A Tip for the Writers who are…

Photo Credit: Raw Pixel/Unsplash

 

… D I S T R A C T E D.

Today I’m distracted.

Yes, I admit it: I am a writer, and my mind is wandering away from the page.

Writers find distractions necessary for they are the subtle, and necessary space of disconnecting our linear mind so we can slip into the creative space.

I’m distracted even though my life has been on a full-rush-gotta-get-things-done mode.

Today I’m working on my novel. I’ve got a goal for the word count. Everyday I set a goal, as an act of faith and a reminder that I am a writer.

Goals are essential much like distractions.

So what about my wandering mind?

Food. Yep, it’s certainly an easy way to put my writing on hold. So I did.

I searched in the fridge for some lunch, and saw one of my jars of olives had an off color. These are not store bought olives, nope, I’m making them from scratch, and it’s a slow, slow process.

Olive making is much like a writing a novel. It takes time. A lot of it.

I’m at the point where I should’ve added the salt/vinegar solution to the jars, but then, well, all the little things in life happened, which meant that the olive jars had been shoved into the back of the fridge.

At first, I moaned, oh no, there’s mold growing on them, so I picked up the jar, and laughed. I froze the damn olives. A sheet of ice covered the inside of the jar. Frozen olives.

So…are they ruined? I don’t know. Do I need to turn down the temp on my fridge? Hell, yeah.

Am I giving up on this olive making process? No way.

I’m not a quitter.

I’m going to let the olives thaw out while I get back to writing my novel, and see what happens. I’ll add the brine mixture, and let them ferment.

Maybe they’ll end up being the best olives that I’ve ever eaten or the crappiest, but they certainly taught me a lesson:

Don’t push the things that you love, or enjoy doing, into the dark cold corners of the ‘fridge’ of your life.

 

Copyright 2017 © Jessie Zanita

 

Photo Credit: Jessie Zanita

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Turn Up the Volume in Your Life. {Poetry}

 

It’s gonna get loud,

messy,

wild, and so

go with those sounds…

add your own voice,

singing along

even out-of-tune, but

don’t be consumed with an ideal of silence

for some meditations

come with the waving of a wand,

tapping it twice on your left shoulder,

and saying,

“We’re living in the brisk breaths of wildness

for that is how

we hear the mysterious magic

in the roaring sounds of cacophony.”

Copyright 2017 Jessie Zanita

 

Poet’s Note:

I woke up with a lot of noise outside my window this morning.

I had a choice: complain, or join in the cacophony.

I turned on my music and grooved.

I danced a little while doing the things that needed to be done on a Monday morning. I laughed at how it’s so easy to get stuck in an idea in which silence is a necessary tool for creativity. Yep, it helps, but there’s also a need for loudness in the creative process.

So, if you can, then give it a try today. Let go of predetermined ideas, and turn up the volume in your life.

Join in the cacophony of being alive!

 

Photo Credit: Seth Doyle/Unsplash

What to do if your Mind goes Adrift (& you’re a Writer)?

I climb out of my bed into the heat of the morning, trying to catch all the little creative thoughts flying around like fireflies.

I fumble with my eyes half-closed into the kitchen.

My bare toes love the coolness of the wood floor while I make lunches for my two boys.

I blast the fan in the window, letting the fresh air soothe me.

I think about a story idea that fell into my mind as I fell into my bed late last night. I see the words. I see the images. I see the “arc” of the characters.

I see “how” the sentences may easily flow through my hands and onto the page, but they don’t. Not yet. Sure, I can make the time to physically pause, and write down the sentences. I even put down my cup of tea, but…I cannot get ink to flow through the pen.

There are too many things swirling around in my mind, and so I’ll be the first to admit: it’s gone adrift.

So I ask myself: What is a writer to do when your mind goes astray?

How do you bring the words back to shore?

There’s really only one way:

Let your mind go.

Be one with the drift.

Float with the ideas.

More than likely your writing piece is still in the creative formative stages, and does not want to be penned down.

The words want to be played with in your mind. They want to stay wild.

Yes, I get that, you say, but…I need to write. I promised myself to write at least 1,000 words today. I’ve got to cage those thoughts behind the screen, onto the page.

Sure, but what if you do not force the words today?

What if your productivity actually increases by letting go, and being in the moment with whatever thoughts arise?

Be adrift.

I did, and here I am: playing on the shoreline of a new blog.

Give it a whirl!

Go play with those fireflies of creative ideas!

Copyright 2017 Jessie Zanita

Photo Credit: Issara Willenskomer/Unsplash

The Commute. {Poetry}

Smudged ink

as wisdom curves into words

as sounds of a violin
play through the radio waves

dissolving
with the drizzling drops of rain
on the roof,

you glance through the fine layers of glass
to see a thousand black dots flying eastward,

crows moving like the commuters
on the Interstate —
all as one, but each
one
as one
within

a microcosm of silence

as each flap of a wing,
every rotation of a tire,
every quick thought that rolls through your mind
like lightning — a streak of genius — sudden,

and then gone,

as darkness
settles once more
over the wet farmlands
and the deep taproots of oak seedlings
are finally soaked
with rain,

much like my fingers stained
by this smudge
of

black ink.

Copyright 2017  ©   Jessie Zanita Wright

Photo Credit: Comfreak/Pixabay

The Absolutely Essential Gift to Share this Year.

You thought that I’d say: your glittering presence is the only gift necessary.

Okay, yes, that is a sweet one, and yet there’s one more absolutely essential gift to share this year.

Your friends will discover a sense of wonder when they unwrap this absolutely essential gift.

In fact, this little package may propel others to a whole new Universe.

And—that gift is Art Supplies.

What? You say, arching an eyebrow.

What if? I reply with a twinkle in my green eyes.

What if we shared the tools of creation instead of some cheap gag gift or obnoxious peach candle?

What if by giving a notebook of watercolor paper, some brushes, and watercolor paints then you spark a creative fuel in your friend’s soul?

But where do I start? You mumble.

Well, you can collect some dried birch bark and old wood-stove charcoal—just kidding, I’d stop by one of the local art stores near you.

Wander around the art shop, and think of your friend’s soul energy.

Are they the type who chills out with meditation music (oil paints — it’s a slow process) or are they always in motion (acrylic paints — they dry quickly)?

Do they love getting messy? Clay. Do they enjoy writing? Calligraphy pens.

Now—quick!

Get out your shopping list, and add this absolutely essential gift to the top of it because your friends will love you for bringing a little more creativity into their lives!

Bring the glitter, and your glittering presence this year!

Copyright 2016 Jessie Zanita Wright

Photo Credit:  Ventus17/Pixabay

Sugary Sweet Resistance. {Poetry}

  A little sprinkle of cinnamon, not sugar at the edges of the laminate countertop forms a dusty barrier to thwart the ants who march one-by-one into my glass bowl of sugary sweet oranges fresh from the trees. A little sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar …

I woke up feeling free yesterday.

I woke up feeling free yesterday. 🌀

As if all the shadows of objectifying women had finally been brought to light.

Suddenly, I didn’t have that subconscious sensation at the back of my mind about my body being sized up for someone else’s lewd thoughts. Sensations that I’ve brushed away my whole life.

I was tied by an unspoken social constraint that often made me feel more comfortable wearing something less flattering, more practical.

Hide my pretty. Hide my curves, my long legs, my sensuality.

But that’s over because, yesterday, I finally woke up free.

In my soul, I suddenly felt that we women can put on a playful short dresses, & know that it’s about our enjoyment, not theirs.

We can dress sensually stylish without having certain eyes/minds believing that they hold the upper hand in seeing us as an object, and all of this happened because the grossest orange-haired guy’s lewd words finally sparked the most liberating feeling ever:

We, as a people, will not stand for that kind of behavior any longer.

We no longer have to hide our pretty.

We can be grown women who still hold onto the power of being a strong-willed, bright-eyed, intelligent, unicorn-loving, magic-believing beautiful girl who loves wearing whimsical dresses. (The grrrl power movement has won!)

We don’t have to hide our beautiful selves in the shadows to avoid that kind of objectifying.

Here’s the crazy thing: I didn’t know that feeling of freedom existed until yesterday.

🌀 Yes, world, we women are living, breathing, gorgeous people who will dress up pretty without ever being an object of sexual expectations ever again because those type of stories are done.

Hallelujah!

A version of this essay has been published on The Urban Howl. Check it out!

http://theurbanhowl.com/author/jessie-zanita-wright/

Copyright 2016 © Jessie Zanita Wright