Composing a book and celebrating your success

“Writers are not just people who sit down and write. They hazard themselves. Every time you compose a book your composition of yourself is at stake.”
E.L. Doctorow

In the next month I am gathering all my work together to see if I have enough material for my senior project which I hope will be a book length collection. I don’t want to do a collection of poetry; my goal is to put together a book that reflects all of my creative interests: ephemera, short story, collage and poetry. I still can’t envision the final project so before next semester starts I plan on doing a lot of research on other writers who have successfully published hybrid books.

In Gayle Brandeis’ book Fruitflesh, I read that writer Opal Palmer Adisa buys herself a new plant every time she publishes a poem. What a powerful way to celebrate your successes. The first time I ever got paid for writing I bought myself a watch. I wear that watch everyday, and it does help me remember how good it felt that someone paid me for my words. It wouldn’t be practical to buy myself jewelry after every publication but the first one was special.

Today, think about celebrating your successes so far this year. How do you celebrate when you have published a piece of writing? or successfully completed your personal writing goals? It doesn’t have to be a purchase of a material item, as Brandeis writes:

“When we do something kind for ourselves after we open ourselves to creation, we create the momentum, the affirmation, for that creation to continue.”

What kindness can you bestow on yourself today? Now get back to work after celebrating you!

Lovingly,
The Writing Nag

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