A Jane Austen-style Summer - Ramona Heikel

Ahh, it's finally summer!  Warm enough to be outside for some hikes and picnics, and time enough to catch up on all the projects half-started during the past nine months of working.

Wait, what was that?  Did you say "all"?  All of your projects?  

Well...I'd like to get them all done...

What do you think God is saying about that? 

Oh.  Well, Lord, we've mainly been talking about slowing down and focusing, right?  Kind of the opposite of getting everything done, actually.

Yes, you're right.  I want you to re-learn how to rest.  Don't be in a hurry, don't make a load of writing plans.  Focus, and don't rush when you write.  Make a point to listen for my voice.  And don't insist on revising and resubmitting, because I might want you to work on something new.

But I have so much writing I want to do, and so little time!  How can I just...what was that intriguing word you used?

Oh, you mean the word "rest"?

Yes, you'll have to remind me how to do that again.  Anyway the point is, I can't be a successful writer by only writing a little during the school year and by "resting" during the summer, can I?  If I start a new project now, it will only just get drafted and then have to be dropped in September, when it will be added to my towering "half-finished" pile.  It's not like I'm a real writer whose entire life is one writing day after another.  The clock is ticking, summer holiday will be over before we know it!  I've got to get these children's pieces submitted and that story finished and review the novel now, or another year will go by and they'll still be sitting around!  It's not like I'm Jane Austen, an unmarried young woman supported by a well-off, creative family, with one long unending holiday from an outside job.

Why not?  It would do you good to get in the mindset of Jane Austen.  Of having a mind calm and uncluttered, a quiet routine; knowing you have a servant to shop and prepare food for you and your family, a sister to share chores with, a desk with paper and ink beckoning.  Not just for the summer, indefinitely.  Do it.  Get into that mode.

What?  You're kidding me.

Not at all.  In fact, since I've called you to write, you can count on me, can't you?  I give you what you need, like a calm, focused writing mind.  And I give you the time you need.

Really?

Of course.  Oh, you're such a child, when will you learn?

I don't know.  But at least I'm your child.

True that.

You'd really do my grocery shopping and make meals?

No, sorry, that part was just a metaphor.  Which reminds me...you'd better work on those, too.

Am I Still a Writer? – Ramona Heikel

At the end of this past summer I was offered a job at a high school which was just what I was looking for, but I wasn’t sure I was qualified. I took it anyway, and since then I’ve been making plenty of adjustments: working full-time instead of part-time, driving to the other end of the city instead of a short commute, and taxing my brain all day so it refuses to operate after I leave the school. As a result, I have suddenly stopped writing!

And boy does that feel strange. It’s like I’ve been kidnapped to another planet.

I haven’t posted on my own blog since September, and forgot last month to post here. I haven’t even thought about all my unfinished writing projects. I feel guilty about all of those things, but at the same time, I know that I am incapable of doing anything else at the moment. It is what it is.

But today I am writing something original for the first time in months. And I can safely say that yes, I still have stories in my head and things I want to say, and I am still a writer. And something good in all this from a writerly point of view is that I am cleaning house. No, not my real house; my visually organized yet actually out-of-control To Do pile of writing activities. Priorities are being defined (and not necessarily by me).

For example, some of my half-finished stories grew out of my trying to squeeze water from a rock, or from someone else’s idea of what would make a good story—and no wonder I can’t seem to get them off the ground. By contrast, one of my favorite pieces that I “haven’t had time for” has just caught the eye of my best friend who is an artist, and she wants to illustrate it.

I recently received a cheque for a reprinted story from one of my favorite children’s magazines; on the other hand, I just packaged up a load other children’s magazines and some marketing books to donate to the thrift store. As I no longer have the luxury of agonizing about finding the perfect places to sell my writing, or trying to learn more and more about writing, I’ve also cleared those off from my dusty mental desk for the time being. There went a lot of frustration out the door!

It’s a good time to redefine the purpose of my blog, or to decide whether or not I should have one. Yes, I’ve made the choice to dedicate myself to the students at school, and I can’t do everything, so I won’t be feeling as much like a writer as I used to. However, during the large chunks of time of school holidays, like the one coming up next week, I’ll enjoy returning to my keyboard as I would a dear friend, to catch up on my favorite pastime.


Posted by Ramona
www.happilywriting.com