Wreck This Journal: Where to Begin?

Beginning is always the hardest part, isn't it? I pulled out my copy this morning and flipped through the pages, some writing prompts, a page for four letter words (The Kid was delighted with this one), burn this page (what?), lick this page (huh?). My palms were suddenly sweaty and I wondered what in the world I'd gotten myself into.

I am not one of those pristine book kind of people. I write in the margins. I eat toast while I'm reading, sometimes propping the book open with the butter dish. Open almost any book on my shelf and some sand might fall out, or sawdust, or crumbs, or blades of grass, so I'm not hung up on the concept of "defacing" a book. I am a little intimidated by some of the brilliant, arty women who are participating in this book group.

But I want to play. I want to get out there. I want to be brave and silly and stretch.

I put the book down and went into the kitchen. Slicing strawberries, I came across one that was mushy and shaped a little like a cloud. I used it as a stamp to decorate my title page.

Baby steps.

The Official Beginning of Summer

School's out as of two o'clock today. I've been ready for weeks, looking forward to the way summer slows things down around here. You may remember my concern last year about how I would get writing done with The Kid home from school – and you may also remember my delight as we fell into an easy rhythm that left me able to accomplish a good deal of writing. The key was relinquishing my expectations. I began the summer expecting nothing, thinking I would not write a single word over the summer, then everything I did write felt like a gift, a bonus.

This year I know what to expect. I know I'll be able to get some smallish projects done, that as long as I don't expect great chunks of uninterrupted writing time, I'll be able to write.

I was reminded yesterday of the power of saying things out loud, of holding yourself publicly accountable. (Thanks, Karen.) In light of that, I present my three pronged, TRIDENT OF CREATIVITY for the summer.

1. I'm going to wreck a journal along with Magpie Girl and Jamie Ridler and some other friendly folks. I'll be blogging about this on Fridays.

2. I'm going to do a daily five minute free write exercise with The Kid. I've been doing the ten minute version of these a la Peter Elbow for all of my writing life. The Kid needs a little work on his penmanship, and I'll get to brainstorm some writing ideas. We're going to take turns providing writing prompts.

3. I'm going to focus on sending last year's work out to be published – at least two submissions a week.

So there it is, out loud, in public, and in color – my TRIDENT OF SUMMER CREATIVITY.

What are your plans for the summer?