I tell wonder-filled stories about hope and healing
I am a huge fan of Pixar’s storytelling and their 2 word business plan – “quality rules.” I found this illustration of their storytelling rules and had to share it with all of you. My favorite is #4 because it so elegantly and simply gives us a way forward in telling and understanding the framework of any story. I hope you find this list as helpful as I do!
Yesterday I took a playwriting class. I started my career in theatre management so it’s a genre that I worked in and around for many years. I’d like to get back to it, but in a different way this time. I’m not sure if that means as a writer so I thought I would take this opportunity to explore the option. Also, I have a story I’d like to tell and as much as I tried to put it into narrative form, it’s meant to be seen as well as heard.
There were a lot of nuggets of knowledge in the class. I learned about dramatic structure, character development, story arc, and the role of timing. It gave me enough to get started. And that was perhaps the most valuable piece of insight.
Our instructor urged us to get going and finish as soon as possible. Dump a first draft out on the page in a month, 2 months tops. Don’t worry if it’s messy, disjointed, and rough around all of its edges. Just…get…it….out before it looses steam, before you get too scared to have the story you need to tell stare back at you. This is a time to be hasty, as hasty as humanly possible.
What’s true for playwriting is also true for so many projects in life. I firmly believe that we hold ourselves back far too often. We become so intentional, so purposeful that we lose sight of the joy found in spontaneity. We worry too much about failure, and when we’re done with that we worry too much about success. We have all kinds of reasons for not doing something we really want to do – most of them are rubbish.
There will be time to refine, time to tweak and fix and finesse. But that time is not at the start of trying something new, it’s not at the beginning of the beginning. As hard as it may be, put your perfectionism aside. Calm your mind by reminding yourself that no one has to see your first draft of anything. You don’t even need to tell anyone you’re creating a first at all. Just begin. Start. Try. Play. Make a mess. Now. There is no time like the present.
I have always thought that if my family got off the boat and kept going west that I would have never left the state of California. I’ve almost moved there 3 times and this summer I’d like to give life on the left coast a try by doing a house swap. Location independence is one of the great benefits of a freelance life and I want to take full advantage of it. A beach, the ocean air, salt water, and plenty of sun will be good for my soul and a couple of writing projects I’d like to finish.
Know a Californian who might want a cute apartment in New York City for the summer? Send ’em my way!
“Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, and every part of your body be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.” ~ Swami Vivekananda
Above anything, success requires dedication. You must give you heart, body, and soul over to it. It’s the drumbeat that never stops ringing in your ears. The masterpiece that is never quite finished by your hand. You have to care so much that you are willing to tinker with it over and over and over again. And for its own sake, you let others play a part in it to share its goodness. It’s bigger than you.
My passion projects – writing, Compass Yoga, fundraising for good causes – are never far from my mind. And they never feel burdensome. They never feel like work. They’re more an elixir, a balm that makes all the rough patches of life a little easier to bear. They do more than sustain me; they raise me up.
This feeling is all the success I’ll ever need.
Yesterday the play that’s been in my head for over a decade began to take shape on a page – a yellow legal pad in blue ink. I needed to see this beginning in my own hand rather than in uniform lettering on my laptop screen. It feels more deliberate, more personal in my own scrawl.
Stories stuck in the mind of storytellers serve no one. For stories to be useful, we must share them with others. Put them out into the world and let the world have at it. Some people would prefer to run naked through Times Square than put ink to page and let others critique their ideas. I understand this sentiment. It took me a long time to be comfortable with critique, mostly because I was fairly beaten up by criticism early on in life. As I grow older, I realize what a gift it can be. I have enough conviction and confidence now to keep only those critiques that improve my work. I let the others roll away as if I have a Teflon shield around me.
This play is one of the things I’ll be crafting into the new year. 2013 will be a year of making, a year of thoughtful and purposeful creation for me. More details to come as we wind down the month of December and turn our collective and hopeful gaze toward January.
I’m very certain you have some kind of story in your head, too. In 2013, I hope you’ll take up your pen, get it down, and share it with the world. We’re all ears.
“You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it.” ~ Charles Buxton, British brewer, philanthropist, writer and legislator
Now that I’m on the downside of an intense freelance assignment that helped me cover all of my living expenses with consulting work within 6 months of going on my own, I’ve given myself an additional 6 months to make a go of this freelance life. The first 6 months was about simply proving that I could make ends meet out on my own. The next 6 months will take on a more strategic approach.
I’ve been thinking a lot about bigger life goals for this next 6 months rather than short-term skills I’d like to enhance or short-term experiences I’d like to gain. For example, I have a few writing projects floating around in my mind. Some of them are close to 15 years old. As I went to my yoga class yesterday, I began thinking about them and my initial reaction was “if only I had the space in my mind and in my calendar to work on them.” That thought stopped me in my tracks. If I don’t have the time to pursue them now, when I have maximum flexibility with my schedule, then when am I going to pursue them?
On the subway to yoga, this quote by Charles Buxton flew into my inbox. Alright Universe, I hear you. Thanks for the reminder – we are capable of making all the time we need to do the things we really want to do.
I am so excited to announce that I have signed on to be the new 5 Minute Yoga blogger for Do You Yoga. They reached out to me last week after reading my pieces online and asked if I would be interested in taking over the column. I was thrilled to be asked and am even more thrilled to get going!
Every week I will write a short article on how to bring the benefits of yoga into your busy life, even if you only have 5 minutes. I hope the articles are helpful and informative, and that they inspire you to unroll your mat more often.My goal is to illustrate that no matter how we busy we are, we always have at least a little time to take care of ourselves.
This week, my first article is about how to fit your yoga into your holidays. Enjoy!
With great excitement (and a sigh of relief!), I clicked ‘submit’ on Compass Yoga‘s first grant application yesterday. We applied for a 2013 Special Projects Grant from the New York State Health Foundation. A huge thank you to the dedicated and passionate board members as well as our uber-talented teachers and partners who make Compass the beautiful and valuable organization that it is. I am humbled and honored by their support and commitment. Namastes all around!
I am bowled over by the support I have received since recording a Youtube video in response to Mitt Romney’s 47% comment. Many people wrote to me to share their own stories of success that began with receiving assistance from the government to better their lives. I am moved and inspired by their words and actions.
Fresh off the Social Good Summit and Clinton Global Initiative gatherings, I wanted to do something more to help people share their stories and to illustrate the humanity behind the 47% statistic. Too often numbers are tossed around without the context of the narrative that gives them meaning and purpose. Behind that 47% figure are people who are trying to make the very best of use of their time, energy, and talent. They need our help and encouragement. Let’s help them to have a voice in this conversation.
Visit The 47% Facebook page to lend your support with a Like and to share your own story of success, hope, and gratitude. Together, we can help government to realize the good it can do by investing in all of its people.
“To think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted.” ~ George Kneller
This week, I attended two one-hour classes at the Gotham Writer’s Workshop, one on essay and opinion writing and one on children’s writing. In both classes, we did free writing exercises in which we have a topic in mind, put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), and write continuously until the instructor says “stop”.
I hadn’t practiced this technique in quite a while. Initially, I thought it was the stuff of high school writing classes. As I got into it, I found that it was incredibly helpful as it revealed ideas, opinions, and interests I never knew I had. It was also very liberating; it made me fearless.
At the start of the opinion and essay class, the instructor had us write down 6 topics that interest us. One of mine was tea and I chose that as my free writing topic. When I began, I had no idea what aspect of tea truly interested me but it became apparent very quickly. Below is the result that I hope to craft into a few different pieces in the coming weeks. This is the raw free writing copy without any edits:
Why is tea so comforting?
Is it the warmth or the body of the tea? Is it the loving kindness that it’s brewed with? Is it because it gives us time for reflection because we cannot simply hit go and have it be made like we can with coffee?
We have to actually open up the canister, fill up the tea soaker, boil the water, pour the water, and wait for just the right amount of time to get the right flavor
Tea demands all of our attention. It helps to focus us. We concentrate with tea in a way that we don’t concentrate in many other points in our lives. I also always think about the eyes that saw the leaves were just ripe, the hands that picked the ripe leaves and lovingly placed them in a basket. Tea leaves are picked by hand, not by machine. I think about the hands and eyes that roasted the tea, bagged it, packed it into a truck, and then drove it to a store or market. I think about the hands that placed it on a shelf, that rung up the order I purchased. So many hands come together to deliver a cup of tea. Dozens, maybe hundreds. Someone planted that tea plant, tended to it with water and soil, and sun. It took time to make, and I honor that time by taking time to brew it and drink it.
There’s a lot of introspection in tea, there’s a lot to ponder. I think I need another cup.
The is no end to the variety of tea, what type of leaf, how it’s roasted, what goes into it. There are so many grades and tea has such a history. Kingdoms have risen and fallen by its cup. It is amazing to think that at one point it was such a luxury, the beverage of kings and royalty, and now here I am in my humble apartment, sipping away, as if it’s just some choice I made from a supermarket, as if drinking it is just consequential, as if anyone could have it.
I think about free trade.
Have you ever tried free writing? Give it a shot:
1.) Think of a general topic
2.) Get out your pen and paper
3.) Set a timer for 5 minutes
4.) Go! And don’t stop writing until the timer goes off. Be completely free with your stream of consciousness. Forget all of the rules about writing and just get it all out. Write down anything that comes into your mind on the topic. You may be surprised at the results!
**Minor editorial note** This weekend I will be live blogging the Social Good Summit. On Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, those live blogs will take the place of my regularly scheduled posts. Hope you enjoy the conversation! For more details, click here.
Christa Avampato 