"We give inspiration too much weight. If you're a writer, you have to write even when you don't feel like it."It was the first session of the morning. I'd not procured caffeine, breakfast offered only the hope of a carb-coma and I was pretty tired from engaging in late-night conversation. Hungry, under caffeinated, over-tired and generally grumpy, Saturday morning at the Relevant Conference was, erm, a stretching experience for me.
-Lisa Jo of The Gypsy Mama
Also, there was a nor'easter bearing down on Harrisburg, and fat snowflakes were coating the ground, making the lights flicker. If you've been around for awhile, you know I'm not a snow person. {Read: I cannot believe I don't live in Hawaii I loathe snow so intensely.}
So there was that, too.
I wasn't in the mood to write. I was feeling at a loss for the words that normally so easily come to my mind and spill from my fingers and lips.
So when Lisa Jo dropped that little gem of truth --
"We give inspiration too much weight. If you're a writer, you have to write even when you don't feel like it."
-- I was particularly challenged in that moment. And then she asked us to write for five minutes straight without worrying that it's just right.
With the prompt "becoming" I just wrote, and this is what came out.
Outside, white fat flakes blanket the ground,
covering it with the heaviness of the
first footprints of winter.
Yesterday, sun, streaming through the
thickness of gray-drenched skies,
reminding that there is warmth
beyond what meets my eye.
And, I am,
too,
being coated
in the heaviness of grace,
of hands, fingers stretched
across the blades of my shaking
shoulders
of whispered words being
gifted to my ears.
The snow coats the streets,
and morphs from flake to slush,
making a mess of the roads.
There is mess in the becoming.
The other outcome born from this session was a burst of creativity, a fierce rush of ideas coursing through my veins and running through my mind.
I simply cannot wait to share the creativity-sharpening idea Melissa, Lenae and I brainstormed while munching on lunch together. We'll hopefully be sharing soon after talking with Sarah and Alita.
I also cannot wait to share other truths I gleaned from the whispers of wise women while at the conference
In the meantime, if you need to just write without worrying if it's just write, check out The Gypsy Mama's Five-Minute Friday prompt this week and link up.
Disclosure: Our trip to Relevant is being generously sponsored by Chevy’s Driving the Midwest who has given us a tank of gas and a Traverse to get there. Our ride is also being fueled by Kawa Japanese and Asian Cuisine, Dr. Reena Jacobs of The Healing Groves, Curves of Lake County, Bigger Picture Blogs and Little Lake County, each of whome have provided one tank of gas for the trip. All opinions expressed are our own.
