We’re standing on the threshold. A writers’ month lies ahead. It’s filled with opportunities to kick up your word count, settle into your practice, get that novel started or done, or begin a flash fiction adventure. Tomorrow is the first day of November.

If you’re longing to get back at it, jazz up what you’re already doing, or try something new, here’s your chance. You have options both fun and challenging. Many options. Because November is for writers.

There are many NaNo’s to choose from now. It started with NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month. It’s now ballooned to short stories, flash fiction, poetry, etc. It takes place in November and it starts tomorrow and you get an extra hour of sleep before you plunge in.

On their website http://www.nanowrimo.org you’ll find the following: NaNoWriMo believes in the transformational power of creativity. We provide the structure, community, and encouragement to help people find their voices, achieve creative goals and build new worlds — on and off the page.

What a gift. And it’s free. Just sign up. See what happens.

A new favorite November challenge for me is Nancy Stohlman’s FlashNANo. Flash fictions are stories under 1000 words. Visit http://www.nancystohlman.com (click on 2020FLASHNANO!) Sign on and receive 30 prompts for 30 days. You’ll write 30 flash fiction pieces. Some as short as a few words or sentences. If you miss a day, you can catch yourself up any time, no problem.

I did it for the first time last year and wow. I came through it with thirty pieces that can stand alone or become longer works. And with every one I wrote, I became more comfortable with the form and with hitting the ground running with writing sprints.

You’ve nothing to lose to and everything to gain.

I’ve not yet done the actual NaNoWriMo challenge but I received an invite from Sisters in Crime (you don’t have to be a member) who is sponsoring it this year. The deal: you make a commitment to yourself to produce 50,000 words in a month. A definite challenge. I’m working on my second novel with some cleaning up and wrapping up left to do. So, I’m thinking, why not?

If nanos don’t ring any bells for you, I suggest you try a Gateless Writing Method salon/workshop or retreat offered by a couple of fabulous facilitators I know, one in Maine and one in New Hampshire.

Jodi Paloni http://www.jodipaloni.com is the heart center of Maine Coast Writers. With Jodi, I experienced my first Gateless retreat last year at a B&B on the Pemiquid Penninsula and was hooked. I later partook of a writing salon at her studio. Then Covid swept all in-person plans away and Jodi adapted. She created some evening workshops/salons and two retreats via zoom which combined adventures in both word and image. What a boost to my writing practice. What a creativity incubator. More wow. And wow.

Yesterday, I experienced a free salon with Becky Karush, the other Gateless coach I mentioned earlier. I’d been introduced to Becky’s “Read To Me” podcast by Jodi and became a regular listener. http://www.readtomepod.com Check it out. It’s delicious. Becky reads from a work that intrigues her and then discusses what she loves about the chosen piece. Hers is a voice you want to listen to, often. Her insightful analysis of the power and beauty of the works she shares is both informative and transformative.

Turns out, she is as gifted as Jodi in conducting a writing salon. Both draw you into a safe container for writing in the company of others. You write, listen, and give feedback to one another. Feedback begins with the words “I loved ______” about the piece.

Tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 1, she offers a free salon! The third of three. Go to her site and sign up. Now!

I offer you these suggestions in the spirit of community. Leap. Take risks. Walk through that hesitation, that fear. Tell the critic to take a nap. Let community and wise teachers and sister/brother writers lift you up and carry you to your finish line, whatever that may look like to you.

nest

come, rest in me

my woven threads of story

some fine as silk

some coarse as garden twine

Zoom has its up sides and its down. For me, they’ve been mostly up. I’ve been able to partake of workshops, yoga classes, song fests, concerts, writer gatherings, and even a mini-retreat. Zoom has been a gift.

The Salty Girls writers’ retreat on the Pemiquid Pennisula in Maine had to be postponed so Jodi Paloni offered a writing/artmaking mini-retreat in its place. With planning and advance prep (including packets sent out with materials) she created a transformative two-day experience via zoom. Proving, dear friends, that creative solutions are not only possible but obligatory for creatives like us. They are the unexpected gifts of this challenging time. Silver linings, if you will.

Next Saturday, October 3rd, 1pm eastern time, I’ll be doing a “Meet the Author” zoom session as guest artist with the Freethinker’s Corner books and more. I’ll read briefly from my novels Other Wise and This Other Way of Knowing (in progress), and we’ll chat about the writing/creative process. It’ll be light. It will be fun. I hope you can join us.

Hopefully you’ll leave wanting to pick up your pen, brush, laptop, or musical instrument and let loose. Hopefully something said will stick with you, nudging you onward in your own work. No one will be offended if you have to drop out early. You won’t be on camera unless you choose to be for questions. You can ask in the chat box unseen.

** You are invited to a Meet the Author Zoom event.
Join us in welcoming Mary Lou Bagley to A Freethinker’s Corner. Mary Lou is an artist, actress, and writer from South Berwick, Maine. As an artist, she finds inspiration and material for her work In the most ordinary elements of life. Mary Lou is a well-known Seacoast actress and has portrayed a diversity of characters on area stages. Finally, as the author of the novel OTHER WISE, she’s also an experienced educator, storyteller, and short story writer.
When: Oct 3, 2020 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) 

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMlfumhpzIiG9CXtE2OtR2MXpsiy-QrmoWt

Can zoom get tiring? Absolutely. Can we counterbalance this with relaxation, nature walks, rest and nourishment? Most definitely.

For me, there was an expansiveness–a spaciousness–when this time at home began. Stunned after an initial period of adjustment, I settled into a comfortable nesting mode. No appointments. No unnecessary travel. No meetings or commitments. No interruptions to the flow.

Over time, though, my routine became more crowded. Myriad things vied for attention. My inbox had never been so full. Email blasts were constant. And though I rejoiced in the abundance of offerings, it could be overwhelming to skim and scroll and have to pass things up or put them aside for a nonexistent ‘later.’

Thus, I had to learn yet another lesson. Discernment. The need to choose those things that are truly beneficial and let the rest go. I hope in your selection process you choose to join me on October 3rd while I understand if you don’t.

I suspect we’ll hold on to some of these new modes of connection when we come out on the other side. Especially those practices that allow access over great distances. And I envision incredible joy when we can meet face to face, breathing the same air, and touching at will. I look forward to dancing with you then if not virtually now.

Let me know how you’re doing in the comments section.

In the meantime I say, “Thank you, Zoom.”

So, what are you doing with your unexpected time at home? What about that novel, short story, or essay? That poem, painting or project? You know, those things that sit upon your heart because you haven’t had time for them? Where’s your excuse now?

Your art form — whatever makes your heart sing and lifts you outside of time — is your way through this. Poem or music making? Gardening or baking? Knitting or doodling? Tinkering or puttering? Birding or beach combing? Listen, your heart will remind you.

I see silver-linings in the words and actions of people everywhere as we enter this strange new time. This social distancing and staying at home time.

A local professional theatre had to disband the cast and close just as they’d put up a new show. So what did they do? The staff put their creative heads together and set up a “film studio” and streamed one of their past original shows for donations. Celebrities are singing from virtual platforms for free. Italians are serenading one another from windows and balconies. Breweries and a French perfume company are producing hand sanitizer. A small factory in Bangor, Maine is making toilet paper. The CEO of Best Buy is paying workers for full schedules while reducing hours of operation. Governors all over the US are thinking way outside the box to provide for their citizens. Neighbors are checking on one another and tending to the needs of elders and the lonely. Generosity outshines attempted price gouging.

I’m a writer. Extra time to write is a happy experience for me despite the scary reasons behind it. No appointments out in the world. And though I miss my outings for yoga and singing with Susie Burke and the gang, uninterrupted time is a blessing as I finish book number two.

I’m blogging, finishing This Other Way of Knowing, meditating and journaling. My mind is conjuring a new art quilt design. And as I write this, I’m reminded that I haven’t played my ukulele in a long while. I’ll have to build up those callouses again. But, hey, I have the time.

What are you doing with this gift of uninterrupted-in-the-usual-ways time? Share with us in comments. Inspire us to pull out those neglected gems and make the best of this. We may be distancing, but we’re virtually in this together.