Who are you when no one is watching? Where is the spot in your mind where you can escape when things get crazy, and you need a moment to compose yourself? Where is your special hideout, the safe room that lets you breathe, recover your sense of calmness, and imparts clarity? There was a time in my distant past when I visited my mental safe space frequently. This week I needed to find my happy place. I closed my eyes and tried to transport myself there. But it didn’t work.

I sought it in vain. As I searched, I discovered the memory was where I had left it. It hadn’t changed, but I had. Life moved on, evolved, and the solace I once found there no longer contained the balm my soul required. The revelation set me on a quest. I require an update to my image of me. I have met myself here before. From my initial survey, I have not altered much. Still, a shift has occurred, and I must explore new ideas, alternate options, and greater possibilities.

Who is the true you?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

I am a voracious reader. My preferred reading style is consuming books, from start to finish, in a single sitting. I’ve never possessed the required discipline, or desire, to limit myself to a chapter before laying the book aside. Perhaps I’m impatient. Books in a series present the same challenges as a marathon. If I plan and schedule, I can finish trilogies over a weekend.

The pace is not sustainable if you have multiple interests. The result is my reading takes on a seasonal feel. There are definite periods when my reading list shrinks perceptively, and seasons when it stagnates. Exploring unknown worlds, discovering captivating facts and entertaining controversial viewpoints is part of who I am.

Winter is here. Snow covers the ground and daylight fades early. A soft blanket, a comfy chair, and a roaring fire help keep me warm. This weekend, I am indulging in a reading marathon. Monday morning movers arrive to store the furniture I have not yet moved, and the contractor arrives on Tuesday to begin the demo.

New hardwood flooring throughout the house, a refaced fireplace, a remodeled kitchen, a reconfigured master bedroom, and an upgraded master bathroom make room for a second-floor laundry room, with every room receiving fresh paint, and crown molding. The room I am most excited about is my dream writing loft, with a cozy reading nook.

Where do you like to read?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Few things happen overnight. Okay, you can have your orders delivered in twenty-four hours, your movies play on-demand, information is available with a quick search, and the world spins a breakneck speed. It is easy to get caught in the whirlwind, racing to perform jobs faster, and faster. Our anxiety builds when we can’t complete every task on our lengthy lists.

There are advantages to ambling along at a leisurely pace. We can make small mistakes without dire consequences and adjust our course as needed. It also grants us time to spend with family and friends, and honor other obligations. By moving deliberately, we build strength, and we gather momentum. The work moves forward with less effort and we find ourselves carried across the finish line. We grant ourselves precious moments to savor our journey. Dripping like water, we carve deep impressions on solid rock.

How will you make your mark?

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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 imitating 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?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Teachers and friends have counseled me, at various times, to keep a diary. Others have extolled the virtues of a journal. We use the two words interchangeably, but they serve different functions. Dictionary.com defines a diary as “a daily record, usually private, especially of the writer’s own experiences, observations, feelings, and attitudes.” It describes a journal as “a newspaper or magazine that deals with a particular subject or professional activity, i.e. a medical journal.”

I know people who maintain a record of their daily lives, and they tell me they often study their passages. I tried the exercise, and I admit I never knew what to write. The real test was when, several months later, I reviewed the entries. The blithering idiot responsible for the drivel appalled and embarrassed me. I swore no one would read the garbage, and I burned everything.

Since then, I have decided journals are much more to my liking. I log notes, plan for projects, and add inspirational references and pertinent research. I don’t require perfection and sometimes scratch out sentences. Thoughts toward the bottom of the page will crawl up the edges. Arrows and doodles cut across the text to connect ideas or highlight contradictions. Pictures, maps, and stickers add color, meaning, and creates a tether to the memories I record.

Do you keep a diary or a journal?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Life challenges us with never-ending obligations. The day job creates its own stress. Our employment provides the paycheck for our basic needs; rent, food, and a modicum of security. Family responsibilities weigh heavy on our shoulders as we strive to be good parents, loving siblings, and caring children. If we are foolish enough to presume to manage a side hustle, the demands escalate. The pressure mounts with an overwhelming task list.

Sometimes the answer to bolstering our determination and producing the biggest triumph is to concentrate on a single, modest element. One tiny accomplishment we can move to the completed column. It boosts our morale. With one detail resolved, we are free to finish the next item. The wins accumulate like pearls in a necklace. It can make all the difference.

What small win can you make happen today?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

I have seen the endless prerequisites required to become a successful author. You must get an agent, submit your work, set up your platform, suck it up as they reject your work, start a newsletter, cultivate your voice, love reading, build your street team, read everything in your category, manage your brand, decide on your genre, learn your craft, daydream, and find your compelling reason for writing. What am I forgetting? Oh yeah, you also need to create something brilliant. The list is long, daunting and impossible to master in a short timeframe.  No wonder people quit.

I’ve made a radical decision. I plan to ignore the mandatory requirements and helpful advice, opting instead to compose stories. There is a saying that states, “when the student is ready the teacher will appear.” I trust the devices and skills will arrive at the point in my journey when I need them. I intend to keep an open mind, learn whatever I can today and continue to write with the tools at my disposal. I have decided the only prerequisite needed to become a published author, is to write.

What is your favorite writing tool?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

I’m not a patient person. My modus operandi is setting huge 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 a lower gear. I recognize it is necessary and healthy to disengage and relax, and I take days away from my work. I can manage to do nothing… for a while. Extended periods of rest and relaxation increases my stress, it 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.

Once upon a time, I ran headlong into burnout, and I swore I would never allow myself to reach that state again. Sundays are the day I hold for me. I assess the prior week and plan next week’s schedule. I fill my agenda to fit my pace, setting aside time to rest and recover from my activities. It is a fickle balancing act, but each day I step forward.

How do you relax?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Often the most difficult tasks to achieve, appear to be the easiest. As we struggle to succeed, it is easy to compare our skills and our progress with everyone else. We listen to advise from teachers, family members, and friends, without realizing their advice represents their choices. If we neglect to choose our path in favor of a consensus, we lose ourselves. Doubts cloud our judgment and we succumb to our insecurities and fears.

Honoring our authentic selves means determining what matters most. We must place less reliance on the opinions of those around us, since trying to satisfy everyone is a guaranteed way to please no one and to make ourselves miserable in the process. Regardless of our choices, we will never gain everyone’s approval. Releasing the need to subjugate our genuine desires is an important step towards discovering who we really are.

How will you be true to yourself today?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Outsiders often think creative people can do whatever they wish. You wield great power when you are the boss. But freedom comes with an equal measure of responsibility. The creative must manage every step in the creative process, from idea generation, creating the work, marketing, selling, managing submissions, to staying organized and on target. With luck, they invent a strategy that gets results.

It is a wonderful feeling when you devise a blueprint that works. The design’s strictures can lead us to question the wisdom of messing with the constructs of a proven method. Success raises the cost of failure. Making an adjustment is intimidating, choosing a different path is frightening. We can’t stop taking risks or trying a fresh direction. Picasso’s works exemplified radical change. He began with realism, switching to what they now call his Blue Period and his work continued to evolve. Each innovation he undertook, carried the prospect that no one would buy his art. But each stage allowed him to grow as an artist. His evolution strengthened him.

Is there a project which frightens you?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer