I’m not a patient person. My modus operandi is setting audacious goals and compiling long to-do lists as I schedule my daily and weekly tasks. Friends and family council me, telling me I am too optimistic, too unrealistic, and too driven. They caution me to decrease my breakneck pace, saying I will burn out and quit.

I have a slow speed. Sometimes I downshift into low gear. I recognize it is necessary and healthy to disengage and relax, and I take days away from my work. I can do nothing — for a while. Extended periods of relaxation with nothing to do, increases my stress and grates on my nerves, my anxiety escalates, and I can’t sit still. I pace the floors, roaming from room to room, desperate to find an activity to keep my hands and mind engaged. I know I will attain my goals because I cannot stop.

How do you relax?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

I have a secret. You can not imagine how embarrassing it is when someone catches me and laughs. Talking to myself in my head and aloud is an everyday occurrence. I assure you, my conversations are rather mundane. Where is my phone? Did I pay the bill? Should I buy lemons at the grocery store? Who is knocking on my front door? Why did I come into this room? Those are typical topics I explore almost daily.

Late at night, when the house is finally silent, questions fade and grow quiet. The voice changes and my evening adventure begins. Since I was a child, the voice has helped me sort through tough times, and it has told me bedtime stories, creating imaginary characters and fantastical worlds. It is my trusted companion. Together we work through complex issues, solving the day’s problems. I write the tales I tell myself and share them with my friends.

What stories will you tell yourself today?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Poo Bear says some pretty smart things, often without realizing how insightful his comments are. Today marks an annual turning point for me. Each November, my schedule blossoms spewing activity into every corner of my life and creating my frantic To-Do list. It is a product of the impending holiday season and my compelling need to run a tight ship. This year, turmoil highlights the uncertainty surrounding reworking tested, age-old traditions. Cursed with a Type-A, goal-driven, no mountain is too high, personality, feeling overwhelmed, goes with the territory.

With every project, there is a pivotal moment when I question my sanity. Who thought planting 250 tulip bulbs in the front flowerbed one afternoon was a good idea? Who committed me to the Twelve Dozen Days of Christmas Cookie Exchange? Who thought completing an entire house remodel started before the onset of a worldwide pandemic was possible? Who would consider writing 50k words in a month as something a sane person should undertake? Welcome to 2020, where the unexpected has become de rigueur.

I find myself calm, and dare I say, happy? I have sore, tired muscles, not only from my fall gardening chores but from schlepping boxes, cleaning construction dust, and caring for my sweetheart after his operation. Completing my daily task list in a single day is impossible, yet somehow everything gets done. It doesn’t matter what happened yesterday. Each morning is a clean slate, full of infinite potential and excitement for what lies ahead.

What wonders does today hold for you?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

I have learned I am not a morning person. Early morning quiet, the new day’s stirrings, the first bird calls, the gradual coloration of the night’s black sky is my favorite time of day. I don’t attempt to string conscience thoughts into meaningful prose. It is too tortuous. Ideally, those early hours are best left to strong coffee and morning chores. It is also time for my morning characters meetings that are often melees of conversational snippets, random impressions, and implausible situations.

With morning chores done, I have a primed pump, and I can spend several hours writing, transcribing the morning’s words and ideas. I take a break, waiting for my second wind, sometime around 9 or 10 pm., and I work until midnight.

When is your best writing time?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

They tell us success requires a laser-like focus on a single goal. Then they suggest we create a work-life balance. They say it is necessary to spend equal time on our finances, personal growth, health, career, family, relationships, social activity, spirituality, creativity, attitude, and amusement. The demands are overwhelming, and the wheel of life bumps over us like the proverbial bus.

The creatives among us are perhaps more sensitive to the underlying need for harmony. We wrestle with the tension, channeling it into our creations. The stress creates conflict, which we try to harness and incorporate into our work. If we are successful, we convey those feelings to our readers. It allows us to form a connection and tell a story that resonates.

How do you maintain balance in your life?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing. Jo Hawk The Writer

On countless evenings, I find I cannot sleep. My brain refused to stop. My thoughts race, obsessively testing ideas, possibilities, and contemplating the question ‘what if?’ I have long since learned my lesson, and I have learned there will be no rest. I relinquish my control, leave my bed, and write. Other nights I am jolted from my dreams by some cosmic alarm clock. I clutch a brilliant idea like a lightsaber slashing through the dark. Once again, I stumble to my desk, power on the laptop to transcribe the dream. The stories refuse to be pushed aside.

Telling tales is in my blood, and I schedule writing sessions every day, but I give myself a break from my routine on the days when my brain did not register it was quitting time.

Do you write at unusual times?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Let’s face it. Sometimes life sucks. And 2020 has served us a heaping hot mess of chaos, mayhem, and frightening circumstances for us to manage and overcome. Piled onto stacks of daily challenges, and ordinary tribulations, it is easy to get overwhelmed by frustration and succumb to feeling like no matter what we do, our best efforts are futile. We reel, caught in a whirlwind of an existence we cannot control.

I have a simple strategy for reestablishing my equilibrium — I make a cup of coffee. The process has become a ritual where I build a personal sanctuary, block the rest of the world, and concentrate on me, myself, and I. Nothing intrudes or interrupts my thoughts or the precise steps required. As my coffee brews, my focus revolves on where I stand in the here and now. When I allow my mind to wander, I ask myself, “Where do I go from here?” I imagine my ideal life, and when the image fully forms, I devise one thing that will bring me the smallest step closer to my dream.

The song says we get by with a little help from our friends. These days, coffee is my friend.

How do you create a safe space?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

 

Happy Friday the 13th  😉

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Sometimes my schedule demands I write late at night. Exhausted, from twelve to eighteen hours of activity and ready for bed, creating a story can be challenging. I have adopted a new strategy to make even my midnight writing sessions productive. The trick is scheduling and planning and working while I slumber. It sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But the results are surprising. The last thing I do before I cuddle my pillow is to decide on the next piece. I may have a vague idea, or I might be clueless. It doesn’t matter. I only need a general direction.

Tired, yawning, and falling asleep, I assign the problem for my brain to solve. I tell it to conjure a story for the morning. Upon waking, I find a completely formed idea, with a beginning, middle, and satisfying end. I take notes if I feel compelled and hold it tight until my scheduled writing session. On other occasions, a seed has germinated in my sleep. Those ideas I nurture, forming more details throughout the day. Since I started my experiment, my nocturnal puzzle-solving sub-conscience has not disappointed me.

What writing tricks do you use?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer