Chicken Little and Some Discipline

Chicken Little was right. The sky is falling. The proof is that I'm writing two days in a row. Intentionally.  

I often talk to my friend, Mel, about my writing process. Or, more accurately, my lack of writing. I have lots of excuses, but my go-to excuse is always the same. No time and, maybe the even bigger hurdle, I have this huge amount of self-doubt that what I write won't matter. To anyone. 

It paralyzes me. I don't write until inspiration, or a deep-felt experience, comes and about knocks me over the head. Even then, I'm cautious. If I write it, I want to really feel it. The pace of my crazy, parenting, full-scheduled life has numbed me. It is a vicious excuse cycle.

The secret to great writing, as it turns out, isn't actually a big secret. Almost every writer knows intuitively what makes them a writer. Discipline. The big D. Setting aside time each day to write. And then actually doing it! You write when you're uninspired. You write through your hectic life. You write when you're up or down. Then, you keep writing some more.

Writing is my gift. I don't know if I've always viewed it that way, but I do now. It's not a gift because I'm going to write a bestseller, or change the world with my words, or figure out (finally!) what is meaningful to you. It's a gift because when I'm writing I'm home. I'm exactly who I am doing exactly what I do.

Almost every time Mel and I talk, she always has the same question for me. Have you been writing? While my answer is usually no, it is her loving way of reminding me that what I love to do is out there. Waiting. I just need to sit down in the chair and begin.

Blue with Blog Envy

I have blog envy. I've been reading tons of different, really freakin' creative, blogs about design, cooking, rustic living, and even a whole bunch of what not. My blogging of late has fallen into the last category--a bunch of what not. I haven't been writing anything.

I can make tons of excuses, but I think this daily feed of great blogs (yes, apparently there are people in the world that blog more than once a month) has given me blog anxiety. I've got nothing special to report. I don't sew or craft. I can't grow anything except really out-of-control kids. I'm not trendy in decorating my house or my body. I do like rustic. I just haven't gotten around to doing away with the indoor plumbing yet.

To spice it up, I'm going to tell you the worst possible truth about me. You, sweet person, out there in infinite web land will hear it first and then take it viral for me. Here it is. I'm super ordinary. I'm like (hiccup, hiccup) everybody else. I'm not even fruit on the bottom yogurt or smooth vanilla. I'm plain. Lower calorie, yes, but truly only loved by dietitians and health nuts.

To make myself feel better tonight, I put on my "I'm busy....read my blog" shirt that my friend, Steph, bought for me a few years back. It's all blue with funky white letters and it does sort of make me feel official. I might never finish a novel, but I AM a blogger with 32 followers. It's also a real tight t-shirt, kind of like a hug that keeps on squeezing.

So, in honor of great blogs, I've compiled my list of favorites. I may be blue with blog envy, but I can still recognize talent when I see it. That's a gift of ordinary people, I think.

Food Blogs

101 Cookbooks (Heidi makes me want to cook with food I've never heard of, such as millet)

Orangette (author of "My Homemade Life")

Crafty Blogs

A Beautiful Mess (I would like to marry Elsie Larsen...she's that spunky and creative)

Oh, Hello Friend

Gratitude

ThxThxThx (a thank you note a day)

Real Love Letters from 1860's

My Friend's Blogs

My Ideal Reality (Mari knows books and I follow blindly)

Wonderings from My Wanderings (Mel has a heart for others and the world)

Who You Calling Mom? (Honest and funny)

Happy reading, or blogging, or whatever you do. I'll keep writing, I guess. Please keep reading.

Much love,

Heather

Lighting the Fire

For a few hours this afternoon, I had time to myself with no kids running around the house. Did I clean? No. Did I cook? Not even close. Did I do laundry? Kind of, as in I folded a very small basket of wrinkled clothes that had been sitting there for a week while watching the movie Julie & Julia.

I love this movie. First of all, you cannot say enough wonderful things about Meryl Streep playing Julia Child. She nailed it, absolutely nailed it. I'm just sad she didn't receive an Oscar for her stellar effort. As a writer (or an aspiring writer or someone who loves to write), I find myself inspired by this movie. Julie Powell, the writer, finds her niche, her love, and though she questions it every day, she plows ahead and doesn't look back. I admire that kind of bravado.

It also makes me want to write more. Sure, I blog once or twice a month, but that's only if all the stars align above my house on Oak Street. Julie Powell blogged every day for 365 days PLUS cooked over 500 French recipes. Did I also mention she worked another full-time job? Then, she got a book deal and that followed with a movie deal.

I want that for myself, friends. Not the cooking part, but the fire in my belly to do more of what I love. Write, write, write. Every day. Even, and maybe this is what stops me, when I feel like I have nothing to say that someone would like to read. If I'm honest with myself, being a mom, wife and full-time marketer doesn't stop my dreams. I do. It's because I'm afraid. I'm afraid I'll plow forward with all the bravado in me and fail. Miserably.

I'm sure Julia and Julie would say not chasing your dream is the biggest failure of all. It took Julia over a decade to get her cookbook published and Julie was in her 30's before she even starting blogging about cooking. I'm still relatively young, I guess, and fairly passionate. I just need to light the fire. Any suggestions on doing that?