January Newsletter

By Jessica Page Morrell

Each season has a different perspective. Winter has its subtle charms. In this part of the world, they are mostly wet and gray. Still, the deep, mysterious winter clouds of the Pacific Northwest make me think we live in a wet island world, separate from reality. We're perched on the edge of the county, squeezed between ocean and mountains, and here the land wants all the rain it can lap up. Through all this we write. We write as the earth swings in its mysterious rotation, as the winds sigh at our window.

There is so much richness in our lives it would be a shame not to record all we can. In your writer's journal note the moods of sunlight in different seasons, the mystery of night sky, the visiting wind. And note, of course, how all this makes you feel and what you long for.

All my life I believed that autumn was my favorite season, the blazing hues my preferred colors. However, as I look back on my childhood spent in a small town in northern Wisconsin, it is winter that I remember with such clarity. And these memories are directly linked to my senses and I can still smell burnt wool as my mittens dry on the stove at the ice rink's warming shack.

Snow was piled shoulder high and skating was part of my daily routine. As I skated night after frigid night, the speakers blared From a Jack to a Queen, King of the Road, This Diamond Ring; corny songs that I still recall the lyrics. Overhead the stars spangled against a velvet night sky and I circled round and round, arms linked with my best friend Shelley until our toes grew numb and we retreated to the warming shack.

I also loved Saturday mornings in winter, the windows etched with frost shaped like lacy fern fronds so that we couldn't see out into the white, white world. My mother would bake bread and fill the old farmhouse kitchen with the smells of yeast. I'd make sugar or molasses cookies, rolling dough onto the battered counter then sliced circles into the dough with a glass. Nowadays, I grow weary of the gloom and rain of winter, but I love my winter memories and the slower pace, the quiet that these months bring. There is no brimming sun distracting me, begging my attention, daring me to dawdle, luxuriate somewhere away from my computer.

In winter I make soups that steam up the windows, wear socks to bed as I did as a girl, and pile books on my bedside table until they tower as tall as the reading lamp.

And while writing is a seasonless activity, in winter my ideas are percolating, threatening to explode. Some days it seems like a race to capture all my ideas, while staving off the rainy gloom. I've come to conclude that winter is good for us, not only because it makes us appreciate the other seasons, but because our northern world is shrouded with a dense cocoon of clouds that keeps us hunched indoors. It is a season to go deep and find the words that need to be written.

This winter there is a certain poignancy in the air-we've tucked away a sorrowful year that continues to loom over our shoulders. A backward glance and we see horror and loss and are tugged into a circle of grief. Yet a fresh calendar still offers a chance to start new and once again commit to our goals.

So slip on a sweater and brew a cup of something warm or pour a glass of wine. Now settle yourself while the rain or snow drowns out your view of the outer world. Find the quiet, claim the time, and write. Then write some more.

"Could I put those starry deeps and lamplighted elms into words that sang like the nightwind now rinsing my senses and shivering the spring leaves?" Donald Newlove

"Write till your ink be dry,
and with your tears
Moist it again, and frame
some feeling line
That may discover such integrity." William Shakespeare

SETTING WRITING GOALS
The only worthwhile goals for a writer are those that can be measured.There's no point in proclaiming that you are going to write more unless you follow through and track your progress with a system that makes you accountable. However, there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to goal setting. Some of us choose a process goal-meaning we pledge to spend a certain amount of time or creating a specific number of pages. Some of us have a more specific goal in mind, to complete a novel within a year, for example. And all of us need to reexamine our goals regularly to make ertain we're on track with a realistic plan. The plan should also include flexibility-not that you're going to abandon or change course at a mere whim-but once you fix upon your goals, remember that commitment does not equal a straitjacket.

When selecting goals first examine your skills, personality, and lifestyle. Arbitrarily assigning yourself goals without taking into account your personal style is useless. Examination is also a key facet of goal setting because it reminds you that your skills and successes are transferable. If you're able to run a household, complete a college degree, survive childbirth, learn six software programs, etc., then some of these skills (organizational abilities, analytic skills, determination) can be transferred into your writing aspirations.

Second, take a long look back: where and how you faltered, what you accomplished or did not accomplish, and what you learned about writing or the business of getting published. For instance, did you try your hand at short stories and found you had a flair for them? Did your writing group, amid gales of appreciative laughter, suggest that you should write humor? Do you find essays come easy, while you simply are not interested in writing articles? If you mailed out six query letters last year, can you double or triple that quota this year?

Third, take a look at practical skills and systems you need to add into your life to accomplish your plans. Do you need to enroll in a writing
class? Do you need to read more? Do you need to improve your grammar skills? Do you need to increase your vocabulary? Do you need to set up a filing system or organize your office? Do you need to upgrade your computer? Do you need to meet more fellow writers? Do you need to build a library of reference books?

Your next step is to focus on what you want to accomplish in the coming year. Your long-range (five or ten year) goals can be vague at this point such as "I want to write full time" or "I want to be a novelist." But your goals for the next year or two require more planning and details. Be honest with yourself and select the goals that inspire you most. Some of us will never write a novel or a screenplay, while some of us won't be satisfied until those dreams are accomplished.

Goal setting works best if you state your plans on paper. Make these goals realistic, specific, and include a deadline. It's also helpful to describe how this will be accomplished: I am going to finish my screenplay by writing two pages a day (or two hours per day). After you write down your goal, post it where you'll see it often-preferably in your office and also carry it around with you in your notebook or handbag.

Once you select your goal, break it down into smaller, manageable tasks so that it is less intimidating and because all large projects are made up of smaller parts. Writers are often intimidated by the idea of writing a novel, but can easily manage a page, or scene, or chapter. For most of us, it's easier to imagine completing a book a chapter at a time. Plan these smaller tasks in a logical manner. Along with a long-term project, I suggest that you choose two or three shorter goals each year. These goals can be actual projects, time commitments, or they can also be work habits. One of my smaller goals for this year is to tidy my office at the end of each workday and to spend one day each month in an organizing and filing frenzy.
Perhaps you want to write a poem every morning, read two books on technique each month, complete and market three essays, write two short stories, research magazine markets, write one letter each week, or attend a writer's conference.

Next, you need a plan to manage your time. One of my favorite quotes is "how we spend our days is how we spend our lives" by Annie Dillard. Some of us, especially working parents and parents of toddlers, simply cannot write every day, but we need a plan for those precious days when we can spend a few hours at our desk. Look ahead, pencil your writing schedule into your planner or calendar, and commit.

(Excerpted from Inspiration Notebook. No portion of these materials maybe reprinted without permission)

QUOTE OF THE MONTH:
"The most solid advice to a writer is this, I think. Try to learn and
breathe deeply, really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep,
really to sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive, with all
your might, and when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive.
You will be dead soon enough." --William Saroyan