“In every job that must be done there’s an element of fun. Find the fun and *snap* the job’s a game.” ~Mary Poppins
As we are winding down the festivities of the week, and heading into the hectic holiday and year-end season, we might find our heads spinning. When I feel myself getting overwhelmed, particularly if I’m overwhelmed with tasks that are less-than-glamorous, I think of Mary Poppins and the way she lightened everything during difficult times.
Every day, we must do things that are difficult, things that don’t seem fun on the surface. But if we can find even a small element of fun—a co-worker who makes us laugh, something to learn, or puzzle to solve—then the task becomes a little easier. Find the fun, and the job is halfway done.
When you feel like the world is trying to bury you beneath hardship, disappointment, and frustration, remember this: you are a miraculous being, a seed. With a little time, a little care, and a little light, you will make great things happen. Believe.
A few days ago, I wrote the most difficult scene in my novel. It was difficult to write because it has to raise the stakes of Emerson Page, the heroine, to a level that cause her life to change forever. While I was writing it, I kept thinking of Haruki Murakami’s beautiful quote about the reason for storms:
“And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”
All the storms of our lives have a purpose. Some show us how strong we are. Others show us what we care about and how much. And others are just there to show us how wonderful life can be when the storm has passed. Whatever the reason, they all matter, and the goal isn’t simply to survive, but to thrive in their aftermath and delight in what remains.
If you’re facing storms now, and who among us isn’t?, I hope you find some comfort in the idea that no matter what the reason for your particular storm, there is something to learn. It may be buried deep; you may not see the learning until the skies brighten again. But it’s there; like the sun and the moon and the stars, it’s always there.
My college pal, Jen, posted a link to a story about a Barbie book that makes my blood boil. The short of it: Barbie, the computer engineer, can’t build the game she designs and needs her male friends to build it for her. (Don’t even get me started on everything that’s wrong with this message!)
To combat this ridiculous Barbie book, that quite frankly Random House should pull out of production, here are four awesome books that send girls the right message about science and technology—they can create anything they can imagine!
Rosie Revere, Engineer
This book explores the life of a fictional character, Rosie, who is an inventor and maker. She shows us the trial and error process of building, and illustrates all the ways in which engineers make our world a better place.
What Do You Do With an Idea?
This gorgeously illustrated book helps kids realize that their creativity and initiative to turn their ideas into real-world projects can and will change the world. This is the positive push that kids (and the adults who love them) need to boost their confidence and encourage the power of imagination.
Your Fantastic Elastic Brain
There are few areas of science more exciting that the workings of the human brain. This book uses clear language and excellent illustrations to explain the complex workings of our brains to kids, their family members, and teachers.
The outrage over the Barbie book, online and off, is warranted, but let’s not let the conversation end there. The best way to combat ignorance is to kill it with knowledge. We’ve got loads of stories and activities that show girls they can do anything and be anything. Put the books above, and the scores of others like them, under the tree this holiday season for all the girls in your life to bolster their confidence and encourage their imaginations.
Every creative project has its messy middle. I’ve felt it with every creative project I’ve ever done and I feel in now with my novel. It’s uncomfortable and at certain points you feel like you want to give up. That’s the nature of the middle. It’s confusing. But if you keep moving forward, inch by inch, you break down the enormous goal you’ve set for yourself into doable, bite-sized bits. Tackle each bit one at a time, and soon you’ll find yourself free and clear and heading for home. Don’t let the messiness get you down; it’s part of the process. Creativity isn’t neat nor logical; order emerges from disorder. Our only responsibility is to keep going.
Carmen Herrera, painter, 99, in her Manhattan studio. Herrera sold her first painting at age 89. Today her work is in the permanent collections at the Museum of Modern Art and the Tate Modern.
I have no desire to go back and be younger; I’m psyched to meet my older self! Active seniors knock me out with their awesomeness. This weekend The New York Times Magazine ran an interactive piece that showcased seniors 80+ years young across a number of professional disciplines who are now at the top of their game with no sign of slowing down. Their secret: work they love and exercise. Please, Universe let me have their energy, determination, and passion to make good use of every moment I have in all the years I’m lucky enough to live.
To check out these movin’ and shakin’ seniors, click here.
The idea you have right now feels like the best work you’ve ever done, the best work you ever could do. And it should. That belief is what’s going to help you see this one through!
As good as your present project is, the best is yet to come. As I worked on Sing After Storms, I started to formulate other story ideas. I jotted them down as briefly as I could, and put them aside until Sing After Storms was done. Then I looked back at that list when I was ready for my next project. That’s where I found the seeds for Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters.
The muse works in mysterious ways. It bubbles ups when we least expect it. Get the ideas down; they’re gifts. They’ll be exactly what you need when your next creative burst of energy strikes.
As someone who loves and writes passionately about technology, I love that Moonjar is a low-tech solution to a big problem. Kids need to learn strong financial habits early, and most of them don’t. Moonjar easily teaches kids to divide their earnings into 3 parts: spend, save, and share. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s effective. It got me thinking about other problems that we have in our society that could be solved by low-tech ingenuity and creativity. It also inspires me to get back to building and making as I continue writing. Time for me to chase down that muse, too.
“Storytelling is part of human continuity.” ~Robert Redford
Stories keep us going in the darkest hours and they help us celebrate the high points. Though the medium and format may change, storytelling is the oldest tradition we have. Around a campfire, at bedtime, at the dinner table, on vacation, when we’re scared, when we’re happy, when we have free time. We tell stories everywhere all the time. Stories are mad for everyone—anyone can hear them and each person will take away something different to apply to life in their own unique way. I want my epitaph to read only this: she lived and told good stories.
Took my first roadtrip in my MINI. Image from Pinterest.
I took my first road trip in my MINI on Friday. About 3 hours into the trip, I got a terrible feeling of dread. I was going to my first literary conference and in the words of the Grinch, it felt like “a wonderful, awful idea”. I heard myself say things like “you should really stick with nonfiction” and “you’re not the least bit literary when it comes to writing” and the infamous “who do you think you are?”. I had to have a Moonstruck moment and will myself to snap out of it. I was driving my MINI Cooper on a sun-filled day as a full-time writer to spend the day surrounded by other inspiring full-time writers. Dread, please move along. Today you don’t get to stay. I know you’ll be back, uninvited, probably in about an hour, but right now you’ve got to leave. “Keep going,” I told myself. “You’re getting there.” And I did.
NaNoWriMo update: 15,000+ words into my novel, Where the Light Enters, and Emerson’s life is being turned upside down, one revelation at a time. Here’s a snippet of Scene 6:
The title page said only, “Properties of Light.” No author. No date. Notes filled the margins of nearly every page in Emerson’s new book. Despite her hopes, Emerson quickly recognized that the handwriting didn’t match her mother’s. Someone else had annotated this volume with their thoughts and ideas. Most of them were questions in small, neat print. “How can we transform light into mass?” “How do we bend light into a right angle?” It was always a matter of how, not if.
Christa Avampato 