What We Take In Influences What We Put Out - Media Influences on Creativity

Been trying hard (I think) to get back on a regular writing schedule since recovering my energy (still working on that - 2-3 years of anemic lethargy). I've made some strides - planning a 4-hour writing afternoon mini--retreat once a month with my writing group (we've done two), setting up some times to work on writing and editing projects at home, my office, and at my current favorite cafe... attempting to set up some accountability partners and such. But results seem to be...not as expected.

I am at that cafe now. I've been here for two hours. Planned to work on some writing. But, alas, I have not... what have I been doing instead?

• Online chatting with 2 friends in other countries - good to catch up, though!
• Texting with a local friend regarding a mutual friend in another country...
• Group chatting with my scavenger hunt team - our annual hunt begins in four days!
• A little bit of emailing and updating event pages...

Not entirely unproductive, but not what I planned either. 

And now I am at a crossroads - my car repair is complete, and I can go get it and help a friend with some apartment hunting before my writers group meets tonight, or I could stay here and actually try to get to some of the writing tasks I had planned to do. So, obviously, writing this blog post is the logical next step, LOL.

I have been feeling very "out of phase" lately. Like an episode of Star Trek, I am in a time bubble moving slower than the world around me. I don't actually feel slow, but since time is speeding by me, I must be in another space-time dimension, right?

I've downloaded an app called Podcoin, too. Unrelated, I know, but it is incentivizing me to listen to more podcasts, something that has been on my To-Do list for years. IN the past, the only podcasts I've enjoyed and listened to with any frequency have been Writing Excuses and Welcome to Nightvale. Starting in February, after much prodding by a friend of mine (and fellow Buffy fan), I began listening to Buffering the Vampire Slayer, and a I caught up to season 4, the accompanying podcast Angel on Top. I am caught up now - they are both on summer hiatus. So, I've been trying other podcasts. 

Two that I am really enjoying are My Favorite Elliot Smith Song (each episode is 15-20 minutes long - yay - and features a musician or celebrity discussed their favorite Elliot Smith song) and My Favorite Episode (a Variety produced podcast hosted by Michael Schneider), where TV stars and producers gather to discuss their favorite TV episodes ever, from classic shows to current series and their own work. At 20-30 minutes each, My Favorite Episode is also a digestible chunk of time. I recently tried to listen to Dax Shepard's podcast called Armchair Expert...good premise, good guests, but most episodes are about two hours long! I mean, can't he hire an editor? I may still pick at an episode of it here and there, but I have a lot of other media to consume. 

As writers and creators, what we consume can influence and inspire us in a multitude of ways. Obviously, the aforementioned podcast has kicked up my interest in listening to the music of Elliot Smith, as well, and I'm really enjoying (in that good, sad way) his last album, From A Basement On A Hill. I've also been listening to a few of my favorite classic Cure albums, mostly Faith, Pornography, and A Head On The Door. That retro audio trip has come about since I randomly had a dream I had last week about hanging out with Robert Smith and Simon Gallop and the band behind the scenes at a concert at the Moore in downtown Seattle. (That never happened never would happen and was sparked by I-don't-know-what!). I also went on an alt-80s binge, inspired by seeing Howard Jones (a dear favorite of my 14-year-old self!) and Men Without Hats perform live (my first time for both).

I was a volunteer for Lifelong AIDS Alliance last weekend at the Bellingham Pride Parade and Pride Fest. Decorating a Jeep as a float, passing out condoms and candy in a twenty-minute parade route, while a beautiful drag queen performer danced atop the "float" to such great songs as I'm Every Woman, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, I Feel Love, and Born This Way. 

I'm currently keeping up in real time TV with Fear the Walking Dead, Claws, and some late night TV, of course. I've watched the latest series of Stranger Things on NetFlix, and caught up on the latest Supernatural - seasons 13 and 14 - this past week. 

       

I've been terrible about making time to read...spending way too much time playing games on my mobile phone: my forever ones - Words with Friends, Boggle with Friends, Wordox, and Scattergories, as well as My Singing Monsters (been playing nearly 2 years) and the newly added Board Kings, Cookie Jam, Happy Glass, and Draw This. Yikes! Too much!

I am in the midst of reading some massage work related stuff - Oncology Massage, catching up on some industry journals, and refreshing my knowledge of Body Mechanics For Manual Therapists. I'm also (not) reading Craig Ferguson's newest memoir, Riding the Elephant, and a 1989 book by Mary Taylor Simeti called Sicilian Food: Recipe's from Italy's Abundant Isle. I am amazed and sometimes brought to tears by the familiarity of this book to my childhood. I had no idea how much of my family food history and personal food choices were so closely related and inspired by the history of Sicily... my blood speaks to me! Great stuff, as I delve back into those memoirs around my Sicilian family stories. 

So, my current media consumption seems to be centered around:

• My Sicilian heritage
• The melancholy music of my formative teenage years and twenties
• The television of my youth - childhood, teens, and twenties - and more recent favorites
• Stories of urban dark fantasy and horror

And I'm writing (or working on):

• Memoir from my teenage years and twenties
• Essays on women, culture, and alternative stories in media
• Short stories of dark urban fantasy, horror, and fairy tale
• Historical Fiction around my grandfather's teenage life
• Expanding my writing community and education

There's a lot going on, and I'm just trying to encapsulate and understand it. It's been an uphill battle to reclaim my creative life (as well as my social life), energy, and health, and it's not done, but I'm trying. I want to really build that train track and ride the momentum of routine, inspiration, and creative productivity. 

I bought this business planner called ifocus, to help me organize my project goals and time, but I haven't really sat down with it yet to learn it. I spent about half an hour with it, writing up my planned goals and uses for the journal...but I need to do more. On the to-do list...but maybe for AFTER my scavenger hunt week...

I also just downloaded an app called Time Track, to help me track how I spend my time. I did this the hard way last year, with an excel spreadsheet and color-coded entries... it is useful to see how we are spending our time. I will probably post about that progress in a few weeks.

I Attended the 2019 Chuckanut Writers Conference. Here's What Happened.

The 9th Annual Chuckanut Writers Conference took place at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, WA, June 21-22, 2019, with optional events and master Classes on Thursday, June 20th.

I've been wanting to attend for several years, for several reasons:

1. Bellingham is not far from my home in Seattle - roughly a 90-minute drive makes for convenient attendance. I find it challenging to coordinate all it takes to travel to other cities.
2. I want to constantly learn, grow, and improve myself as a writer, a writing community leader, and a person. I find structured events like this work well for me. I can interact with other writers and people who love learning - a shared purpose. Perhaps I'll make friends, though that is not my primary goal, and perhaps I'll make contacts to connect with in the future, over writing, teaching, conferencing, travelling, publishing, etc. I love the energy that comes from sharing experiences and goals with others. 
3. I am hoping to attend several different conferences to see how they are run, what works and what might be improved/different, and help me to develop my own courses and conferences for writers. I think it's important for all of us writers to support each other every way we can.

I finally registered this year because:

1. I've been taking my iron and supplements for over a half a year and am feeling more energy. Previously, I knew I would likely miss much of any conference due to my constant need for sleep. Iron deficiency was stealing my time and my life.
2. I'm feeling slightly more energetic, and motivated to get back to all my previous goals, abandoned over the last few years in the wake of my anemia.
3. I have a friend in Bellingham who was happy to let me stay a few nights, which meant a.) I got to visit with him a bit, b.) I didn't have to do the 90-minute commute three days in a row, and c.) I didn't have to find a hotel room (challenging for my planning deficient ADHD brain, and added financial expense)

OK. I am compelled to share a quote from a stranger here, from an exercise in a Julia Cameron Artist's Way Workshop I took in April. These positive comments we give each other after sharing are called "popcorn" in her world:

You are a powerhouse and taking care of your energy levels is setting you up for a whole new experience.

 I am feeling that, now.

Back to the Chuckanut Writers Conference. I signed up for a Master Class on Thursday. I wanted to sign up for at least two of them, but the Laurie Frankel "Work + Magic: Strategies For Gettin' It Done" sold out fast. And to be honest, it was at 9 AM and I never would have made that. I woke up after that at home, and left around 11 AM to make it to my 1 PM class with Anastacia-Renee, and I still walked into the room 15 minutes late (sorry!). That class was called "Time Traveling and Time Keeping: Conversataions With Audre Lorde and Octavia E. Butler". There was another class that sounded great with Claire Sicherman called "Exploring The Authentic Voice" but that was also at 1 PM, and I had to choose. Since the Anastacia-Renee Time class was about interdisciplinary writing and dealt with peotry and sci-fi and literature, I went with that one. It required students to be familiar with the works of Lorde and Butler, which I am somewhat...Wanted to read more before attending, but that didn't happen. As it was, I have read Butler's novel Kindred and a several short stories (I own more book, in the waiting-to-be-read pile) and some of Lorde's essays and poems. I was eager to learn more - both about their work which is imaginative and strong, and them as women- feminists, queer, black, marginalized, ignored despite the merit of their work and words. I am so interested in the complicated tangles of gender and race, society and revolution, perception and imperception.

The class was small - 7 or 8 of us - and Anastacia-Renee is a seasoned professor. She clearly adapted the material to our levels, allowing us all to remain engaged with the material and the subject at hand while challenging us to break out of what we think has to happen. Writing exercises included learning structures like Haibun, a Japanese form that begins with one or two paragraphs of non-fiction/autobiographical statements, followed by a Haiku or Tanka centered beneath, creating a fat T-shape on the page. We also tried various methods for wringing the truth out of our subjects, conveying story and emotion in various ways, and just being brave and curious enough to try new things. New structures, new genres, new combinations of forms...whatever brings our work to the next level.

I wish there were more of these three-hour master classes - I would totally go to this conference another day or two to fit in more of these events.

After the class, I had two hours before attending the Chuckanut Radio Hour in Heiner Theatre on campus. They do these every month, open to the public, for a $5 ticket. Mine was included with my registration for the CWC. First, I got dinner at Goji Fusion - a not-very-spicy-but-pretty-tasty tofu phad thai - across the street from WCC. I also pored over the schedule to come, choosing my classes and planning my time.

The Radio Hour was scripted banter, sketch comedy, and local endorsements performed onstage (and broadcast on local radio station KMRE 102.3. It's probably available to stream somewhere, like here, and as a podcast or something, too, but I am leaving that to you seek out. This night's musical guest was Louis Ledford, a humorous reading from a local poet, and sci-fi author legend Terry Brooks was interviewed by Spencer Ellsworth. 

When I left the theater, I stopped at the Fred Meyer to pick up a few things on my way to my friend's house. He works from home, and was behind on a project, so after I settled in a bit and we had chatted for an hour or two, went back to it and I got some sleep.

The next day was Friday, Summer Solstice, and the official start of the CWC. The whole schedule of events is here, but basically it went like this: one speaker/lecture in Heiner Hall, four break-out sessions to choose from, lunch, another Heiner Hall lecture for all, a second break-out with four more class choices, followed by various evening events. Thursday was the Radio Hour, Friday was a Faculty Reading and Reception, Saturday had a final reception and book signing, followed by four Open Mic Events in four different locations around Bellingham's Fairhaven area.

I could talk more about each class and teacher, and I probably will, but for now, I just want to share my Final Thoughts and Impressions from the weekend of events. I think I will do that in another post.

I had not yet made it back to my friend's house to catch the sunset over the lake there, but did snap a picture from the Fred Meyer parking lot. Such a large and lovely sky.... full of clouds and colors that just make my heart soar, even here, over an expanse of asphalt and automobiles. 

I've pretty much only been to the heart of historic downtown Bellingham in the past (usually stopovers for breakfast or lunch on the way to Canada) and on actual Chuckanut Drive - the most scenic road anywhere - but never in the outlying areas of the city. A lot of seemed rural enough to remind me of my childhood home in Harford County, MD, with rolling hills, pastures, small farms, green fields, horses, tractors, and tree-lined winding roads.

I wonder if the sunsets are always spectacular, if it's special to the solstice and surrounding months of summer?


The rest of the weekend was filled with classes and discussions, lectures and readings, writing and connecting. Here are a few photos I took during readings and classes:

Laurie Frankel teaches "Writing About Writing"

Lyanda Lynn Haupt discusses "How To Manage Creative Anxiety and Procrastination" 

Faculty Readings on Friday Night

Faculty Readings on Friday Night

 It was great to hear the variety of work presented by the Conference Faculty. Some were funny, some were serious. There was poetry, excerpts from novels, pieces of memoir, and others. Some read from published work, others read from their works in progress.

It made me want to seek classes from some of the authors that I had not made time for, since one cannot do it all in a conference with simultaneous offerings.

Books were made available in Syre Hall throughout the conference, but some were sold in the theater lobby the night of the reading and reception. Attendees had the chance to talk to each author and get as many books signed as they desired. All books sold by Bellingham's Village Books.

Another Mercury Retrograde Post - Great for Writers

I can't help but notice the common element shared by my last two posts. One in March, and one five minutes ago in July, what do they have in common? They were both written during a Mercury Retrograde (Rx) period!

OK, we are not officially in that astrological phase again yet, but we will be in 4 days. (At 4:14 PM PDT, Sunday, 7 July 2019, the three week Rx of Mercury begins.) There is often a Pre-Rx and a Post-Rx effect, and this month I am definitely experiencing that. I have written a bit about the Mercury Rx phenomenon before (here and briefly here), and there is plenty more available at other sources (like here, here, and here. I won't go into it again...but suffice it to say, the Led Zeppelin song "Communication Breakdown" is its regular theme song.

So far, the Rx shenanigans are evident in these issues:

• Hulu has decided to be glitchy and do things like keep raising the volume with no way to stop it except unplugging the TV
• Cable Box started blinking and the Guide and ON Demand are both in Error Mode
• Random bad timing with banking deposits and auto-withdrawals for extra fees
• Mobile banking app not accepting deposit (can't read a check)
• Massage client having wrong time recorded for appt. ( luckily we sorted beforehand)
• Phone connection spotty (calls and web)

So, I'm expecting a bit of a rough July. Mercury goes Direct at 8:58 PM PDT Wednesday, 31 July. Then there's that shadow phase... But, I love the particulars of this event for us creatives:

These periods are great for writers, who can now go back and polish off written material. It is now easier improve the material with detachment when proofing, rewriting and revamping. This typically leads to a better result.

Perfect! Exactly what needs to happen. What else is Mercury Rx time good for?

Overall, these three week periods are great for getting caught up with paperwork, and mundane, routine chores. Return phone calls from months ago, etc. Chances are that you get to leave a message rather than communicate in person. Should you opt to buy something with wiring then keep the receipts handy or buy adequate replacement insurance.

I also think of these periods (typically 3x year)  as good for any "RE-" task:

• Reflect
• Re-check
• Re-evaluate, re-assess, re-analyze
• Revamp, rearrange
• Restate, reiterate
• Reclaim, re-assert
• Rectify
• Recommit
• Refine
• Rewrite
• Respond
• Reconnect
• Recharge
• Reinforce

Off to recharge.

Did I Write That? Rebuilding a Writing Practice After Health Issues or Getting Derailed

Today I remembered a story. It involved a woman...and her daughter? on a drive in the country, who end up staying at a remote estate with their genius host. The host is a philosopher or a scientist or something, and as they women spend more time at the estate, more is revealed to be out of the ordinary. I don't recall many of the details, and as this tale popped into my head, I tried to recall where or when I had read it, or who the author was.

Then I surprised myself by recalling that I was the author.

I started this story half a dozen years ago, during a NaNoWriMo month. I don't think I hit my 50,000 word goal, and I never finished it. I think I remember getting bogged down in that middle-of-the-book-bog that so often grips me in the process of longer works.

Now, I've mentioned before that my iron levels have been dangerously low, and I've been dutifully taking my iron supplements twice daily for eight months now. I am fairly certain my ferritin (stored iron) levels, while still in the "normal" range, have been dropping steadily for several years. Which has resulted in a major decrease in my physical and mental energy, ability to be active, productive, and even awake.



I've been remembering projects, ideas, plans, and dreams lately, feeling like Rip Van Winkle waking up to realize that years have slipped me, unused. I've lost a lot of time.


I didn't submit anything for publication the last two years. I didn't finish the memoir I was sure would be done two summers ago. I failed at every planned task of writing, editing, planning, and even attending workshops and writing conferences.




I don't know that I will go back to this story of mine, but the fact that I had completely forgotten writing it is telling. I sometimes feel the need to give myself a bit of space to grieve what I've lost (health, time, productivity), but also feel maybe more of a push just to get back to it. I'm still rebuilding my work schedule - my regular writing hours, time to the business of my writing, time to do the editing and work of other writers I've made agreements with... I'm sometimes asked: Do you have to time to do this? And the honest answer is, "I don't know," but I am eager to try.