Writing Seminar

 

Today I was fortunate to participate in a writing class sponsored by the Writers’ League of Texas. This organization works in conjunction with rural libraries and presents free writing classes. 

Today’s class was taught by authors Stacey Swann and Sarah Kocek. We learned more about using Flash Fiction as a way to jump-start creativity. We also learned the dos and don'ts of dialogue. 

I came away with lots of good ideas and had a chance to meet some local writers, both aspiring and published. 

The Comanche librarian let us know that she was hoping to schedule another session at the De Leon Library soon. 

I’m really enjoying this writing life. 

Coffee Shop Writer

I've started something new with my writing. Last week I had an appointment at Toyota to get my car’s oil changed and tires rotated. I knew I would probably be there at least an hour so I decided to bring my iPad along. 

I've gotten in the habit of writing a chapter a week on my novel. Thursday is dedicated to writing the rough draft, and because I needed to grocery shop after the appointment, I decided to try writing at Toyota. 

It worked beautifully.  So on Tuesday of this week when I accompanied Chuck to town to have breakfast with my sister, I decided to try it again. 

This time I spent about an hour and a half at the Grapevine Public Library.  I was able to get a head start on the next chapter because I knew on Thursday I'd be grocery shopping and doing laundry. Along with getting my rough draft written, I enjoyed the atmosphere of their library. 

I have missed hanging out at a big, beautiful library since moving to the country. I stopped to chat with one of the librarians and reminded her not to take her library for granted. 

This Thursday I decided to stop by a coffee shop and write for about an hour before running my errands. I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and began editing the chapter I had written on Tuesday. 

Next Thursday I've got another cool place in mind to do my writing. 

Along with writing in different places, I enjoy writing outside when the weather is cooperative. This summer when the boys were at VBS, I sat on the front porch at my daughter’s to write. 

I’m going to challenge myself to look for new and unique places to write going forward. 

Writer

 So what have I been doing lately?

Writing a novel. 

Back in the spring a friend from high school asked me to join her writer’s group. At the time I was reading a book entitled, What to do With the Rest of Your Life. What were the chances at that exact moment that I would get a text out of the blue from her?  Considering the serendipity of the moment I couldn’t turn her down. 

I had already written a children’s chapter book back in 2019. It had metaphorically sat on the shelf for all these years. I thought the story had promise, but quickly learned how to make it even better. 

I brought a chapter for critique each week. I was amazed at how much I was learning. My usual hesitancy for criticism was no longer standing in the way. I wanted to be a better writer, and the group members guided me along the way. 

I knew after finishing the last chapter of Abby and the Bearded Dragon I needed to consider my next book. I had already accumulated several possibilities over the years. 

I found that I was good at starting a story, but not so much at developing and ending one. After discussing a few options one of my ideas sounded interesting to the group. 

It was then that I began writing an adult novel that was based on a true event in Texas history. I had first considered the possibility almost ten years ago, but I really didn't know how to develop the plot. 

After joining this group I’ve learned so much and am continuing to grow each week. What I especially love about being a part of this writing group is the accountability it brings me. 

I’ve established a weekly writing routine, and am focusing on a chapter a week. I’ve been amazed at how the ideas have just flown one after another.

I keep notes on my phone and any time inspiration hits I jot it down. Since my novel is based on a historical time period I am taking advantage of the wonders of the internet and AI to check my facts. 

I have reflected on the idea that if I had started this story ten years ago I would have spent hours in the library poring over books looking for one thing at a time. Having access to information at my fingertips has allowed me to stay motivated. 

I’ve recently added Grammarly to the mix which is helping me address my grammatical errors, which is my weakness. I minored in history, not English, so I’m pretty clueless about correct comma usage. 

This is an exciting season in my life, and each week I look forward to bringing my writing forward for critique. The group has steered me in the right direction as I work to improve my writing. 

Wish me luck, and hopefully some day my novel will be published and available to those who are interested in reading it. 

Learn From Your Successes

I remember one of my favorite Weight Watchers leaders encouraging us to not only learn from our failures, but from our successes as well.

This past February I signed up for an Empower Wellness Program at Comanche County Medical Center. It met once a week on Tuesday from 4:00-5:00 at the hospital cafeteria. 

The previous May at my yearly check-up my doctor had shared with me that if I continued down the same path I’d probably end up with Type 2 diabetes.

I knew I needed to take this seriously, but I still struggled to make any real changes. I had learned about this wellness class the year before and had actually reached out to get more information. Sadly, though I never signed up. 

The next year I saw the class advertised again on Facebook and, decided to give it a try. 

What I’ve realized from my past successes is that I do better in a group setting with some sort of accountability. Since moving here four years ago I found the one Weight Watchers meeting offered in Stephenville didn’t work with my schedule. 

However, the Tuesday afternoon time slot at the hospital worked perfectly for me. 

The first thing we focused on in class was activity. Not two hours at the gym every day, but rather ways to up the ante when it comes to daily movement. 

Ruth, our leader, made activity fun by leading us through very simple exercises to music. She always kept us laughing. 

We were encouraged to set a small goal to increase our activity. I began with walking 30 minutes three days a week while I was babysitting my grandson. 

It wasn’t long before three days turned into five. 

I also bought a new Fitbit to track my steps. I set a reasonable goal of 8,000 steps a day and pushed myself to reach that number daily. 

Along with activity, we also learned more about making better food choices. Each week in class we got to sample a healthy snack and leave with a recipe in hand. 

We were encouraged to track our food intake and were given options as to how to do this. 

On the first of April, as I was walking on my porch, I listened to a podcast about sugar, and its somewhat addictive qualities. I was convinced that I could not stop eating added sugar. 

However, at the end of the podcast, I decided to give it a try and go one day without added sugar. What I had learned from a past success was that abstaining is easier for me than moderation. 

When I made it past the first day I decided to keep going. 

One day without sugar became two, and two became a week. Before I knew it I had gone a whole month without added sugar. Now it’s been almost four months.

I used to think I was “addicted” to sugar, but remarkably I had no withdrawal symptoms when I stopped eating it. No headaches, no cravings, no mood changes. 

What I did find was that after a short period of time, I really didn’t want it. 

I  allowed myself dessert on special occasions like my birthday or a holiday. To be honest, what I used to love just tasted okay. I was beginning to crave a juicy peach with a spray of whipped cream or a sweet mandarin orange instead. 

From April to mid-July the pounds started to come off. These were the pounds I had carried for the last few years that I couldn’t seem to lose. 

At my next check-up in May my blood work numbers were so much better. I’m convinced removing the added sugar allowed my body to work more efficiently, and along with healthier food choices made the difference. 

 I began making simple changes in my diet, and it wasn’t too long after that that my palate readjusted to wanting real food.

Each week I look forward to my class. I get to meet with a group of friendly, supportive people, and a devoted coach and teacher who is constantly encouraging us.  

I’ve also learned from my past successes not to fall into the trap of “all or nothing thinking.” Our class encourages us to have the right mindset. I don’t want to let a small slip-up derail the progress I’ve made. 

Today, I’m feeling so much better about myself and my health. I like the way I look and my clothes are fitting better. I am looking forward to another six months of fun and learning, and am grateful for this program offered by our local hospital. But most of all if I can prevent Type 2 diabetes it will be more than worth it. 

Lessons

 I really admire tenacious people. My husband is one of these. You know, those people who don’t give up easily and power through a difficult task. 

I wish I could say the same thing about me. You know, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

I also like things to be quick and easy. If I find myself struggling I generally just give up and move onto the next thing. In high school I dropped out of the leading role in our One Act Play because I felt so uncomfortable. I’ve regretted that decision to this day. 

I’m one of those people who pretty much crave the next thing. I changed grade levels regularly over my teaching career finding myself ready for a new challenge. I’ve bounced from denomination to denomination over the years never quite content to stay in one place.  If I don’t something new to work on I find myself restless. 

I also have learned, to quote my high school friend, Barbara, “It’s hard to have fun with it, if it’s frustrating.” In other words, if it’s too hard or takes too long to complete, I’m out. 

At the beginning of the year I started a new crafting project. I had seen something called Woobles come across my feed. It is a crocheting kit made for beginners, and looked awfully cute. 

Now I already knew the basics of crotchet and decided this would be a perfect way for me to learn how to follow a pattern. The reviews were glowing and everyone seemed to love their Woobles kit. Except apparently me, once I got started. 

From the beginning I struggled to follow the video instructions. I ended up starting over a couple of times. Although my dinosaur began to take shape, I was not enjoying any of the process. It was not fun to me. 

I struggled for a few weeks, reluctantly returning to my project. I kept thinking it was building character for me to not give up, and stick with it. 

Until one day I just said, “Forget about it!” and put it up. I haven’t looked back since.

As much as I have encouraged others over the years to try new things, I felt a little hypocritical. Who was I to promote this when obviously I couldn’t even finish a silly crocheted dinosaur. 

However, as I really thought about it I realized that it wasn’t the finished product that was the important thing here. It was the trying of something new. 

Just because you attempt something new doesn’t automatically mean you are going to like it. I’ve tried jigsaw puzzles, knitting and baking, but none of these ended up being something I really enjoyed. 

That being said, it was the experience that was the more important thing. What is the old saying? “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

Perhaps the real lesson learned here is that if you never tried you might miss out on something that you really do enjoy. 

Rather than trying to change my natural inclinations, I’m going to stop being so hard on myself expecting perfection. 

Instead of looking at my Woobles experience as a fail, I’m going to chalk it up as a win in the column of “Things I Don’t Enjoy Doing.”

To quote one of my favorite authors, Gretchen Rubin, “Onward!”

Sweet

 

An interesting thing happened on April 1st. I gave up sugar. 

Today it’s been almost two months of life without added sugar and I can honestly say I’ve not really missed it. Technically I have has dessert on Easter, Mother’s Day and one random other day. 

However, my daily consumption of added sugar has come to a screeching  halt. I have become quite content with a little cutie as my sweet of choice. 

I didn’t intend to give up sugar that day, but I was listening to a podcast about a woman who had beaten drug addiction. She told the story of receiving a coin for one day sober. 

I wondered if I could go one day without eating candy? What I did know for sure was that I do much better abstaining than moderating. One chip at a Mexican restaurant can lead to ten, while saying no to that first chip makes it easy to refrain. 

So I did it. I went one day without candy, and that turned into two and then a month, and then almost two months. 

What I found was I no longer craved sugar and my palate seemed to be craving healthier choices. Everything healthy just seemed to taste better. 

Along with the giving up of sweets I had already challenged myself about a month before to start walking thirty minutes three times a week. Over time that turned into five times a week. This was due to a Wellness class I had started attending in February at my local hospital. 

I reinvested in a Fitbit and kept track of my steps. Eight to ten thousand steps a day became the norm. 

Along with more intentional healthy eating an interesting thing happened. After giving up the sugar I was able to lose seven pounds in a  little over a month. 

I had been trying to lose those dang pounds for over a year, but they just seemed stuck. 

I also learned that my cholesterol had gone down sixty points, and I was no longer showing to be insulin resistant. It was as if my body was beginning to work properly again. 

Between no sugar, more activity, healthier food choices and doing resistance exercise at the gym two times a week, the weight seemed to becoming off easily. And without me feeling deprived.

Now what I excused as an addiction to sugar turned out not to be. I literally had no side effects when I gave up sugar. No cravings, no headache. Basically, it took a little self-discipline for a few days, and I was good to go. 

I will share with you, though, that I did use a little plastic quarter given to me by my grandson, as my “sober coin.” I kept it in my pocket, and would take it out to remind me of what I was striving toward. It was a physical representation of giving up sugar. 

Now you might wonder about those times that I did indulge. To be honest they were just okay-nothing earth shattering. I don’t have a problem celebrating a special occasion with a sweet treat. It’s not having sugar a regular part of my life that I really enjoy now.

MAHA