Writers Need Cats!

"Computer Cat" (Pat Kight, Flickr)

Today I'm sharing a post I wrote for A Round of Words in 80 Days, an online community of writers who set goals, check-in with progress reports, and encourage each other to persevere. Thank you, Kait Nolan, for leading the way.

"Writers Need Cats!"

You may think that writers work in isolation, hunched over the keyboard, and requiring absolute quiet. But I recommend, for the most consistent kick-in-the-pants, inspirational writing companion, you should adopt a cat.

Before Tiger went to kitty heaven, I had the means to closely observe the links between cats and writerly creativity. 

1. Cats know when we should stop working at the computer. Not only will they tread lightly over the keyboard and drape themselves gingerly upon it, but should that not be sufficient, they will leap upon your amassed rough draft and mark selected pages with muddy prints, ensuring you take appropriate breaks from intense writing sessions. 
2. Cats inspire thoughtful analysis. Who has observed a cat gazing into what we cannot see and not realized their attachment to issues far grander than a plot hole – and our own need to think of unique alternatives beyond the outline? Our creativity is enhanced when we explore different perspectives. Cats ensure our connection to the infinite. 
3. Cats model confidence. They move with distinction, poise, and know with certainty that their needs will be taken care of. They do not fear public speaking nor doubt their writing skills. 
4. Cats prompt a range of emotion useful for character development. What cat owner has not received tender gifts from the garden? My Aunt Tessie escaped upstairs in terror after attempting to pick up the ‘toy’ snake Tiger had been playing with in the living room. This gave me a powerful lesson in the physical and emotional reactions characters have to stress. 
5. Cats show us that important fictional and real relationships require love, compassion, and trust. I yet remember that fateful night when I awoke to find my cat nestled next to my tummy, ready to give birth. I learned inventiveness that night as well as respect for the unexpected, useful for plot twists and heightened tension. 
6. Cats nurture the pleasure principle by allowing us to pet them, rewarding us with a low-throated purr, encouraging us to pamper ourselves when we achieve our writing goals. 
7. Cats teach tenacity. When a cat hunts, sneaking forward slowly on unsuspecting prey, no matter the outcome or how many times the goal remains out of reach, a cat will persist. As should we in our story-telling skills and ruthless revision and editing. 

And so, my writing friends of ROW80 fame, once a cat is added to your life, I believe your writing will improve, even if you already have a dog leaning on your knee for attention.

"My Office Cat" (Jenny, Flickr)

Oct 1: In Rhyme and Season . . .

In rhyme and season, I begin
this October gray and dank,
still waiting for those leaves to turn
from summer green to autumn gold.

I remember red avenues
of leaves so thick I could not see
the sky that promised darker nights
until at last winter arrived.

If I could walk again with you,
seasons in perfect balance,
Spring, a promise of days to come,
Fall, that time we planned to wander:
where trees never lost their leaves
and skies were never gray.

Central Park, New York City (OctPoWriMo)

Above revised. Below, old version: Thanks to Sandy (see comments), back I went to wordsmithing in hopes of revising this first poem of October into a stronger draft.

In rhyme and season, I begin
this October gray and dank,
still waiting for those leaves to turn
from summer green to autumn gold.

I remember avenues of red leaves
so thick I could not see the sky,
a profusion of color that blocked out
the reality of colder nights
until winter finally arrived.

Would that I could walk again with you
along that leafy path,
the seasons in perfect balance:
Spring, a promise of days to come, and
Fall, that time we planned to wander
where trees never lost their leaves
and skies were never gray.

Poetry has long been my way to settle into writing. I don't write poetry every day, now being preoccupied with storytelling in novel form, but twice a year -- October and April, I take up the challenge to write a poem a day. Some poems resonate from years past. Most help me to cherish the moment, leading me to the 'now' -- that goal of meditation that says each day is a gift.

And so October begins with several writing challenges:

-- A month-long commitment to writing a poem a day, inspired by Morgan Dragonwillow on OctPoWriMo 2013, 

-- Hosting guest posts and commentary throughout the month from two very creative sisters -- Sandy Jensen and Cheryl Long who explore the visual and written with their poetry, teaching, and art. 

-- Continued research and writing of Rivers of Stone, the story of Catriona and Dougal, two Scots from farming and fishing families, who came to the Hudson's Bay in upper Manitoba in 1842 and were immediately separated. 

-- Completing Round 4 with A Round of Words in 80 Days (October 7 through December 26), an online writing community that with weekly check-ins encourages us all to set goals and report our progress.

What writing challenges will inspire you this month? 

Would you write a poem a day for October? 

It's Not Always About World Peace

I discovered Rick Hanson through reading another blog on A Round of Words in 80 Days.

"Just One Thing," this blogger wrote, is all that Rick asks us to think about. Since my life and my writing life seemed pretty frenetic at the time (and still is), I signed up for the newsletter.

His first newsletter arrived August 8, and I haven't been able to read any others yet.

Peace.

Rick identifies four levels of peace which we can appreciate.

Peace of ease - that moment when you look out the window, you step back from the current crisis, or you've just finished a task, and you know everything's OK.

Peace of tranquility - a deeper kind of peace, feeling at one with mind and body, perhaps just when you wake up or when you are out walking. No sense of frenzy, rushing, hurry, but simply being here, being in the now or as Rick Hanson says, "deep quiet in mind and body"

Peace of awareness - Here is why I like to read K. M. Huber's blog, for I get a sense of 'peace of awareness' from her writing. No matter what else is going on, there's an essential part of yourself that's a little separate, that observes, that's disconnected and that continues. Now, to me, this sounds a little schizophrenic, but somehow K.M. Huber (and Rick Hanson) write about this meditative state as a way of disconnecting from "becoming" and "doing" to simply "being."

Is this level of awareness a paradox? For when we do meditate, we are at peace with ourselves, at one with who and what we are, setting aside the everyday rattle of constant thought to breathe and simply be aware. And in the same moment, we breathe, we can be distracted. We balance action (becoming) with reflection (being).  Even our breathing through meditation is both becoming and being.

Peace of what's unchanging -  What are those constants that surround us that remain the same, no matter what? Rick Hanson says, "While waves come and go, the ocean is always ocean." For some, spirituality means this kind of deep connectedness. For me, I accept that each moment simply changes. My life will end. But the sun rises in the east every day. For now, I embrace this gift of life. Underneath the daily frisson of change, I rely on the constant of the love that surrounds me from husband, family, and friends; my commitment to writing, my appreciation of each day.

Water Lily, Nymphaea Pamela,
Edinburgh Botannical Garden (Camp 2009)

I wanted to respond to Rick's article to explore, perhaps, how these four concepts of peace might relate to a writer's life.

For Rick Hanson is not writing about world peace, or peace through action. He has focused the concept of peace down to inner peace, that sense of tranquility that makes us calm, perhaps happier, perhaps more accepting of who and what we are.

While writing can be a form of meditation on many levels, I come away from writing this post with a sense of peace and renewed commitment. Just one thing. Cherish each day!

In what ways do you cherish your own sense of peace?

Read a little more:
Rick Hanson: Just One Thing: What's Your Sense of Peace?
K. M. Huber's Blog -- this week: The Mirror That Is All of Us
A Round of Words in 80 Days

D is for Delight . . .

When I write, I relax into almost meditation, a focus on other than myself, the routine of early morning driving the day's writing goals into something that wasn't there before. And so, 

I write in delight,
always somewhat surprised
to see words
arrange themselves
on the page.
Writing drives me to detail
that single, lost Canada goose 
heading south last night in the dusk,
alone, honking, 
as if the sound alone
would bring him back to the flock
somewhere ahead of him,
a plaintive call and yet
spring awaits.
I can see him landing
on a wide, cool pond,
far from human eye,
where there, among the reeds,
he finds his own delight.

Canada geese along the Spokane River (Wikipedia)

Most days I work on editing (and writing) my historical fiction. Only in April do I challenge myself with a poem a day. And now to work! May your week go well.

To read what others have written:
NaPoWriMo at http://www.napowrimo.net/participants-sites/
A-Z Challenge at http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/p/2012-to-z-challenge-sign-up-list.html
A Round of Words in 80 Days at http://aroundofwordsin80days.wordpress.com/