ODDS AND ENDS FOR THE JOURNEY 

blog post by Regina Montana

About 16 years ago I went to a presentation given by Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way. Ever since that day I knew I wanted to write for children. 

 

I didn’t know where to begin, but somehow I learned the ropes. I took classes, joined different online groups like CBI (Children’s Book Insider) and SCBWI (Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) and tried to find a critique group. I met with different people, but I was never able to find the perfect support group.

After I began writing, I was lucky enough to find Randi’s online magazine called Kids

Imagination Train. She was very supportive of some of my poems and light-hearted fare, so I

was thrilled. She taught me the value of being willing to edit and accept changes which I found

essential.

 

I started a website on WordPress. It included inspiring quotations from authors as well as writing tips from Anne Lamott's book Bird by Bird and Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones. I 've also showcased some of my picture book stories, short essays, and poems.  

So what inspires me to write? Where do my ideas for stories come from? Just about everywhere. You just have to have an open mind and pay attention.

One day as I was assisting my daughter at her school’s class picnic, I saw a boy put down his ice cream cone to join a baseball game. In that split second a squirrel scampered down the tree, grabbed the cone and hightailed it back up for the treat of his life. I knew I had a poem to write. 

Sometimes you have to take a break from writing. Some people say if you pursue another artistic venue, it will strengthen the creative endeavor you are presently engaged in. I never thought I could draw. Then one day I discovered a book by Danny Gregory called How to Draw without Talent. I decided to try my hand at it and voila! I was so happy to realize I could actually draw.  

My husband would come home at night and say, “Did you paint anything today?” 

When I showed him what I was working on, he thought they were great. I often show my sketches to my grandkids to teach them they can do this, too and that we all have hidden talents waiting to be discovered.

Years ago I attended my first SCBWI conference in New York City and heard Jane Yolen speak. I bought her book Take Joy and would like to share some of her advice. Although it was published in 2006, its wisdom is still relevant today. 

One passage, from Chapter 5, "The Alphabetics of Story," under the section "Z is for Zero," especially resonates with me. Yolen reminds writers to have zero expectations—to stop dreaming about awards, bestseller lists, television appearances, or constantly checking sales rankings. 

Don’t dream of winning a Pulitzer, making a thou on your first book (or thirty-first) book. Don’t write any acceptance speeches for the three N’s: Nebula, Newberry and National Book Award. Don’t plan your outfit for the Oprah show or practice crossing your legs while talking to Katie Couric. Don’t expect to find your books piled high at Borders or in the window at Barnes and Noble. Don’t search Amazon.com for your numbers. 

Instead, she encourages us to focus on the work itself. I think she's right.

It isn't the writing that makes writers miserable. It's the constant emphasis on publication and recognition.

We all have the ability to create. We simply have to look inward and discover what sparks our imagination. Julia Cameron reminds us that creativity is part of who we are as human beings. Too often, we're afraid of failure, and we allow negativity to influence our decisions.

When we begin a creative journey, we need to nourish that creative spirit every day—whether by taking a solitary walk, visiting a museum, listening to music, or walking along a beach.

Then write the damn story.

Nothing else matters. 

www.reginamontana.wordpress.com.

 

                                                                                                                                                          photo: Pyschotherapy.net 

Dear Followers,

As I navigate the loss of my dad, 

I will be temporarily putting The Maggie Project on hold.

In the meantime, please reach out. 

Let me know what topics you'd like me to cover 

or if you'd like to write a guest blog.

✌ and ♥

Randi 

CREATING THROUGH CHRONIC PAIN

Dear followers:  

This quarter, I'd like to share a young women's story about resilience.  Whether you are a writer or an artist, we are all creators.  May her journey inspire you.   

Hello art-loving friends! 

I’m Jess and I’ve been playing with art since I was maybe five or six years old. I graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts from Concordia in Montreal. Unfortunately only a couple years after graduation in 2016, I developed a rare migraine condition—a headache/migraine hit me out of the blue one day and never went away. It's there I wake up, when I am asleep…always.  

It’s safe to say I lived many years in a cave of darkness with audiobooks as my best friends, especially since the diagnoses took so long. Finally in year four I was diagnosed as NDPH called New Daily Persistent Headaches. And while there’s no known cure, one medication brought the pain levels to an actual functioning degree, most days that is, and usually only for a few hours. 

 

I slowly started creating little crafts to pass the time as well as to distract myself. I often would make greeting cards for friends and family and started scanning them early on as a way to preserve them. Soon I had enough designs to risk getting them printed locally and Chronically Clever began!   

I find when I get inspired by a new creation, I can set aside my pain for a little while and just get lost. Though the migraine may come back with a vengeance, it’s always worth the reprieve. I love working with watercolours, pencil crayons and ink mostly, as it gives me the most control and I love how the colours pop and blend perfectly.

While I may have started this journey with greeting cards, I’ve gone on to create stickers, magnets, bookmarks, and more. 

Since my diagnosis, I have been passed to three other neurologists and tried 19 different common migraine medications with no positive results, but through my art as therapy I stay positive and keep trying new treatments!

My love of art is endless, but unfortunately due to my unpredictable pain levels it has taken me many years to find a way to be here creating again and it is therefore a very slow labor of love. 

I hope you find your own art therapy whether through music, the written word, physical expression or the art of creation like myself. It is such a rewarding way to heal yourself. 

Thank you for visiting.

https://chronicallyclever.ca/

@chronicallyclever

✌ and ♥