Month: January 2021

Weekend Coffee Share

The sun is shining this Saturday and the temperature is in the single digits. It is the perfect setting for several cups of Joe!

Thank you to Natalie for hosting the link party for all things Weekend Coffee Share!

If we were having coffee, I would tell you my PUSH group on Tuesday night was a fun life giving conversation about moving from unpublished to published. I am doing one more open workshop next Tuesday about Submission/Creative projects. I expect the conversation to be just as rich. There is magic in gathering together and talking about creative pursuits no matter what stage you are in. It is one of my favorite things.

We are meeting on Tuesday. If you want to join you can sign up for the Zoom link here. I am recording them and placing them in the Patreon group if you cannot make it live.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you with the holiday last Monday I have to drive more than usual and it was welcome. I do not miss my commute to school at all but once in a while it feels nice to have a large span of time dedicated to the highway. It is a creative time for me – like being in the shower when ideas come to you! We were able to go out to dinner as a family as well so that was lovely. The food was great as well as the service and I was thankful to have that space.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you I had a creative meeting with a writing friend this week that was so fulfilling. We talked about all things writing and process plus some spiritual pieces. She is a wealth of experience and I am thankful to have met her.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you one of my favorite authors wrote an article for Electric Lit. You can find it here. My new system of at least 15 minutes of reading a day is working and getting me back into the grove and habit. I feel much better this week mentally because of it as well. I am reading Craft in the Real World, The Invisible Life of Adie Larue, and Freshwater. [Affiliate links]

If we were having coffee, I would tell you I am starting a writing experience on Monday. Our first group call for introductions is then. I am excited for this opportunity! I am hoping to learn and make some serious writing connections.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you I examining more closely what I am spending my time and energy on. Energy is a concept that has come up multiple times over the last week so I am paying attention. One surprising thing that zapped my energy was a change of schedule. My students and I were off Monday but then the kids were off Friday because of a teacher work and PD day. Wednesdays are meetings anyway. I was able to get a lot of work done on Wednesday but it still threw me off.

Thank you for joining me for a coffee today. I cannot wait to read what you were up to this week!

by Categories: Challenge, Family Life, holidays, Questions, sarahselecky, Short Story, Weekend coffee share, Writing Challenge, Writing Group, Writing Prompt, WritingLife 5 Comments

When You Feel Off

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

Yesterday I changed my routine and I felt pressed for time the whole day.

When I look at the facts, I did get a lot done but it didn’t FEEL right.

I usually begin my day with writing [and lots of it] which helps me feel grounded. I worked from home yesterday but the day flew by. I was not able to write in the bed. The time between my teaching was eaten up fast while I multi tasked.

I am the woman who walks every day and I pride myself on this part of my identity BUT I didn’t enjoy it yesterday. It was sunny and I had dressed too warm. I was forcing it and it was not comfortable. I kept trying to recall the feelings of walking in the snow earlier this week but it wasn’t working. I listened to nourishing podcasts and returned Voxer messages. Everything was irritating.

I felt like I have been writing in between obligations all week. This is not necessarily a bad thing. I do this all the time but did not feel like I had a longer creative time without other interuptions.

I find at this time of the year there are at least 7 books I want to read RIGHT NOW. There are 3 of these titles coming out Tuesday. I could easily spend $150 on preorders today but that wouldn’t be smart.

There are trainings and classes galore right now. Being an input monster I want to absorb them all. I asked the universe for new opportunities and she is delivering but I am trying to discern what I NEED. A friend and I talked this week that this should be an easy question to answer but it is not.

I know this is impossible to absorb them all right now.

This morning, I woke up remembering the Storyaday Framework. Julie Duffy comes back to this resource over and over again. I normally don’t like outlines or plot devices but when I feel like I am going off the rails and around and around a spiral I fill it out. I still surprise myself with the structure if I let the pen flow.

If you would like to check it out go here: https://storyaday.org/framework/

Happy Writing!

What do you do when you are stuck? I would love to hear in the comments.

I also read. This story came on my radar this week from the Why is This Good? podcast – Symbols and Signs

I would love to know what you think.

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Weekend Coffee Share

Welcome back to the weekend! It is snowing outside and I am thrilled. What can I get for you today? The coffee is hot. Let’s settle in for a chat and several cups of coffee. I feel like we have so much to catch up on today!

Thank you to Natalie for hosting the link party for all things Weekend Coffee Share!

If we were having coffee, I would tell you my PUSH group on Monday night was super fun around reading. Everyone shared three favorite books The most animated discussion came from a book that we hate. The PUSH group next week I am super excited about. I am launching my program about going from Unpublished to Published. Even if you aren’t ready to publish yet this class is for you. There are lots of things that you have to have set before you start submitting (from my experience.) If you love to talk writing or just want to get started you should join us! We are meeting on Tuesday. If you want to join you can sign up for the Zoom link here. I am recording them and placing them in the Patreon group if you cannot make it live. The full course will be happening in the Patreon at the $7 level and there will be weekly content and then live Zoom calls. It is going to be amazing!

If we were having coffee, I would tell you my friend Jenna Britton is coaching in a dynamic way around Human Design charts called Clarity + Connection Conversations. You should check out her website. I have had several sessions with her and it always leads me to new insights. You can find her on Instagram as well. She just did an IGTV video that explains everything.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you I walked every day this week and several days it snowed which is always my favorite! I have come across some new podcasts so that has been fun. Bulletproof Radio has been informative this week as well as Bookable, Stop Writing Alone, Find Your Voice, and Hello Seven.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you I posted about Rereading for Two Writing Teachers and one of my #100dayproject essays. You can read that here.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you I was a guest judge for a creative writing app called Story Squad. There are fun prompts and people handwrite their one page stories and send them in for voting.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you I am thankful for the three day weekend. I am submitting some poems today and hope to get lots of writing done. I have written every day as normal but have not been posting and sharing the writing in any of my closed writer forums. I am also examining why I cannot seem to write any fictional stories around teaching. I never make my characters teachers in any short stories.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you my school district decided that we are staying virtual until March 26th which is the last school day before our spring break. The plan is to return in person April 6th then. I am relieved to know what the plan is now. The liminal space was getting more and more difficult to deal with.

If we were having coffee, I would ask you what is the question you would most like me to answer?

Thank you for joining me for a coffee today. I cannot wait to read what you were up to this week!

by Categories: Challenge, Family Life, holidays, Questions, sarahselecky, Short Story, Weekend coffee share, Writing Challenge, Writing Group, Writing Prompt, WritingLife 4 Comments

Rereading #SOL21

Every Llama Tuesday I Write a Slice of Life.

Share your link in the comments section of the Two Teachers Writing Blog.

Give comments to at least three other Slice of Life stories

I am re-examining how I think about personal rereading. I typically do not because there are too many texts to read.

Several weeks ago I heard a podcast where an author chooses a poem and reads it every day for a month to see what happens. While I listening this seemed like a novel idea…and then I sat in my classroom yesterday introducing the book The Snowy Day that we are going to reread and work with all week.

I have used this practice for years! Now I know why I was drawn to read my poem for a week rather than a month. It is a pattern I have already established!

I had to laugh at myself how I sometimes do not make the connections between my personal reading life and my professional one.

There are joys in rereading. There are things you notice after several rereadings.

After each rereading I noticed new lines that sparkled to me that I wrote down. I use them as springboards for writing. When I chose Four Hours In Paris by Cynthia Zarin [Winter 2020 Paris Review] I noticed the concepts in the poem that I was teaching in my classroom! Maps were a topic last week and those lines popped out right away.

I noticed the objects that were listed in the poem that paced the story.

I connected memories that I had not thought about for years because of the lines I pulled out of the text.

The poem started with a map and ended with the color yellow.

If you would like to hear me talk about this on my podcast you can click here.

This week with my kindergartners we will reread The Snowy Day and we will notice different things about Peter’s adventure in the snow! If we were in person we would go outside and mimic his footprints in the snow and smack trees with sticks.

My new poem for rereading is Sorcerer’s Apprentice by Margaret Atwood.

Do you reread?

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Weekend Coffee Share

Welcome back to the weekend. What can I get for you today? The coffee is hot and it is cold and snowy outside. The fog seems to have lifted for now.

Let’s settle in for a chat and several cups of coffee. I feel like we have so much to catch up on today!

If we were having coffee, I would tell you my PUSH group on Monday night was super fun around journaling. I am hosting another group about reading this coming Monday. If you want to join you can sign up for the Zoom link here. I am recording them and placing them in the Patreon group if you cannot make it live.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you I started reading Margaret Atwood’s poem Sorcerer’s Apprentice every day this week. This poem has regular stanzas so I am writing it out in my everything notebook. If you want to hear about what I did with the poem Four Hours in Paris you can listen to the latest episode of the podcast.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you I had some great conversations with friends this week in Voxer. Have you tried it? It is an audio message system. It works well for writing because I have a few friends who I have a feedback relationship with. We read each other’s work and make comments and then are able to talk through them on Voxer. The beauty is that it is recorded and you can listen over and over and take notes. It is a good system. Voxer can be glitchy though so fair warning.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you I posted for Two Writing Teachers this week and for FMF. You can read those posts here and here. I shared my love letters to TEN and to TIME. Today I am writing a letter to Questions. Do you have a favorite question you like to ask?

If we were having coffee, I would tell you I was trying to organize my Google drive and accidentally deleted the slides presentation that I use every day in my classroom. Ooops. The worst part was that I did’t realize it until I was starting class! I was able to recreate it before the second session.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you I listened to Rachael Herron’s podcast Why Do You Write? where Heid Edrich was a guest. She read her poem I Feel Like a Fool Do You? and talked about writing her poetry. It was a great conversation and I listened twice!

If we were having coffee, I would ask you what the best part of your week was? I cannot wait to hear. Don’t forget to tell me your favorite question!

Thank you for joining me for a coffee today.

by Categories: Challenge, Family Life, holidays, Questions, sarahselecky, Short Story, Weekend coffee share, Writing Challenge, Writing Group, Writing Prompt, WritingLife 2 Comments

#FMF A Love Letter to #Time

time
https://fiveminutefriday.com/2021/01/07/fmf-writing-prompt-link-up-time/

Dear Time,

I meant to write this letter yesterday, but I ran out of you. Our relationship is so complicated. You are a human design constraint, but hard to escape when my body craves the cycles of the moon and the seasons.

Not only are there boundaries of seconds, minutes and hours to lead me like a horse through my day but then there are rules about what you are allowed to do and when.

In the mornings, you are supposed to be on time to wherever you are scheduled to report and there are morning beverages on the approved list. There are things you are not supposed to eat or drink in the evenings either. I don’t tend to follow these rules, but they are there.

There is no changing of the to do list after a certain time in the day. You can skip lunch and scroll through Instagram but don’t leave the building early.

Yesterday, there wasn’t enough of you. I had talks by Cheryl Strayed, Ada Limon, Sabrina Ward Harrison, KK, Tony Robbins, and the Quench collective that felt like there were on all at once. I needed to be able to listen with both ears separately and reflect and write simultaneously.

I wanted to write my daily prompt, this letter, the senses writing program activity but had other obligations that put money in my bank account. I made notes in my journal all day, but it wasn’t the same. The time I wanted was a creative bubble that was only interrupted by coffee refills and walks.

You have played tricks on me all week. The work day went fast and then the evenings went slow but you know that you make me weary and the writing comes slow in the night. My energy seems tied to you and the numbers that represent.

Yesterday was a great day in spite of these issues. My morning boys were fun and formed a writing group suddenly giving feedback and chatting during writing time. Talking cats will bring that out.

Dinner was amazing too.

I still love you.

Love,

Tammy

by Categories: #100dayproject, Kindergarten, letters, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Group, Writing Prompt, WritingLife 6 Comments

#IWSG January

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https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer – aim for a dozen new people each time – and return comments. This group is all about connecting!

January 6 question – Being a writer, when you’re reading someone else’s work, what stops you from finishing a book/throws you out of the story/frustrates you the most about other people’s books? The awesome co-hosts for the January 6 posting of the IWSG are Ronel Janse van Vuuren ,J Lenni Dorner,Gwen GardnerSandra Cox, and Louise – Fundy Blue!

It seems to vary according to the story of what takes me out but a fairly quick answer. Sometimes it is a strange reference that doesn’t quite fit in my mind or a repeated phrase that is not powerful in the way the writer intended.

An editing mishap will take me out of the story most times.

If there is too much exhibition, especially in a short work. Repeated explanation that is unnecessary.

If it is not holding my attention and I am not compelled to read past the first couple of pages then I usually will stop. I may try again, but most likely not. It might just be that I thought the book was about one thing and was about another.

I love when there are lines that sparkle to me that I have to stop reading and write down immediately!

Just like I feel I can learn something from anyone I meet I feel that way about books as well. There is also something new to uncover.

#happyreading #happywriting

by Categories: Challenge, Insecure Writer's Support Group, IWSG, Mywriting, Questions, sarahselecky, Short Story, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Group, Writing Prompt, WritingLife 3 Comments

A Love Letter to Ten #SOL21

Every Llama Tuesday I

Write a Slice of Life.

Share your link in the comments section of the Two Teachers Writing Blog.

Give comments to at least three other Slice of Life stories

Dear Ten,

Why do I love you so? I live my life in increments of 10 minute chunks even though my attention span is much longer.

I love my lists of 10 I make to fuel my own writing later.

I thought of you today because I used to give a “Ten on Tuesday” prompt to my students. I wanted them to learn the value of a list and knew even back then that Tuesday needed special attention.

Today my kindergarten students make a Ten on Tuesday list of things that you smell:

  1. Cereal
  2. Chicken
  3. Macaroni
  4. Flowers
  5. Farts
  6. Dog poop
  7. Perfume
  8. Pizza
  9. Burgers 
  10. Bananas

Lists of words can be easily expanded to lists of phrases and then to sentences. A list of 10 always seems doable. If you pay attention to the world around you it makes you a better writer.

What do I write in my lists?

  1. Lines I want to use

2. Overhead conversation snippets

3. Strange things I saw on the way to work or on a walk

4. Names I like

5. Strong verbs

6. What I remember from dreams

7. Fun things kids say

8. Descriptions of places

9. Metaphors

10. Weird signs

In other words: Anything I find fascinating

There is a power of ten that is connected to the truth of things. Sit and write ten minutes about how you spent your last hour. The truth of the moment will come out.

You allow me to open my heart and let my light shine, even if only for 10 minutes.

Love,

Tammy

Love Letter to Ten is #5 in my #100dayproject.

by Categories: Uncategorized 4 Comments