Did you write yesterday? Are you writing today?
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
The 2022 Daily Writing Challenge – March 24
The 2022 Daily Writing Challenge – March 22
Did you write yesterday? Are you writing today?
_________________________________________
Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
The 2022 Daily Writing Challenge – March 21
In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt. — Margaret Atwood
Margaret’s quote always makes me smile. Call me odd, but I like the smell of spring dirt. I also enjoy the loamy scent coupled with the high moisture content of a large greenhouse. I never tire of the experience and joy I feel from planting seeds, watching them germinate, and marking their transformation into their adult form. If I can eat them, that is even better.
Ideas are like that too. So, I can’t help but wonder—at the end of a productive writing session, what should you smell like?
Did you write yesterday? Are you writing today?
_________________________________________
Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Happy First Day of Spring
“Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.”
― Robert Frost
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
The 2022 Daily Writing Challenge – March 20
Today Is the Day I’ve been waiting for—The First Day of Spring.
When you think of Spring, your mind conjures images of pastel flowers, soft green grass, and balmy gentle breezes. None of those pleasant images lurk outside my door, but the snow has disappeared. The temperatures may still dip below freezing at night, but the air holds hints of warmth it was missing just a week ago.
Icy rain replaces snow flurries. The ground softens from its frigid, tundra-like hibernation and melts into soggy sinkholes of squishy mud. Unyielding black tree branches now hold a hint of red, and their tips look fuzzy. Could buds be prepared to explode with the next warm day? The world waits in anticipation for Mother Nature’s nod, her signal it is time to grow and celebrate the end of another winter season.
Happy Spring, my friends.
Did you write yesterday? Are you writing today?
_________________________________________
Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
The 2022 Daily Writing Challenge – March 19
Rainy Saturday mornings encourage a person to lie in bed for far too long. It is a delightful little indulgence. But there are birds to feed, laundry to fold, plants to water, dishes to put away, counters to clean, and errant items which need to find their proper homes. I can accomplish none of it without a hot pot of freshly brewed coffee. First things first, they say. And I agree.
Once I’ve attained my proper caffeine levels and with the morning must-dos—done, I am free to address my intended focus for the day—writing. I hang the “Do Not Disturb” sign, and I’m off.
Did you write yesterday? Are you writing today?
_________________________________________
Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
The 2022 Daily Writing Challenge – March 18
The weekend called and said it will arrive in just a few hours. You can’t imagine my relief. It has been a long week filled with sleepless nights, and when I don’t sleep well, my writing suffers. But things are looking up. The weather forecast calls for rain over the next few days. Last night, I slept, and the weekend is almost here. It’s time to celebrate.
I checked my calendar and discovered I have an opportunity for another DIY Writing Retreat. Somehow, nothing is on this weekend’s schedule. Yummy St. Paddy’s Day leftovers fill the fridge with plenty of no-cook dinner options. The household chores are inconsequential, and with the rain, it is too soggy to start my outside garden cleanup.
How did that happen? I don’t know, and I don’t care, since it gives me the perfect excuse to stay inside, watching the rain pelting on the windows and write. I might also reward myself with reading time, that is, if I hit my desired word count goals. There is a book at the top of my binge-read list, and it would make a wonderful treat. I know better than to read even one paragraph before I start my writing sessions.
Oh, it is looking like this might be a weekend to remember.
Did you write yesterday? Are you writing today?
_________________________________________
Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
The 2022 Daily Writing Challenge – March 17
“Ireland is a land of poets and legends, of dreamers and rebels.” —Nora Roberts
“In Ireland, you go to someone’s house, and she asks you if you want a cup of tea. You say no, thank you, you’re really just fine. She asks if you’re sure. You say of course you’re sure, really, you don’t need a thing. Except they pronounce it ting. You don’t need a ting. Well, she says then, I was going to get myself some anyway, so it would be no trouble. Ah, you say, well, if you were going to get yourself some, I wouldn’t mind a spot of tea, at that, so long as it’s no trouble and I can give you a hand in the kitchen. Then you go through the whole thing all over again until you both end up in the kitchen drinking tea and chatting. In America, someone asks you if you want a cup of tea, you say no, and then you don’t get any damned tea. I liked the Irish way better.” —C.E. Murphy
“Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy.” —William Butler Yeats
“Imagine if we were all magical leprechauns, and every wish ever made on a four-leaf clover obliged us to help others obtain their wishes. Now imagine if people simply lived like this were true.” —Richelle E. Goodrich
Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
Did you write yesterday? Are you writing today?
_________________________________________
Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
The 2022 Daily Writing Challenge – March 16
With Sunday’s time change, this week’s focus has been adapting to a new schedule. To be fair, I am taking this opportunity to alter my sleep/wake norms by two hours, not just one. I expect that my schedule will need a modification in the May/June timeframe, and instead of going through this exercise again, I am reworking everything now. Imagine my surprise when I discovered this is Sleep Awareness Week.
The National Sleep Foundation, whose purpose is to “reemphasize the important connection between your sleep and your health,” sponsors the event. They conduct an annual “Sleep in America Poll,” and 2022 survey results are on their website. They state:
“We share valuable information on how people have been sleeping the past year while offering research-based advice on the benefits of quality sleep and how it affects health and well-being.”
Additionally, I’ve been binge-watching the Huberman Lab Podcasts and found Andrew Huberman’s interview with Dr. Matt Walker very informative. Dr. Walker is a Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology and the Founder & Director of the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley.
As creatives, we are all tuned into the benefits of morning pages to help get our day going. But in the Podcast’s section titled “Unconventional Yet Powerful Sleep Tips,” Dr. Walker advocates a Wind-Down routine that incorporates the use of what he calls a Worry Journal. I think that is a genius way to bookend your day. A writing session in the morning followed by another session as you prepare for a good night’s sleep.
The Podcast is full of other science-backed information on how to optimize your sleep. The link is below, but it is a three-hour intensive. So grab a cup of your favorite beverage and enjoy.
Did you write yesterday? Are you writing today?
_________________________________________
Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
The 2022 Daily Writing Challenge – March 15
Beware the Ides of March.
Those are words we know thanks, in part, to Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar” and the scene where an unknown soothsayer emerges from a crowd and warns Caesar to “Beware the ides of March.” If you paid attention in your literature class, you might remember the Ides in 44 BC marked the assassination of Julius Caesar. This event led to a crisis in the Roman Republic and preceded the Roman Civil War.
The Ides of March is the 74th day in the Roman calendar and corresponds to March 15. For Romans, the Ides marked several religious observances and served as a deadline for settling debts. It seems some believed Caesar had it coming. Even worse, the Ides often corresponded to a full moon, which triggered more omens.
But according to Barry Strauss in his book “The Death of Caesar,” some things we think we know aren’t exactly true. For example, the “unknown soothsayer” was an Etruscan named Spurinna who delivered Caesar’s warning on February 15, 44 BC. She cautioned Caesar to “Beware the next 30 days.”
“Et tu, Brute?” (You too, Brutus?) You can chalk this up to a little Shakespearean poetic license. Strauss reminds us that Caesar was a trained soldier. As such, Caesar would have fought for his life and tried to escape the ambush. It is unlikely he ever uttered these words.
Furthermore, the idea that Brutus was Caesar’s best friend and led the assassination is also not quite true. There were three conspirators: Brutus, Cassius, and Decimus. Decimus was known to be most trusted by Caesar, and historians believe he was the leader of the murder conspiracy.
So, where is Julius Caesar buried? If you are interested, our friend Ron Current has an excellent two-part series titled THE ROMAN FORUM: SEARCHING FOR CAESAR’S GRAVE.
You can read Part 1 Here and Part 2 Here.
Now I’m off to write a scene filled with betrayal and mayhem.
Did you write yesterday? Are you writing today?
_________________________________________
Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Jo Hawk 