Der kleinere Raum (The Smaller Room)

Beastybats & Balderdash: If I Were Rapunzel

 

"If I were Rapunzel, I'd build a door," Margaret told her sister, brushing a coat of sparkly blue polish across her nails. "Instead of sitting around waiting for some prince to rescue me."


Lucinda put down her own bottle of Dreamsicle pink and looked frustrated. "Rapunzel couldn't build a door," she said, waving her nails to dry. "She didn't have any tools up there, plus it was too high up, plus the witch was evil and would've stopped at nothing to keep her enslaved."


Margaret gave her big sister a look of pity and frustration; she knew Lucinda was closer to grown than young, so it wasn't her fault she'd forgotten the truth about things. Still, her doubt was tiresome.


"You can always build a door," Margaret explained, trying to save her sister from a life of mundanity.


"The only trouble comes from thinking that you can't."


Lucinda shrugged her shoulders and turned on the television; Margaret made a mental note to herself:


Never forget about Rapunzel and those doors.

- - -

About Beastybats & Balderdash. Photo by Nguyen-Anh Le. Story by Amanda Amos.

Rabblerousing Ruth, Mandrakes, and How Not to Cross The Ocean

I've been having fun with public domain images 

over at  Vintage Printables. I decided to attach a quote 

by Tagore to this one. I like it.

 

 

Not sure what I'll do with some of these, but they're 

too fantastic not to share.

Those are mandrakes, in case you're wondering.

I just know there's a wonderful story behind this girl in a blue dress.

 

What's not to like about a kitten in a basket? Nothing, that's what.

 

And, finally, there's Ruth. I absolutely adore Ruth. If you do not absolutely adore Ruth, well, you're suspicious and I'll find you out. She's incredible. Enough said.

I can't wait to use some of these images in future projects. For the new header to this blog, I used vintage scientific drawings of owls and then played around with the images in Picnik. Katie helped out and assured me the lettering was perfect. Let's just say, the girl has a flair. And don't worry, I'll be back to the essays soon enough, but trying to finish a book is hard and my brain needs a little eye candy from time to time. Just thought I'd share my sweets.

You're welcome.

watching + listening

"Elephants and Little Girls" by Loch Lomond

"Somebody I Used To Know" by Gotye

Beastybats & Balderdash: The Path of Shadows

 

She didn't notice the troll until he leapt out in front of her, blocking the tunnel's threshold.

"It looks like a regular tunnel but it isn't," he warned, wagging his crooked finger in her face. "All your hopes and dreams lie at the end of it, but you'll have to wade through a darkness you've never known to get there."

The little girl looked at the tunnel and then back at the troll.

"Are you sure?" she asked, searching his face for a lie, for she had wise parents who had taught her about trolls and trickery.

"Quite," he smiled, stroking his beard and curling the tip of it around his pinky finger.

"You can never come back this way again and the tunnel is very long or very short or something all twisted up on itself like you've hardly imagined at all. You'll just have to trust the path."

And then, like most children before her, but very few grown ups, she strode confidently into the darkness.

"Smart girl," chuckled the troll, tucking himself back into the shadows.

---

About Beastybats & Balderdash. Photo by Nguyen-Anh Le. Story by Amanda Amos.

Eleven Commandments for Writing (and Life!)

Two friends sent me the post above, independent of each other, so I took it as a synchronous sign and decided to write my own. Funny thing, as I started writing the things I feel I've learned and need to remember most on this leg of the creative journey (first draft), I realized how appropriate they are to many endeavors, not just writing. So I decided to share.

Why 11? Because if it's good enough for Henry Miller, it's good enough for me.

1. Tell the voice that says "this sucks" to hush up. The parallels to non-writing life are pretty obvious with this one. I've mentioned the gremlins of negative thought in a previous post, but it always helps to remember that negativity won't help you accomplish your goals. It will scare you and shut you down. Do everything in your power to counteract the negative message and try to have a little faith in yourself.

2. Finish this book before you start a new one. If you get a great idea, write it down so you can follow up later, but don't lose focus. You will accomplish more, with a less scattered energy, if you focus on finishing. Alexander Graham Bell said "Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus." I think he was right.


3. Close your eyes and keep typing when you think you can't find the words. Writing gets scary and so does life. If things get too scary or difficult and you don't know what to do, close your eyes and keep going. If you stop, you'll stay stuck in the mud. So when the going gets tough, I close my eyes (and my inner critic) and keep going. It works - in writing and in life.
 
4. Don't try to make sense of your story until you've finished your story. This is a little harder to do in life, because our stories never really end, do they? But you can remove the gaze of judging while you're living by staying present and allowing yourself and your story to unfold. I find life naturally groups itself into phases, and if you tune into it, you'll feel when you're entering a new phase. That's when you can reflect and look back. You'll be more likely to understand the meaning or find the lesson in the thing, once you've got a bit of distance from it. Try it and see.

5. If a particular passage isn't working, stop writing it and start on the next scene. It might not be working because it's not supposed to be in the book. Similarly, in life, if something just doesn't feel right, stop doing it, even if it makes all the rational sense in the world. This is how you find your path. This is how you find your bliss. This is how you write your story.

6. Tell the voice that says "this sucks" to hush up. You didn't think that voice was going to go away so easily, did you? It's persnickety. It needs reprimanding. Stay vigilant.

7. Write the first thing that comes to mind and keep going. That small instinct is the story whispering itself to you. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone."  What does your life and story want to be?

8. Set a goal. Any goal. And then do it. It's good practice for writing and life. Start with something small and doable. Before long you will definitely surprise yourself with how much you're able to accomplish. Doing difficult things becomes easier with practice.

9. Take care of yourself. Eat healthy food. Do yoga. Sleep. Your mother was right. Thanks, mom.

10. Have fun. Really. You have permission.

11. Tell the voice that says "this sucks" to hush up. Again. And again. I'm not sure if it ever goes away, so get used to this part of the exercise. And keep going. Always. Keep going.

Namaste

Good Work Monday: MV Knits

"What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do. When we do what we are meant to do, money comes to us, doors open for us, we feel useful, and the work we do feels like play to us."

~ Julia Cameron

 

So I guess this means my dreams of being a writer/shephardess are totally do-able, right? Right?

Happy Monday, everyone! May you find your work that feels like play. 

More about Good Work Mondays.

Beastybats & Balderdash: The Place of No More Fear

I don't like graveyards, the woman thought to herself, stopping at the prescribed spot on the tour, waiting for the guide to continue. 

Neither do I, said a voice from behind her. I prefer to roam.

Snapping her head around to search for the speaker, the woman found she was alone in that corner of the garden. Her fellow tourists huddled around the guide, engrossed in the details of the place.

But there's no use being afraid of them, if that's what the trouble is, the voice continued. You're already one of us; you must simply remember forward, it said. 

Then there is no more fear.

The woman had never been more terrified in her life and sprinted to catch up with the group.

Damn tourists, muttered the ghost.

---

About Beastybats & Balderdash. Photo by Nguyen-Anh Le. Story by Amanda Amos.

Good Work Monday: The Happy Secret to Better Work

"If we study what is merely average, we will remain merely average."

~Shawn Anchor

More about Good Work Mondays.

Beastybats & Balderdash: The Road to Bremen

"I've never been to Bremen, if that's what you're wondering, so I can't tell you how to get there."

The woman paused. She had been about to climb up on the humble creature's back, but she stopped to address the unusual statement. 

"I wasn't wondering, and I don't know why you'd think I would be wondering, about such a ridiculous thing."

"Because Bremen is a place of beauty and rest and freedom. I  assume everyone's looking for it."

The woman shook her head. "It never even occurred to me."

The donkey was glad she had failed the test, because it was a long road to Bremen and his bones were weary. 

Still, he looked at the woman with a hint of sadness: if she'd known what was important in life, she would have been looking for Bremen.

---

About Beastybats & Balderdash. Photo by Nguyen-Anh Le. Story by Amanda Amos.

Sparkle Rainbow Unicorns vs.The Law of Inertia

"Goals are dreams with deadlines."

~ Diana Scharf Hunt

If it's wrong for a grown woman to have a sticker chart, I don't want to be right. I should mention, I haven't "technically" created a sticker chart. It's more of a colored pencil, rainbow, marker chart (if that helps clarify the issue) but I'm thinking of getting myself some sparkly unicorn stickers this weekend. I think they will help.

Why, you may ask, would a grown woman need a childish chart of any kind? Because I'm a slacker. That's why.

For anyone who's been spared the horror of listening to me complain about it, I'm trying to write a book. A good book. At least, I think it's a good book. But I won't really be able to judge that (or let anyone else make up their mind about it) until I finish the damn thing. I've been "about halfway" done for a year now. It's getting ridiculous and I can't take it anymore.

So I've resorted to my most primal motivation - meaningless rewards in the form of sparkly stickers. I think the last time I had a sticker chart was when I was potty training. I nailed that goal so I'm guessing the system is infallible.

Please realize, I'm only half-joking. On the one hand, I'm opposed to rewarding kids with stickers and other sparkly paraphernalia. It dampens their intrinsic motivation and treats them like little Pavlovian puppies. On the other hand, that's what makes the strategy crazy-brilliant. Anything that can get a roomful of kindergarteners to sit still for more than two minutes is powerful stuff!

So I'm going with the chart, even though I know there are more mature options out there like livifi, the Russian Doll Approach, and plain old hard work and will power. But they're not for me. 

Nope. Me? I'll stick with the unicorns.

With a few colorful rainbows thrown in for good measure.

 Namaste

 ( *v* )

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How do you stay motivated in your creative work? How do you fight the pull of inertia and constantly create in spite of your "real life"?If you have any ideas, suggestions, or stickers...I'd love for you to shoot them my way. 

Oh, and check back with me on March 12th. On that day (if not before,) I'll be a novelist.