A new year

These days I spend so much time worrying about where I am headed and how I am going to do all the things I'd like to do and some days what it is I even WANT to do, and it's getting me nowhere to actually figuring it all out. In fact its stressing me out and its got to stop.

Today starts a year of not knowing and not trying to know. Of just being and letting everything else follow. Of trying new things, meeting new people, and then in a year, some travelling to places I have never been.

(photo the road to ragged mountain)

suprise!

Today I received in the mail the best suprise I have ever received ever in the mail! I received the most beautiful print from bubbo-tubbo that I posted about a few weeks ago. It was so beautifully packaged I didn't even want to open it! However I did, very very carefully so as not to rip anything and I love it! I cant wait to get this up on my wall. Thankyou Natasha so very very much!

“… and now for something completely different.”

Well, not quite. But this week I have tried something new. Every morning I got up at 6am to write for nearly an hour before I had to get ready to start my other (paid) working day. I sat up in bed each morning, opened my laptop or my notebook and put words on the page one after another.

Some mornings I got further than others; some mornings the time seemed to drag on as I tried to squeeze the words out of my brain; on others the time seemed to pass in the space of an early-morning yawn and I was suddenly scrambling to get all the ideas, phrases and words onto the page before I ran down the hallway to have a shower.

A couple of the people I have told about my new routine have raised their eyebrows and said things like, “Wow, you’re dedicated” (read crazy). At the risk of sounding like a pretentious git, it’s not about dedication for me. This is what I want to do with my life; it’s an absolute compulsion. When I’m not writing and putting some type of story together I feel frustrated, even angry, and am no doubt rather unpleasant company.

Of course this compulsion to write does not mean I can avoid frustration altogether. I still struggle to write more than the synopsis of a story, or the first three paragraphs. The ideas are constant – there are stories happening around me all the time, all I need do is look – but following them through from the gruelling process from interesting thought to a story that is not entirely dull is a very difficult exercise for me. My biggest problem is stamina.

And so I’m forcing myself to write every day; to have a writing routine. Hopefully eventually my stamina – and of course the quality of my writing! – will improve.

Tonight I start my Masters in Writing at UTS. No doubt study and the ominous presence of assignment deadlines will do a great deal to improve both my motivation and stamina!

What keeps you motivated to follow a creative project through to completion?

Just a week until the deadline for the current Monthly Project!

Photo by sucka74.

The ones we love

This site is so lovely. Appeals to the romantic in me! I love seeing photographers taking photos of the people they love. Some very beautiful photos and people on this site that I found via the girl in the green dress

(image from the ones we love)

some nice numbers

six
C211

IMGP4751

train numbers
twenty three is the natural number....

On my "desk"... which is this week actually the floor.

This week I have been feeling so very un-creative... which makes me feel a bit stressed about not feeling creative which makes me feel a bit stressed about being stressed! Vicious cycle! I haven't really even been making anything this week, been mostly doing things on my computer, and reading through magazines looking for some inspiration! Tonight though I have been playing around with paper and I think I'm onto an exciting new idea! Can't wait to try it in metal and see how is looks!

Other than that, on my "desk" (ie: this week the floor where my computer is...yes, yes i need to get myself a desk...) I have lots of lists and a gas bill.... Oh and a mug which you can only just see the corner of that says "What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?" I like it alot.

More desks here.

More knitted graffiti...

More knitted graffiti here at kitty's kaboodle. This one is even better! Thanks to Kirsty for pointing it out to me!

(Photo from kitty's kaboodle)