape each of us. What you write, what you spend your time doing, all the things you think about, and all the lessons you learn about writing will carry on to the next project. However latent the role of these past projects become, they will always be part of your creative self, reminding you of the lessons you've learned and helping to shape your characters into more interesting ones and your plot into one of intrigue and action.

So as I move from the end of one project to the beginning of the next, I am confident that while I will face new challenges that I might not have dealt with before, I am better equipped to the write the story I am planning to write, and to write it well. It is time for the beginning of a new project, and thus I will take the lessons I've learned from Blinding and bring them forth into my new fictional world where characters will be created and imaginary lives will be changed. So wish me luck! Here's to many new lessons, new stories, and hopefully, even stronger writing :)