What's Wonderful about Wednesdays

Today I’m at my home desk, as the northeaster has hit us, blowing hard through the Fraser River Valley into the northwest corner of Washington State. This morning it was 14 degrees, wind at 25 mph with 50 mph gusts, which tends to freeze our sap a bit.  Most other Wednesdays I spend time at the WWU library, closeting myself in a carrel with stationery, books, journals, and laptop, just in my own little world, reading and writing on many different levels, but with purpose. My husband waves me out the door at about 8:15 am, I ride the bus to campus, and spend the entire day there, arriving home around 5:30 for coffee and dinner. There's a bonus to being at my home desk today: the huge pot of his "Che! Black Bean Soup" has been simmering and providing savory smells all through the day. As I continue to keep sacred days and times for writing projects, I find it more fun and especially appealing to pick up the threads and characters every day, in all my spare moments. 

Each week I continue writing with a pen for the first couple hours on my designated “writing day,” usually composing a letter or two, sometimes more. My husband mentioned how lovely it looks to see envelopes addressed and stamped at the edge of my desk, waiting to be posted. While writing a personal letter, I find myself sitting still for longer periods, just thinking about the person and remembering our common ground. I’ve noticed an unexpected though natural difference in what I recall about what I said in a letter; at first, I missed the fact that I couldn’t look in my sent e-mailbox to re-read what I’d already mailed (yes, I often did this). But with just a couple months of this rewarding hobby, I find that I remember my handwritten notes much more clearly ~ something about being so present in the slower process, methinks. It's also been a delight that I've also received more handwritten letters in the past couple months than I did in the prior two years. It seems people I've contacted have also remembered the more pleasant aspects of writing with pen and paper, or at least become interested in revisiting the art.

The learning curve has streaked upward in my poetry and creative non-fiction writing, because I’ve spent time reading journals that publish work of high quality. That doesn’t mean I’m suddenly a great writer. At times I feel like such a novice when I read a really fine piece of published work; at other times, I just don’t get the poem, or I find it sloppy and unpleasant, and decide I’ve got a fine portfolio after all.  I don’t yet have all those credentials that seem to back up most of the writers in these journals, and I’m excited about following the path that might lead me there.

My portfolio of poetry is organized now, directories charted by year and cross-referenced by theme.  It seems I’ve spent the last seven years on categories such as Inner Spirit, Salish Sea, and The Moon, Sky and Stars. There is quite a body of work in Social Commentary, and of course Joyful Love, Cynic on Love, Death, and Giggles.  Unfinished is a hopeful major category, and there are a few smaller groups related to family relationships.

Recently I have submitted writings to The Sun ~ Readers Write, and also to an academic literary journal. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the process of poking and prodding a poem until it sits up and looks back at me, whispering, “I’m done.” My husband’s encouragement, my open-ended days and the fact that I can think, recall, compose and revise whether I’m sitting down or standing at the kitchen sink all blend to make this possible. Let’s be clear:  this kind of writing lives my laptop; I'm not reverting to pen and paper in every aspect.

I’ve been careful to be sure everything is backed up, using a little flash drive and Google Docs too, but also paying the $75 annual fee for the online service provided by Carbonite. I find it easier to pay that fee than health insurance premiums, as it gives me more peace of mind and security, and there’s no small print.

Today as I explored my new membership in Writer’s Market online communities, and read some articles in the 2012 book itself, I became aware that I’m still way behind the curve in my social networking profile.  I changed my blog url, I even changed the title, and learned that I’m not even s’posed to work real hard on the blog entries, they’re not meant to be literature.  So I’m getting a little more real here, and today hoped to share simple bits of the progress that’s being made.  I’m confused about publishing my completed work on the blog; if it’s published here, then is it disqualified for a publisher that does not accept submissions of previously published works?  I hope to get that answer from the writing group I joined online today.  And, I hope it doesn’t block the possibility of sharing some of my finished poetry here.