“Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.”
Barbara Kingsolver
I (still) don’t have a door to close. I now have a spare room to call my own. My craft room. My “writing” room. Except I’m still perched at the end of the table in the kitchen. My writing cabinet holds the essentials: a caddy full of my favorite writing sticks, my current notebook, a planner, some books on creativity, cookbooks, mixology books, wine, and wine glasses.
I haven’t figured out what I want to say. Yet. I’m opening myself up to whatever story wants to be told as long as I’m brave enough to tell it. Julia Cameron says I need ask for guidance, and I do, but I must be blind to it. I’m a looks-too-hard type of person, making things harder than they need to be. I also like simplicity, so maybe it’s too simple because I thrive on complexity.
However, isn’t simple…complex? I think there’s a depth there few people are able to extract from effectively, a shallow looking pool that somehow becomes an abyss. With no one looking over my shoulder, I let whatever wants to be said, be said. Some days it’s in the saying where the figuring out happens.
Despite some changes to routines, I signed up for year four of this writing challenge. My only expectation is to show up every day. My morning pages have faltered from daily to weekends, but this will bump me back in the right direction. With spring teasing us, I’ve been sitting in the backyard under the twinkle lights, taking my pen and notebook with me, a sweater for the chill that unexpectedly curls itself around my shoulder. Half finished books on writing are opening up again. My mind is opening up again.
I’m also looking at other routines that have seemed to have slipped away. I re-assess. Are these things I need to continue doing? It’s okay to let some go and replace them with something new. Do they need replacing? I’m working on decluttering my space, but I also think decluttering my mind and responsibilities opens me up to welcome whatever comes my way. It’s acceptable to leave space wide open for a while. Why the rush to re-clutter?
This fourth year of slicing, I’ll focus on figuring out what to say. I’ll close the door behind me and enter the backyard in the evenings, before days get too hot and mosquitos feast on me. Pup will chew on mulch while sitting at my feet. I’ll start a cozy fire, careful not to accidentally pick up a lizard dwelling in the pile of wood. I’ll open my notebook and start writing whatever needs to be said.
Nerds Beget Nerds 
Alice, I think this is my fourteenth year of slicing, and I am still figuring out what to say. (What does that say about me?) I am riveted by your question “However, isn’t simple…complex?” and think this may be at the heart of writing: the ability to write deeply into some small thing…and it is complex. Complex is where the soul is, where the magic is, in my humble opinion. Slicing works that muscle for me, to look closer at something. This is a wonderful reflective slice! Thank you. And thank you, too, for the fabulous glossary of terms for us slicers – that was amazing.
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Thank you, Maureen. You said it well, “Comlpex is where the soul is…”
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Nice writing about writing. Sounds like we have read many of the same books and articles on writing. I now just tell myself I need to writing daily. It does not matter what or where just write. So it is my blog, my personal journal, my garden journal. I work to just keep writing. Thanks for sharing today. Glad to see you back writing this year.
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Hi Joanne. I too, have several places where I keep my writing. It’s so important to get it out and down, even if it’s only for us.
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I loved reading your reflection. The idea of decluttering the mind speaks to me. My favourite sentence is: “With spring teasing us, I’ve been sitting in the backyard under the twinkle lights, taking my pen and notebook with me, a sweater for the chill that unexpectedly curls itself around my shoulder.”
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Thanks, Terje. I have way too many tabs open in my brain.
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Cheers to writing what needs to be said. I love this line- “Some days it’s in the saying where the figuring out happens.”
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There is so much to love about this Slice. My favorite line…or at least the one that will stick with me for a bit longer… “It’s acceptable to leave space wide open for a while. “
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Thank you, Amy. I cleaned up my living room yesterday hoping not to bring in anything for a while. As for everyone else in my household…
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I love this piece! How you magically shift in and out of ideas… such lovely and insightful meanderings. I have only just discovered Barbara Kingsolver and am loving Demon Copperhead. Love the outdoor scene you describe at the end. Beautiful!
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Hi Heidi, thank you for reading. Demon Copperhead is on my TBR. I might wait until summer where I won’t have to close it too often to get to other obligations.
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I love the paradox in this sentence: “I also like simplicity, so maybe it’s too simple because I thrive on complexity.” I think of picture books this way, especially those published the last ten years. Simplicity hides complexity. I’m always fascinated by the writing accouterments slicers have around. Are we somewhat superstitious the way baseball players are?
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Hi Glenda. I’m a fan of picture books. Last Stop on Market Street won the Newbery in 2016. I read it quickly the first time. When I read it aloud to a class, I choked up. I glossed over it quickly, but it’s packed with complexity. This is one (of many) reasons I think it’s important to use picture books when teaching writing and in secondary classrooms.
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I had that book in my classroom library (high school). I used picture books to analyze theme in AP Lit, to teach research via back-matter in speech and Comm (dual credit speech), and in senior English for the senior project as part of their senior project. I had some students who created their own picture books. Here in Idaho there’s a competitive speech event called retold story that features picture books.
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I love the quote you chose to guide you. Your slice also spoke to me as I have a lot of the same struggles and thoughts about my writing. I love the ending and would love to engage in that same writing space once it gets warmer.
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Thank you. This quote has popped up several times. For whatever reason, I keep writing it in my planner. I sometimes forget I’ve already used it, but it seems to pop up when I need it most. Taking my writing outside has been refreshing.
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I love the simplicity of just showing up. I remember Mary Oliver emphasizing the importance of showing up in her book, A Poetry Handbook. May we continue to show up, and, in showing up, may we grow and produce art.
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Showing up is half the work. I recently picked up one of Mary Oliver’s books. Looking forward to learning from her.
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She is one of my favorites. Wendell Berry is another great poet of the land and nature.
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What a beautiful reflection on your writing practice. I love the ease with which you are approaching slicing this month. And this line is pure gold- “…a sweater for the chill that unexpectedly curls itself around my shoulder.” 🙂
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Thanks, Jennifer! I’m trying not to make it harder than necessary.
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So glad you’ll be writing again this month–I always love reading your posts! This line spoke to me in particular today: “I’m working on decluttering my space, but I also think decluttering my mind and responsibilities opens me up to welcome whatever comes my way.” Such a powerful thing to think about. Thank you!
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Thank you, Natasha. I also enjoy reading your posts. Decluttering is such a hard thing (for me) to do. It’s always a work in progress.
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