05 Nov 2014
Burn Wild, My Creative Journey, National Novel Writing Month - NaNoWriMo Permalink

NaNoWriMo and Places of the Imagination

November 5, 2014

I’m taken aback at my sudden directive to participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I’d planned to do some work on my novel, but in a last-minute gut decision I committed to fully enter the world of my imagination.

And I’m glad for it.

I put so many demands on myself that I don’t give free reign to projects that take my imagination full tilt. I’ll create, but I’m wary of my time. I’m wary of losing control. Working in bits and pieces helps me feel sane.

You can’t create art that astounds you if you’re trying to stay in control.

What I’m discovering is that digging into a world of my imagination is renewing my energy, not using it up. I’ve had it on my list, for weeks, to write this Fire By Night post, for example.

And I’ve also longed for more art. I’m doing that too.

IMG_0195You’ve got to let go, meld with the process, and move where the creating takes you.

And so I’ve rearranged my schedule temporarily in order to lose control.

How about you? Are you on a wild ride of creating, or are you trying to keep everything neat and tidy, and same as always, so you can maintain certainty?

If you’d like to chat in person when I come out of NaNoWriMo hiding, please join my visits as a guest author on Saturday, November 8 at 1:30 at Another Read Through Books in Portland; and as a guest poet on Saturday, November 29, at 7 pm at Mon Ami Coffee and Crepes in Vancouver.

07 Oct 2014
Uncategorized Permalink

Why I’m All Over the Place: My Three Blogs

October 7, 2014

Some folks have asked me lately, “Tell me again, which blog should I go to?” Because I’m all over the place with three different blogs. I know, I know. Confusing.

Lemme ‘splain.

I have different ways of being, in different parts of my house. They’re all me – but they serve different functions. So here’s the breakdown when it comes to my blogs.

Wildfire Writing (christikrug.com) – the front door. This is what you’re reading now. It’s the place to greet and be greeted. I’m aware of my community here, and what makes it all work. It’s where to check in and see what’s going on.

Kindling  – the kitchen. This is the creative space where I serve up prompts, and share creative conversation with others who want to play and hang out.

A Fire By Night – the room upstairs. In my house, the room upstairs is where I pray, journal, make art, and process my life. I do yoga. Sometimes I just sit and look out the window. This blog is that space for me – an intimate setting where I reflect on the big picture of my life, relationships, and spirit.

So there you have it.

I didn’t want you to be confused anymore.

Thanks.

29 Sep 2014
Creative Community, Wildfire Writers Permalink

Getting Support for Taking A Creative Break

September 29, 2014

Edee Lemonier, Writer, Community Leader, and Web Wiz

 

I like what coach and poet Mark McGuinness has to say about Creative Burnout, especially “control freakery.” I relate to the creative rock star who gets to do what she loves and is surrounded by adoring fans – in my case, a community who loves to encourage me as much as I love to encourage them.

And I also relate to the need to sometimes walk away from it all.

But this isn’t easy to do.

As a business owner, I was nervous about the plan I’d made in June, to take September off and walk the Camino de Santiago.  In the eight years I’ve been a writing coach, I’ve learned that business stops when you stop responding to people. My break would mean taking a month off, disconnecting my phone, and allowing my students to sit idle and un-encouraged for thirty days.

But I also began to realize I was modeling relentless activity, and a life leashed to a computer. Unlike Stephen King, who purportedly never takes a vacation from writing, I must take a creative break.

So I left. Crossed my fingers and threw my cares to the wind.

The wind blew on my community while I was gone, rustling up this writer, that encourager, that artist. Groups met without me.  Creativity thrived.

This wouldn’t have been possible without Edee, who hosted Wildfire Wednesday at Cascade Park Library in September. Edee makes my job easy because she is teachable, committed, open-minded yet confident in her talent. She is a people person and yet a solitary artist. Her work astounds the reader. Not only did she take over the library night, but she let me know I wasn’t forgotten while I walked.

It wouldn’t have possible without Patty. Patty rustled up the evening Wildfire Writing Master class, finding a temporary location, sending announcements. This imaginative writer and caring, even-tempered, listener has one of the most amazing combinations of talent that I’ve ever met in one human being.

And then there was Jenna, my fellow coach and dear friend. She kept the enthusiasm going for the artists group I facilitate and roused the troops at Rouse. She listened to my pre-trip jitters and post-trip overwhelm. She wired me support on the airwaves – I felt it all.

Being a creative rock star loses its glitz when you start thinking you have to do everything, all by yourself.  Being surrounded by willing, giving human beings is what it’s all about.

Thanks to these three, and to all of you, the music plays on.

 

Rules for community engagement: Don’t be a lone rock star. Let shine the leadership gifts of those around you.

20 Aug 2014
Creativity, Poetry, The Writing Life, Workshops Permalink

My Writing River: A Poem

August 20, 2014

snippet collage version Delightfish

by Emily Gillespie

It starts with a trickle

My writing river is flowing on uncut soil
Atop the leaves and the dirt, forging a new trail
One fit for future waves to maneuver
It’s poking over to the left, seeing if it likes that
It turns to the right when it sees an opportunity to flow
Not scared to turn around if it doesn’t feel right
If it doesn’t suit the potential of this new writing river
A river that will take years of repetition to carve into the earth
Years of nudging its way into a strong current
riverWidening as it sees fit
And narrowing when it needs
But always flowing
Disregarding the trees
And the logs
And the rocks in the way
Not even the longstanding mountains stand a chance
Because this is my writing river
Stories as tiny as guppies and as big as whales will find their way down
Colorful energetic spindly fish storiessnippet collage version Delightfish
And simple silver mackerel fish stories
Long, winding eel-like stories
And dark, unmoving bottom feeder stories
All will be honored and accommodated in my new writing river
Just wait

snippet---scary-delightfish

Thank you to writer and storyteller, Emily Gillespie, for describing what it is to surrender to the writing process while honoring the discipline and practice. Loving the wisdom!

19 Aug 2014
Wildfire Writers Permalink

Give Your Particulars, Tell Me Who You Are

August 19, 2014

Thursday Master Class

Students new to Wildfire Writing classes show up full of hesitation. How can they share their work with the others in this community, when the class is comprised of all beliefs and backgrounds?

There are many pieces of ourselves that others might not “get.” Questions of race and religion, of politics and persuasion, of secret ambitions and sexual identity.

What I’ve found is, the more we share the specifics of our particular lives, the less important become our differences. The woman detailing her disordered eating strikes a chord with the man describing his overbearing father. Concerns may seem completely different, but stories find our shared beating heart.

I love it when writers are brave enough to share their roots and ties, exploring what these things mean. Liva Montana’s poem, Communion, for example, makes me hungry for more of the poet’s religious experience and symbols.

Have you found a place where you can reveal your differentness? Keep reaching for that, and do keep putting down on paper all that you are.

(Image: Wildfire Writing Master class, July, by Desiree. These writers are fearless in bringing their whole selves to the page.)

18 Jul 2014
My Creative Journey, The Writing Life Permalink

Goals vs. Purpose: Measuring the Creative Life, Where Everything Counts

July 18, 2014

purple

 

My daughter B, home from college, is sleeping in my writing space.

I feel displaced, frustrated. Failing.

What about all the things I hoped to accomplish this summer?

Publishing: submit
Short story: start
Art: finish picture book
Novel: get halfway through this monster
Nonfiction: draft book

I’m not getting anywhere. Stuck.

“So, Christi,” I ask myself. “Why are these things so important, anyway?”

I take the list apart and look closely.

Publishing.
I want to get my words “out there.” I want to mean something.

Short Story.
I love the fun of a short piece, the surprise of discovering where it will go.

Art.
I want my art to delight.

Novel.
I want to fuel my creative life, to stay with the craft and enjoy it.

Nonfiction.
I want to teach, mentor and forge relationships.

All of the above.

Ultimately, this is why I do everything: to love and be loved.

 

And then I realize I’m doing it. ALL OF IT!

Total mindset-flip. How?

I stopped looking at the goals (the “what”) and got in touch with my purpose (the “why”).

Things are much simpler than we make them. Your purpose is far more important than your goals.

I invite you to downshift into a greater understanding of why you create.

My list is below. Now it’s your turn.

 

How I Stayed in My Purpose Today

Publishing:

Made a couple of greetings to send friends. These two hand-crafted cards will mean something to my dear readers. If this isn’t publishing, what is?

Short story:

Chose carefully my words for the cards. 

Art:

Decorated the cards.

Novel/fueling creativity:

While cleaning kitchen, listened to John O’Donohue’s thoughts on being an artist (To Bless This Space Between Us). Worked on novel for 15 minutes. Wrote two pages in journal. Walked with a fellow creative coach.

Nonfiction/teaching and mentoring:

All week, taught and coached gifted, appreciative, unique, amazing writers.

“Loved and was loved.”

In the weeks that my daughter has been home, we’ve shared laughter, stress, stories, adventure, art, and hugs.

Which means I’m right on target with what matters to me.

It’s all in knowing what to count.

small-castle

27 Jun 2014
My Creative Journey Permalink

Creative Change in Relationships

June 27, 2014

Living well means loving and honoring the people in our lives. Sometimes, though, we use them as an excuse to avoid the work we know deep down that we need to do.

This is a personal look at how I’m emerging into brave places in my relationships.

It’s not an easy thing – and in fact, involves loss and disappointment.

But these are the scary choices we face on the way to being our most authentic, creative selves.

 

P1000140

19 Jun 2014
Uncategorized 1 Comment Permalink

Willamette Writers Conference – Video Sneak Peek on Procrastination

June 19, 2014 1 Comment

In nearly two decades of working with emerging writers, I’ve noticed that many don’t acknowledge the grip procrastination has on them. At some level, they feel bad about putting off what they know they should be doing. But in their procrastination, they often hide the truth from themselves and pretend they are just too busy to write.

If that’s not enough, they’ll actually manufacture problems at some level in their lives . . . so that they don’t have to face their creative struggles.

How about you? Are you honest about your problem with procrastination?

How do you recognize it? How do you overcome it?

I’ll be helping writers slash their procrastination at my August 3 Willamette Writers presentation. Here’s a sneak peak at insights I’ll be offering at the conference.

13 Jun 2014
Burn Wild, Uncategorized 1 Comment Permalink

The Creative Process: Station Four

June 13, 2014 1 Comment

revision village
Welcome to Station Four in the Creative Process!

Revision Village is where you revise, edit, and polish your work. You’ve got to be ready to bustle about in town, make connections, and to make decisions.

Just today, in Wildfire Writing Master Class, ten writers looked at drafts and considered options for revision and editing. Questions arose such as:

  • Do I need more about this character? Here, where I’ve just touched on her past, should I delve more deeply?
  • What happened in this paragraph, where my readers/listeners got confused? How can I create a transition that helps them understand where I’ve taken them?
  • How can I make the most of this beautiful sound at the end of the line in my poem? I see that I’ve added extra syllables and interrupted the lyricism. What can I rearrange so that I land on my favorite word?

Week after week, these writers are visiting their work and making decisions. They’ve created in full-on creativity mode, without gumming up the process with all these kinds of questions. They’ve followed their thinking to put together whole drafted chapters. They’ve taken a bit of space and created distance through pausing. And now, they’re objective and listening and weighing and encouraged and moving forward, and fine with whatever the work needs.

It’s a busy time . . . it’s an engaging process . . . and feedback and support are invaluable.

You need the critic, as long as he minds his manners and uses his polite, in-town voice. In the same way, you may gather a team of positive but discerning writers and readers. Through these efforts, you’ll try on different things in order to learn what is the effect of your work on the reader.

Feel free to pick up new ideas, too, if you happen to do a little shopping while you’re in town. You should make the most of your stay, after all.

Thing is, Revision Village can be a place you stay for quite a long time, and though you may feel ready to move on, every minute here is worth it.

06 Jun 2014
Creativity, Writing Tips and Tools 1 Comment Permalink

The Creative Process: Station Three, the Way Station

June 6, 2014 1 Comment

In Burn Wild: A Writer’s Guide to Creative Breakthrough, I outline the five-stage creative process.

And here is Station Three, the Way Station.
the-Way-Station---Hunter's-Blind
This creative process works for anything you are making – a painting, a choreographed dance, a photograph. Because I most often work with writers, here we’ll take the writer’s standpoint.

Station One is the most misunderstood, especially by beginning writers. Starting a new project, they expect a difficult path, not a playground.

Station Two is the most productive, because this is where you dig in and draft without interference from the critic.

Station Three is absolutely crucial.

However, many beginners don’t know about this stage of the process.

Writers run into problems, because:

  • Having completed rough drafts, writers are in a hurry.
  • Writers rush toward the “fixing” or “publishing” phase.
  • In all the excitement, a writer gets too attached to the work.
  • Those who stay too close to their work feel overly sensitive.
  • Confusion is rampant about where to go next, and what advice to take.
  • A writer can get discouraged and quit at this point. Many do.

Skipping this part can derail your entire project.

Station Three is really a time out. It’s getting perspective. Imagine a rough outpost where you stay before continuing an expedition.

Or picture a motel with a gas station, where you refuel and take a break.

Or think of a hunter’s blind, hidden up and away from the action.

You need to do whatever you need to do that will create distance and objectivity for you regarding the work.

One writer, Vicki, takes a break after drafting her novels to read a favorite author.

Another puts his handwritten drafts in a drawer for six months.

Still another writer retreats to the beach for a weekend, and reads over the entire draft with “fresh eyes.”

What needs to happen here is a changing of the guard in your mind.

In One and Two, the creative mind takes the lead.

This is the only way to grab hold of an original, exciting idea and see it through.

However, that creative mind (Dream Kid, I call her), will be bruised, battered, and discouraged – or overwilling to follow – unless distance is created.

The critic is called forth.

Yes, that critic, whom we fought with and finally banished – he’s the guy we need now.

The Way Station embraces the critic. Discernment, here, is everything.

You will need feedback, support, community and resources to make Stage Three successful.

Most of all, you will need time.

Contact Christi

Phone: (360) 213-6989 | Email: christi@christikrug.com



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