At Last.....

Aaaah. Finally. A chance to pull out a nice yellow legal pad, a bottle of sepia ink, and a wooden pen that Keith carved for me ages ago, complete with a shiny new fine-tipped nib. I am ready to write.

After desiring to write all year, I sat down yesterday and ground out four pages on the first chapter of my book. It won't be the first chapter organizationally, but it's the one I feel God nudging me to write first. After browsing through my notes, I realized that I have no information on this particular topic, so I also did some basic research yesterday as well.

I felt rather clumsy at first, dragging reluctant words from my mind onto the page. But soon they began to volunteer, lining themselves up nicely before dripping from the nib of my pen. I do miss my old nib terribly, rusty and clogged and worn past use. This new shiny one, though beautiful, doesn't flow for me the way the old one did although it does hold its ink well - always a benefit in a nib.

I know it's an odd way to write. But, somehow, the time it takes to dip the nib into the ink bottle every line or two gives me space in my mind to plan the next few words, the next phrase even, to shift direction if needed, to pursue the path of thought more deeply. The ink flowing from the nib as it scratches across the paper somehow keeps my thoughts flowing too. Yes, I can compose on my laptop, but there is something elemental, soothing to mind and hand, almost luxurious, in writing thus. Plus the pain I often experience from computer typing isn't an issue -- at least not until the second draft which I type into the computer. And with the ink effortlessly sliding from nib point to page, I don't have to press down while I write, saving me the pain in my hands I usually experience when handwriting.

So for these next four weeks I hope to have at least three days per week (four or five would be ideal) in which I can be at home and follow my little summer schedule which includes Morning, Noon, Vespers, and Evening Scripture and Prayer, gardening, and time to study and write on my book as well as time to rest and read something light and fun.

I also finished up some research for our Writers' Group meeting tonight in which we're working together on a sci-fi story set in our town. As the only non-fiction writer in the group, I did some preliminary research on the Laguna Fire of 1970 and the fire storm that descended upon our town as it forms a great deal of the setting. The fiction writers can take it from there....

I'll keep blogging a little, but I am really so excited to be working on a writing project again. My goal is to get at least one chapter into second-draft shape by the beginning of August, and I'm working on the Sign of the Cross, as directed by the Holy Spirit. This topic was definitely NOT the one I had planned on tackling first, but I'm certainly not willing to get in the way of the nudging of the Holy Spirit....

Today was not such a writing day, as T had a dental appointment in San Diego at nine this morning. We were done by 9:15 and debated heading straight home again, something I wished to do but the three boys did not. We decided to drive to Balboa Park since we were already more than halfway there, and we enjoyed a quick trip to the San Diego Zoo. There we visited the Reptile House, something that the Zoo has been too crowded lately for us to enjoy, and also stopped by to see the boys' favorite animals, the meerkats and otters in the Children's Zoo. T relieved me of my camera for most of our trip today and shot a good number of photos. We also rode the Skyfari across the park (I took photos of Balboa Park and the downtown skyline) to see the polar bears on the far side of the Zoo, and then rode back to the front of the Zoo. While the Zoo was blessedly empty, Balboa Park was jam-packed with kids' groups EVERYWHERE. We stopped for a visit in the Spanish Village, talking with various artists who were working on their crafts of oil painting, pottery, tile-painting with glazes, etc. Keep on eye out for photos on my photo blog over the next day or two -- T and I took some nice ones.

Now it's back to pen and paper, reading and research. And perhaps a nap, after all the walking I did today....

Write On!