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| A time to reap |
My assignments are in, semester has ended.
Talk has now turned to subjects for next year. Last week I went to an
information session. Part-time students who joined the course at mid year are
being encouraged to seek an appointment with staff to confirm their subject
choices. In second year (still three semesters away for me) there is the
opportunity to work on big writing projects. For some subjects you need to
arrive with 50,000 words already on the page. I am beginning to realise that my
part-time status may be a blessing as I will have rather more time in which to
quietly work on my projects before getting to these rather large hurdles.
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| It's not a race! |
The 100 day project is off to a slow start.
I have averaged 500 words each time I have sat down, which means sometimes more
and sometimes less. I have not sat down every day because the reality is that it
is hard to get up at 5am. I trust that the more often I do it, the easier it
will become. And I am getting used to going to bed earlier in order to be able
to get up. There is a bit of a chain reaction going on. I am proud that I have
started, for the first steps are sometimes the hardest. And I am trying not to
be too hard on myself as I take these new steps. Allowing myself some time to
get used to how it all feels to live this new experience.
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| Other projects |
More so than doing the course, it feels
like I am stretching the wings of my identity as a writer. Committing to
writing every day, or most days, is a more defining experience than being a student.
Being a part-time student is kind of intermittent – asserting itself when there
are classes to be attended and assignments are due, but not being an everyday
experience. Getting up early, switching the computer on and tapping away
eventually produces something. When it is not coming together I work on my
‘morning pages’ for a while and then it starts to flow. Today I am
drafting this blog post instead. And tomorrow I will come back to the travel memoir fresher in my mind and freer in my words.
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| A time to sow |
The other lens shifting factor is that I
have ordered business cards, or as the printing company called them ‘networking
cards’. I have been wanting to let more people know about my blogs and it
doesn’t always work to send them a link – partly because I forget. So I have
taken the plunge, chosen my design, entered my contact details and put my money
on the line for 250 cards. I am nervous; it is another small step along the
path to living a creative life. And not to be underestimated – a little bit thrilled
at the prospect of receiving a package in the post!
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| A new home for a family treasure |
The most exciting non-writing thing in my world
recently is the arrival of my grandmother’s table. After she died my parents had it shipped out
from England. They had it restored and the chairs re-covered. It lived at their
house for more than twenty years. Now they are moving and it has come to my
little flat. It is perfect - it has a square top with barley twist legs, it seats
four people but can extend to six. But the details are not important, what is
important is that the room is finished. It has a purpose, in fact many
purposes. It will be used for eating and entertaining as expected. But it is
likely to also be where I do French homework and translation exercises and the
site for any sewing machine projects. The completion of this room feels like
the timely opening of a new chapter. There is a bright summer ahead - long hours of sunshine, outings with friends and family and more time and commitment to my own writing projects.
