Day 3 -- Far, Far Away

Step I:

Today I'm supposed to think of someone who really bugs and annoys me and then of a place I'd like to send them and mentally send them there.

The problem is...if you can believe this, no one really annoys me right now. It's not because I live on some sainted plain, I'm just a little isolated right now being in the final throws of pregnancy and I'm not really "out there" enough to be annoyed by much of anyone. I guess I'll just think of an annoying person in general and go from there!

The postcard arrived.....from Thelma. She had arrived in the midst of nowhere without incident (just like her...everything just perfect) and was happy to say that her accommodations were pleasing. Sparse and dull. She was actually looking forward to a week with nothing to do and nothing in particular to think about. You see how annoying she is, you can't even make her suffer in misery. She babbled on about the joy of looking into the horizon and seeing nothing but hundreds of miles of empty space, except for the odd tumbleweed blowing across the dusty expanse, and went on about having no responsibilities, no children pulling at her skirts, no guilt from people calling to ask her for things, and no "friends" trying to do her favors. She went on and on about nothing. by the time she was done, I WANTED TO BE THERE TOO. Damn her! She really annoys me.

Step II:

Describe the ideal place to write. Be very specific and detailed. Go there in your mind the next time you write. See how your writing changes.

It's a small office off the back end of my house that sits on a cliff in Eluethera, on the Caribbean side. There are large windows and its painted in soft, cool greens. The desk sits just under the large window and there are fluffy sofas on the other side of the room. Soft, instrumental music of varying kinds plays in the CD player, while fresh flowers fill the air with a constant sweet scent. I am completely relaxed. It is impossible to be upset or uptight here. Even the most complex and burdensome situation is clear here. I breathe and write easily.

Day 2-- Resolution Revolution

Letters spread on a page to be used ....as I get to them. I'll "guesstimate" the space. Beginning with .... New Year's resolutions make me....Not want to start a new year at all. They are made so carelessly and just about Everyone fails to follow through. What tripe they are! You would need a truck to haul away all the resolutions I have broken, Even though they were made with the best intentions. A smart person would have given them up years ago. Oh, I did! My favorite Resolution, that I was able to keep, was never to make anymore resolutionS. The New Year brings enough stRuggle of its own without Setting yourself up for failure and disappointment. Onward I go without fear, ready to deal with the next card that life has to deal to me. A new baby, a writing classthat I had previously dealt myself, trying to figure out what I want "to be" when I grow up, and finding a reaL God. All these things I already own. Why make Up more goals and resolutions just because we turned another page on the calendar? So now I just celebraTe, drink some champagne, and give my husband a big smooch. I control my destiny by the day, by the hour, by the minute, and by the second. Each of Our lives in inour own hands. Never give your destiny to fate.

Part 2 of this exercise is to make a resolution for the next 24 hours....I can handle that. I"m going to set up my writing notebook!

Next "resolution" -- find a new blog host. This one really stinks!

Day 1 -- Circle Game One

First from several lists, I chose three words: banister, harried, massage. Then I am instructed to use these three words in a story that begins with

Sometimes I feel just like a gerbil, running around and around on his wheel....

but today somehow I flew off of the wheel (guess i got to running too fast in my harried little world) and landed at the top of the banister to the lovely polished stairs in the house that I live. I sat and thought for quite a while. What an adventure it would be to just let myself slide down that banister and find out just what is at the bottom. I see a door. I came in it once, but have never been back out. I do know it leads to the wide, wide world and the thought, though tantalizing, is frightening. Do I have the courage to go? Sitting here at the top of the banister, I think no, I don't have enough courage. But maybe if I just go, it won't matter if I have the courage or not. I will be forced to respond to my decision. Perhaps that is all that courage is; a forced repsonse to what's happening around you. So I can sit here and massage my worries til they grow into a frenzied pitch or I can just go. Whao!!!! I sliiiiiiipped! Off I go; the choice is made; courage or not-- here I gooo and when I get to the bottom, I think I'll just stroll on out the door! I think this will be fun. I hated that damn wheel anyway.

One exercise down, 365 to go!

If it kills me, I'm going to follow this new book....

At least one exercise per day. It's called The Write Brain Workbook, by Bonnie Neubauer. I don't want to write in the book, so I've decided to post them here. If anyone ever stumbles upon my blog, comments are welcome.