Day 74 No Judgment
Anthea often tells us in class to listen to our bodies, do the postures as best we can, with no judgment. “Time and patience,” she says. “That’s how you improve.”
I’ve never thought of myself as a particularly patient person, however when I think of the activities with which I occupy my time, it becomes pretty clear I have a thing for delayed gratification. Yoga can take weeks, months, years to see results. Gardening, an annual just-wait-until-next-month/season/year/house project. Parenting, generally considered an eighteen-year project. Marriage, for the lucky, and the tenacious, a lifelong project.
Then there’s writing.
I’ve been published off and on for the last couple of decades, in print, on-line, in magazines and book format, short-stories and full-length, fiction and non-fiction. And while every now and then I get a lovely burst of “free money” in the mail, overall, I’ve probably made the full-time equivalent of about 0.23/hour. Freelancing is not a career choice for those with loftly financial goals.
Fortunately, the Mennonite in me disparages filthy lucre anyway. (Plus my husband makes enough for both of us, so I can afford to be philosophical.)
But there’s is still something about financial reward that makes a person feel valued, Mennonite self-loathing aside. And when it comes to the writing life, recognition tends to come in fits and starts, long periods of drought broken up by mists, drizzle and the occasional deluge.
I learned this week that 1) my agent is going to pitch my book proposal at Book Expo America, only the biggest publishing event in North America 2) the wonderful people at Heritage House are releasing the new, improved version of my first book, Great Dog Stories, and 3) are going to repackage my worst-selling but arguably best book, Wildlife in the Kitchen, with a new title and new cover. (Who knew that a cross-eyed rat wouldn’t warm the hearts of chain representatives? Or that the title could be interpreted as a cookbook? Roasted Roadkill, anyone?)
So as always when it comes to my career, time and patience is of the essence. Keep on keeping on, no judgment.
I guess I can do that.
Day 67 Too Tired to Read? Never!
It doesn’t happen often, but I’ve had a couple of nights this week where I can’t keep my eyes open long enough to read in bed. Of course, my restless legs still don’t let me sleep, so I usually end up putting drops in my eyes and squinting and twitching into the wee hours anyway. Sometimes, if I’m really hurting, I close my eyes and listen to audiobooks, but I don’t have enough of them. Audiobooks, I mean. Well, I could use more eyes too, I guess.
As I continue my 90-Day Bikram yoga challenge, I find myself pulled to reading about people who have gone through similar mid-life challenges. The empty-nest, questionable-career, mortality-looming, maturing-marriage sort of challenges. I’ve already mentioned Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen. Hilarious and tender memoir. Here are a few other memoirs I’ve read lately, that all have something to do with where I’m at right now:
Poser, My Life in Twenty-Three Yoga Poses, by Claire Dederer, in which the author chronicles her journey through mother anxiety, money stress, marriage worries and, oh yeah, going a little nuts with yoga. A very entertaining book by a good storyteller.
The Gift of An Ordinary Day, by Katrina Kenison, a beautifully-written story of the emotional turbulence that sees her uprooting her family while their two sons are teens, and creating a brand new home. This book is not about yoga, but it is about letting go and redefining life once the children become adults.
This Isn’t The Story You Think It Is, by Laura Munson. I read this one in about a day and a half. The author writes a very personal account of a season of marital fragility and how she’s able to detach herself from her husband’s crisis, staying at peace and allowing him to get through it and come out on the other side. Funny and touching, again not about yoga, but definitely about the crazy-making stuff that happens in midlife.
I love books. Can you tell?
March Madness
- At March 01, 2010
- By Roxanne Snopek
- In Roxanne Writes On
- 0
March Madness
So this month, I’m working on the first draft I wrote in November… of 2008. Yup, NaNoWriMo ’08. What can I say? It’s been a writers-block kind of year. But I’ve recently discovered National Novel Editing Month – NaNoEdMo to us word-geeks. And in an interesting display of synchronicity, I learned of EdMo right after signing up for an editing class at Simon Fraser University. And since the second Shelby James book is already on an editor’s desk, I guess it’s time to get the third one polished.
Or at least, finished.
Sigh.