August Writing Challenge
Week 3 - Refinement
Welcome back my friends!
Fantastic work for these first two weeks of the challenge. I had a feeling there were quite a few hidden talents out there waiting for a chance to share their gifts with others!
Congratulations on your leap of faith. I’m so honoured to be here with you all. You people rock!
If you’re still waiting on the sidelines but thinking you might still want to give this challenge a shot, you’re in luck! There is always another opportunity to jump in. Let go of expectations and just have some fun. Let me know by leaving the comment, “I’m ready now!”
WEEK 3 - REFINEMENT
Can you hold onto something without squeezing it while also relaxing without dropping it?
The balance of these two opposing ideas is how I like to view the process of refinement in writing.
Editing is all about refinement. Finding what is working well and feeling out what isn’t quite hitting the mark.
This week give yourself some extra time to refine and tune your piece of writing so it feels harmonious with your intention. The key here is to feel it.
Feel it without “squeezing” your creativity into a self imposed writers block while at the same time “relaxing” without becoming distracted or careless with your efforts. This is a dance with your own creative expression.
Find the right balancing point for yourself and you’ll know you hit the spot and it’s time to release it when you feel a lightness around it.
Invitation
I know many of you are bubbling over with ideas for your next piece of writing. If that’s you then I invite you to take some extra time before sharing and allow yourself the space to refine your work as needed.
Sometimes just taking a walk or even reading it aloud to yourself will reveal areas that need some attention. Remember, it’s a feeling of lightness that will be your signal of completion.
Feeling that lightness now? 🪶
Get Your Motor Running
Feeling stuck? Maybe not really sure what to write about and need some inspiration?
Challenge your body to physical movement beyond your comfort zone. Maybe that’s a long hike, weightlifting or even an impromptu dance in your kitchen. Increasing blood flow increases creative flow!
Inspiration comes to you when you’re in the moment. Let the ideas come to you by giving yourself time to enjoy life and the moments you have. Keep a note pad in your pocket and go about your day. When the time comes to write, you’ll be ready.
Stillness. Prayer. Meditation. All creation begins in the stillness. It can be as simple as giving yourself a pause while reading this and watching your breath…
More Beautiful Questions
Need a starting point? Here are a few questions that might be useful for your writing this week.
What would you say to your younger self at a time they needed love the most?
What silver lining have you found within your most challenging moments? How does it feel to embody this insight?
What resentment have you finally let go of? What does it feel like to be free from this weight of the past and return to your power?
I wish you all the very best this week and look forward to reading your creations. 🙏🏼
Continued Blessings,
Graham
Graham, spent few days last week with this one. Woke up one morning with “ are you watching” in my head, jotted it down , went for walk, wrote few more lines, on morning of anniversary of husband passing refined my thoughts. As I wrote it, there was a feeling of love and peace as my faith reassured me his spirit is around us.
Watching From Above
Are you watching ?
How your spirit lives
Carried in our hearts
Memories as stories shared.
Are you watching?
Your son throw a line in the water
To remember fishing together.
Are you watching?
Your daughter when she listens
To your favorite music.
Are you watching?
Grandkids you never knew
See photos and say “ it’s Grampie”
I believe you are watching.
Always missed, always remembered!
Have had fun refining this poem since last week -- from my days as a school counselor
"Mrs. Stoneburner,
There was a problem in the cafeteria."
A defiant teenager stood in my doorway
In her steely suit-of-armor
Two turbulent eyes staring at me
Through her helmet of shiny black hair
Her hard voice echoed off my office walls
Like heavy metal.
“I don’t want to fight anymore. But
My mother says I’m only a loser if I don’t.”
I brushed aside her long bangs.
“My Brave Girl,
You are my hero today.
I’m proud of you for walking away.”
I saw her mother’s sharp barbs
Magically dissipating into thin air
And a beautiful, blue-eyed Soul
Emerging from fissures in her armor
FREE
No longer an
Iron Butterfly