Creativity Overdrive

This image expresses the energy that I'm feeling.
Image by MDragonwillow

Do you ever have those times when you can hardly sleep because the muse is by your side constantly, inspiring you to create and you can't do anything but create. Yeah, that's what I'm going through right now. It's like I was dormant for so long that the flood gates have opened up. The universe is afraid that if I don't get it all down, I might go back to sleep again.

Created by MDragonwillow in FB.

creativity is buzzing

lighting me on fire

dancing in my blood

muses do inspire

And I had an epiphany last night.

When you suddenly realize it just doesn't matter and you write whatever the hell you want to write.

Row80 Update:

I'm here again, hopefully I will stay on track this time and will be back again after this session ends and the next one begins.

Writing 750 words a day or three pages in my journal for Journaling as a Spiritual Process. -Definitely writing more than 750 words a day.
Writing at least a poem a day. - Yep, on track
Writing at least 500 a day on, A Poet's Life. - Not yet, this may have to wait until next session but I will fit in some brainstorming for this to see where it wants to go.
Writing the daily countdown posts and coordinating the volunteers for, OctPoWriMo: 31 Poems in 31 Days posts. - On track here.
I'm back at StoryDam, writing posts and helping with the Thursday night chats. I posted, Book Review - Mapping Your Hero's Journey with Tarot and I'm working on the author's interview post.

What are you working on?

Visit the other Rowers and share word love along the way.

I hope the rest of your week is filled with creativity.

Morgan Dragonwillow, author of Wild Woman Waking & Dancing within Shadow, is a Bodywork transformer, dancing poet, motivator of words, magical instigator and creatrix of #OctPoWriMo and #PoetsonthePage. You can find out more about her and how she can help you "move your body and move your words" on her blog.

Yes, she is on Google+ too!

A Poet's Life

This has been a difficult year (more like a year and a half) for me, as I'm sure it has been for others as well. I allowed myself to fall into the pit of depression and despair but I've worked my way out. I've been attending women's energy circles, meditating, giving myself Reiki, Karuna ki and Innerspeak sessions, reading, using tarot and oracle cards, journaling, and more to get myself out of this funk.

Finally I am making myself get out there, doing massage therapy again, chatting with friends, making new friends, taking workshops and planning to facilitate workshops. Oh, and taking care of my new fish aquarium with platies, black mystery snails, and ghost shrimp, and taking care of our two new hermit crabs.

I can finally breathe again. I am writing again, the words have been flowing to the page. Poetry has come back into my life.

I have taken to the habit of keeping my poetry magnets next to my laptop as there tends to be a lag going from page to page. If I play with my magnets it gives me two benefits, one being of course creating poetry. The other, it helps keep me relaxed instead of frustrated. That's how I created the poem above, though I used the magnetic words to inspire this piece instead of it being all magnets.

Below is a short poem I actually created with the magnets.

Life ebbs and flows and thank goodness it is flowing again.

Check out the OctPoWriMo Countdown!

Row80 Check in:

I'm writing 750 words a day or three pages in my journal for Journaling as a Spiritual Process.
Writing at least a poem a day.
Writing at least 500 a day on, A Poet's Life. Yes, it has the same title as this post. It seems it wants to be a whole lot more than a post. We'll see what becomes of it.
It is also that time of year again when I'm prepping for OctPoWriMo: 31 Poems in 31 Days. I'm writing the daily countdown posts and I'm coordinating the volunteers for October's posts.

Yeah, it kind of sounds like a lot but I'm doing my best to stay organized.

Row80 is a Round of Words in 80 Days, hop on over and visit the other participants and share word love along the way.

Morgan Dragonwillow, author of Wild Woman Waking & Dancing within Shadow, is a Bodywork transformer, dancing poet, motivator of words, magical instigator and creatrix of #OctPoWriMo and #PoetsonthePage. You can find out more about her and how she can help you "move your body and move your words" on her blog.

Yes, she is on Google+ too!

Row80 Goals

Yes, it has been a long while. I have gone through a lot of changes and have found it difficult to write for the last year or so. I decided to come back to A Writer's Universe just to have a check in for Row80 and maybe a few ramblings here and there. I feel I need to have some writerly connection and accountability of sorts.

Photo by Morgan Dragonwillow

Writing Goals:

For now I just want to get back into writing daily for 30 minutes and that will probably be within 750words.com. As I write daily I will see what stories decide to show up on the page.

I'm very grateful that Row80 is still around. How is your writing coming along?

Peace,

Morgan

Beginnings and Endings - Round 3 Comes to a Close

Life has been interesting to say the least for me this round. My daughter and grandbabies moved out the first part of July and that sent me into a bit of a tailspin. Once I worked through that I began to be more productive again; rather like a dog with a bone as I can be sometimes.

A Poem and a Row80 Check in

All of this work that I am doing in preparing for OctPoWriMo has me really chomping at the bit to write poetry. I have told myself that I should store it up for October because I don't want to burn myself out before it gets here but I just have to let loose at least one.

Enjoying My Writing Life - Row80 Check In

This has been a fun week for me exploring, creating, writing, blogging, and now getting ready to delve into my poetry once again. If you haven't heard I have created #OctPoWriMo for the month of October to write 31 poems in 31 days. I enjoyed exploring my poetry during NaPoWriMo in April but I allowed many things to prevent me from doing a poem a day. I am looking forward to seeing whether I can achieve 31 for 31.

TweetDeck For Writers and a Row80 Check In

I love using TweetDeck. It has been a lifesaver for me in how I am able to communicate with other writers and receive encouragement and support while I am writing. This is for those writers that don't understand how to use TweetDeck and/or how to use it to chat with other writers in #wordmongering or #editmongering. Actually you can use it to chat with anyone but often writers want to participate in #wordmongering and they aren't sure how; this is for you.

Remembering the Joy of 750words - Row80 Check In

Sacred Transformation 8/5/09

I decided to do wordmongering this morning because someone asked if I would meet them early to write before work.  I have been mostly editmongering this month and this morning I opened up 750words.com for the session. I discovered the last time I had been in there was the first of August. How dreadful that the only time I was in 750words.com was the first day and the last day of August. Part of the reason I had stopped using it was that it kept having problems. Hopefully things have evened out for them and it will continue to work fine.

Possible Book Cover and a Row80 Check In

Prudence has inspired me to play around with my book cover for Writing to the Finish line and so far this is what I have. It looks like I need to fix some alignment issues but I would love to hear your feedback on this book cover sample. I am wondering about the print at the bottom. It seems like it would be too hard to read online but I guess that may be the case with most book covers.

Journey to Me and a Row80 Check In

My Shadow

Once again I am looking at my life and wondering, "Who the heck am I?" I am looking at my websites and Facebook pages and it all feels like so much but they are all pieces of me. I want to bring them all together. I want to have less that I have to keep track of and more of me on one page. Does that make sense?

A View of My Writing Sanctuary and a Row80 Check In

My Work Station

Today I am grateful for my writing room and work station. It is my sanctuary where I enjoy coming to every morning, drinking my tea, checking Facebook and Twitter, and then getting to work on my current projects.

Top 10 Blogs for Indie Writers - Row80 Check In

As indie writers we need all the help we can get. I found these links to be tremendously helpful. I hope you do as well.

Writing - Being Present on the Page - Row80 Check In

Letting go of all the extraneous stuff so that you can be present on the page can be really hard. I woke up in a bad place this morning. I woke up obsessing about a relationship in my life that no matter what I do it doesn't feel good.

My Writing Experiment - Row80 Check In & Goals

Last month I began JuNoWriMo fast out of the gate. It felt good to be writing and having my words flow onto the page. It was great until I hit somewhere between 17,000 to 19,000 in the first week. Suddenly the flow stopped. I felt confused. I liked the story I was writing. It seems that happens with most of my stories (except for my collection of stories for my memoir). I start out strong then suddenly it dries up.

Writing Love Affair Continues - Row80 End of Round Two

This is the end of my second round of A Round of Words in 80 days and it has been the best thing for my love affair with writing.

When this round of eighty days began I hadn't gone up to the Lake House yet until a couple of weeks into it and I began writing up a storm. I wrote most of my first draft for Opening to Miracles, finished the first draft of my memoir, and at the beginning of this month I began a new novel for my shapeshifters that I am hoping to have finished by the end of June. It has been a busy writing time.

Unfortunately I haven't done much of anything else. My blogs have certainly suffered. I have kept up mostly with Twitter and Facebook, probably more than I should, and my house is a wreck.

I have been on an emotional roller coaster that hasn't stopped yet. Major changes within the family that still have me turned upside down and inside out. I am doing a lot of breathing and taking care of myself the best that I can. Writing has become my safe haven. When I am in the flow of writing the whole world goes away and I don't have to think about what is going on around me. I don't know if that is good or not but it certainly feels like a break to me.

The last week or so has been particularly stressful and I haven't been able to get back into that flow of writing. I did seem to break into it a little tonight though and that has me feeling better.

I am hoping to attend the next round of 80 days and hopefully actually finish one of my books (final edit). Then of course I will have to find a beta reader then an editor. That terrifies me a little. Okay maybe a lot. First things first though, I have to finish editing my creations. That will be my top priority.

I look forward to seeing all of you in the next round. I know I don't get to many of your blogs but I do my best to support your writing on Twitter and Facebook as I have felt supported by many of you in my writing.

May you have a wonderfully restful time off from Row80 and I will see you next month.

Please do support the other Rowers by visiting and leaving your word love in the comments.

Writing, Life and Checking in With Row80

The beginning of June I began JuNoWriMo which is writing a novel within a month for those that don't know what it is. I began the first week like gang busters. I wrote from 733 to 5344 a day and was feeling pretty good about my story and where it was going. I was typically thousands ahead of the 1667 a day that was required to complete 50,000 by the end of the month. I am currently at 19,876 total words for my novel.

I of course hit a wall. Now I am several thousand behind and trying not to allow it to worry me. I just need to do whatever it takes to get around that wall. I did do some problem solving trying to figure out what exactly the block is, whether it was fear or something else. I decided it was a little of both. I think it was also a pinch of depression that sneaks in on me when I am not diligent at keeping it at bay. Of course life has been interesting and stressful on the home front as well.

It is interesting that writing and working on my novel have completely side tracked me from writing in my blogs. I can't believe it has been almost a month since returning from staying at the lake and writing a post for A Writer's Universe. I never meant for so much time to go by. I watch other writer's participating in the JuNoWriMo that regularly post on their blogs and I am amazed because most of my focus is on my novel.

I am determined to get back on track with writing regularly for my blogs as well as getting back on track with my novel for the month. Those are my primary goals at this time. Ah and spending time out of doors exploring the world of photography that I can add to my blog posts. Okay and I am really missing my art that I used to create with my Shadow Rhythms' posts. 

I guess I have been really focused on writing and letting everything else fall to the way side. Hopefully I can find a better balance.

You can find and support other Rowers here.

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Growing Pains - Row80 Check In

April has been a month of a mixture of madness and blessings. There was so much chaos going on at home I had to get away or lose my mind. The blessing came from a dear friend that has this Lake house up in North Georgia and allowed me to stay for 41 days to clear my head, transform my energy, and write. 






As you can see it has a beautifully serene energy to help me do just that. 









I sit and meditate, dance out my frustrations, take long walks, open to inspiration, and write my heart onto the page. Sometimes I just sit and breath. 

I brought with me wonderfully healthy foods and a few treats such as my Chai Tea, Greek Honey yogurt (which by the way if you haven't tried it, it is Divine!), red and white wine, and my dark chocolate chips.

You would think in such a beautiful place I would rise above the madness and feel energized, peace of mind, and joy. Well I have moments and then I feel myself plummeting down again into the depths of sorrow. 








So many things are changing in my life. There are family changes that are breaking my heart. 

I know that everything changes and it is probably time for these changes as well; try telling that to my heart. They don't call it growing pains for nothing.








Flowers blooming in the spring, bring color into our lives and remind me that there is always beauty waiting around the corner.

Until it is time to head back up this road, I am going to take advantage of every minute I have here. I am working on letting go of outcome, taking things one at a time, and remembering to be in the present moment; that this too shall pass, nothing ever stays the same.

Row80 Check In:

• I am writing every day working on my memoir, which is difficult in and of itself.
• I do my morning pages by writing most days in 750words.com but sometimes I don't get to it.
• I am taking care of my Story Dam responsibilities.
• I do wordmongering most mornings with my writing partner Tui at Mental Mosaic.

If you found this interesting, helpful, or moving please share with your friends.  Tweet

You can visit other Row80 participants here and show them support by leaving them a comment.


Remember I so enjoy reading your words of support, encouragement, questions, and whatever else you would like to share with me. So bring a little cheer to my day and leave your words below. You can also tell me what changes are going on in your life, would love to read them.


Peace,
Morgan

Gentle With Your Heart - A Poem and Row80 Check In

Happy Spring!

Gentle 

always with your heart

flowing through

satisfied with your self

forgiving too

transforming with your words 

speaking true

expanding with your love

sharing anew

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#30in30 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi Rowers! I know I haven't mentioned it but I have been busy this last week working on the transition for Story Dam. I and three other writing friends, Tui Snider @mentalmosaic at Mental Mosaic Susan Silver @cirquedumot at Cirque Du Mot and Nicole Rivera @riverand at Rivera Runs Through it are the new team and we are doing our ReLaunch tomorrow, Sunday. I am very excited. Hoping that once things get a little settled I will be able to participate more over here at Row80 because I have promised myself that I am going to spend quality time with my writer friends once it does!

I am excited about my memoir. This week I really turned a corner with it after worrying that once again I was stalling out. I am writing every morning and enjoying the flow of words.

I am keeping up with my morning pages, I so love to purge. (and it seems my poetic meanderings are flowing over into my other writings. It's either comical or may want to make you vomit.) :D

I am taking everything one step at a time and keeping my goals in mind. I did stumble a bit with this poetry challenge, skipped two days, but I plan on working to fill in the days that I missed.

I am reading more this round because I felt that last time I was so obsessed with the writing and social media that I didn't take the time to enjoy reading, which I love.

Looking forward to catching up with all of you and seeing what you are doing this round!

Hope you have a wonderful holiday!

Peace,
Morgan

Blessings come in many forms and I always feel blessed when you choose to share. Tweet

Some of my poetry from this week:

• Adventure
• Blind
• Doorway

Making Connections and a Poem - Row80 Second Round Begins

Caring not for

what is seen

purple jasmine in

hair so clean

black as night

the turtle hides

truth will out

heart breaks inside

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I had a hard time with C. It took me all day to find that place and begin with the first line. I asked my daughter  for a C word and she immediately gave me THE C word. I told her I didn't think that would do. I dig inside and pull and tug for something that will release, to connect. Ah now that is a C word connect, making connections. Isn't that something we are all trying to do, make connections. 

We reach out then pull back again and again. I debated whether continuing the journey with my fellow Rowers at A Round of Words in 80 Days. I have so much going on in my life right now I thought I didn't have time. But at the core, this group is about me, about what I need to support my writing. So I am here, ready to begin the next round.

My Writing Goals:

• As you can see I am participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge April 2012 as well as NaPoWriMo and Penny for Your Thoughts National Poetry Month: April #30in30 Challenge Basically this boils down to me writing a Poem a day on my blog and I am using the A to Z Challenge as the prompt. It is my intention to push the boundaries of my writing by doing this poetry challenge.
• Writing in my Memoir weekday mornings for an hour to an hour and a half with my Memoir writing buddy, Tui at Mental Mosaic. It is really early, 6 a.m. EDT, so it is definitely a challenge for me. You can join us at #earlyword #wordmongering if you are a morning person. (or are still up from a late nighter)
• Writing daily in my online morning pages. It helps me to purge before I start my day. 

I am keeping it simple because there is so much going on in my life right now. I am happy just to be writing every day. I look forward to this Rowing journey and making more connections with my fellow Rowers.

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Beginning of Spring - Row80 Final Check In for Round 1

Flowers are blooming all over my yard between the Dogwood tree and the plethora of azalea bushes/ we have a bounty of color in our yard. I love spring, it is my favorite time of year. It is a time of new beginnings. Right now, on this day, is an excellent time to plant seeds; both literally and figuratively. It is the best time of year to plant the seeds of creation for your writing projects and everything else you would like to accomplish this year as well as a wonderful time to start new projects.

It is interesting that our final day for the first round of Row80 should be on a day for new beginnings (we are within the energies of Spring Equinox and the New Moon). I know I will be spending time becoming clear about my goals and probably collage them as it is one of my favorite ways for planting new ideas and setting intentions.

Wow... what a ride this round of Row80 has been for me. This was my first round and it was phenomenal! Being new to all of this, I may not have finished a first draft but I have deeply explored my writing and gained so much from all of my new Rower friends and fellow writers. I have explored writing for contests and challenges, I wrote 48 posts on all three of my blogs combined (mostly on this one) since January 27th when I started this blog for my Row80 check ins.

I stalled out a bit on writing my stories. I believe it is because I was having trouble with the structure of where they were going. I did write a total of 91,372 words for most everything I worked on and that is only what I kept track of.  That is much more than I have ever written in this period of time before.

I picked up a couple of books to help me with my Memoir that I am working on and have decided that will probably be my main focus for words in print for now as I learn and grow my writing.

Since I began the 750words.com I only recently missed two days and lost this month's challenge. I am not hard on myself about it though. I have been doing so much I allowed myself to become too tired and the days blurred together, forgetting that I hadn't written in it that day.

It is interesting when I go back to the beginning of this journey and look at what my goals were and how they have changed. I know they will continue to change as I learn and grow.

One unexpected highlight that I was waiting until today to share with all of you - I have been invited to be the Community Watch Supervisor at  Story Dam that I was thrilled to accept and I begin today. I am looking forward to being a part of their team and community. If you haven't checked them out I highly recommend it especially if you would like conscious, compassionate constructive critiquing.

I must say that you, my Rower friends and fellow writers, are simply wonderful. I know that you are a big part of the reason I have reached so hard and so fast with all of my writing efforts. My heart will always be grateful to all that gave me their support and encouragement.

Thank you Row80 for giving us a safe space to grow.

I look forward to seeing where this writing journey takes me next.

Peace,
Morgan

A few of my favorite posts from my round of 80 days.

• Good Writing Day - Bad Writing Hangover
• Exciting Times
• Love Affair With Words

And my favorite stories and poetry:

• Essence of Being
• Shapeshifters
• Beauty Denied

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Please visit my other Rowers and read about their fabulous journey and leave them lots of word love!