photo: Martha G. Brady

Today is the 11th in the series at Kate Motaung’s blog titled On Being a Writer by Anne Koeker and Charity Singleton Craig. The book is also available at the website. This is week six. She has links to all this information and earlier posts on her site. Here are the links to my earlier posts: Identify, Arrange, Surround, Notice, Write. Send, Promote, Discover, Engage, Plan.

This is a great topic for this week. We are on vacation! While it is true that we are visiting family, we are not in cramped conditions so it is truly restful.

Yesterday, as I was walking in the beautifully manicured garden, looking at each plant, admiring the beauty in the blooming flowers, the thought came to mind from Psalm 23…He restoreth my soul. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

There is nothing like beauty, whether in nature, art or even in design or architecture, to restore the soul!

As I walked through the garden, whether looking at the beauty of the various hydrangeas…deep purples, medium periwinkles, or the dusty color of the fall lavenders, I was restored by seeing the beauty of creation all around me. The large bush covered with white pom-poms of hydrangea…some with touches of blue or purple in the center, others with with shades of pale, pale pinks, still others with shades of greens and pinks, was bursting with beauty as well.

Towering over me were massive evergreens that I only see here in the northwest. They reach higher than the tallest Christmas tree by two times. Mixed among the greenery, trees and shrubs are other plants that flower during other times of the year…azaleas, rhodies and I’m not even sure what else! With the nearly  constant mist here, it is a gardener’s dream environment for growing almost anything they would like. I’m certain the garden of Eden must have been a lot like this area in terms of moisture! But surely it had more sunshine!

That evening, we picked a few of the hydrangeas to brighten the inside of the house for some of our weekend celebrations. A granddaughter’s birthday along with our anniversary rounded out a fun, celebratory weekend! There are a variety of places in the home to sit and enjoy a peaceful setting near a mix of art, family photographs and momentos and children’s art pieces. It is cozy, warm, comfortable, and beautiful in a delightful way.

Walking into the vegetable garden was a treat of a different sort! Seeing the beautiful vegetables artistically laid out and growing with a tent of purple morning glories located in the center? There truly was beauty everywhere. From beautiful orange pumpkins with their unusual, rough texture, spreading their vines along the ground, to huge lumpy heirloom tomatoes bursting their tops because of their size, to prickly lemon cucumbers, carrots, beets and cherry tomatoes! The beauty of nature was difficult not to appreciate and enjoy. Here and there were mounds of rosemary, lavender, basil, to add delightful smells. One section of the garden contains beans, another strawberries.

The chickens added color of a different sort!

Right next door is a pen for the remaining 5 chickens who have survived a bobcat attack that killed 2 of their sisters.The chickens are family pets…each one is named and has her own personality. The loss of the 2 was heart-rending on two occasions, and has resulted in less yard time for the chickens. Each time, the attacker wasn’t seen, but left a pile of feathers behind. Now they are only out of their pen when someone is present to watch out for them in the yard. They are just now starting to lay eggs. Two have started producing eggs. Soon the others should begin.

When we look out the window, we see beautiful mountains in the distance! Enjoying the world GOD has created is no small thing is it? Sometimes, it is the breaks we take that make us pause to enjoy the creation that is all around us!

As a writer, I have come to appreciate the pauses. My writing benefits from the pauses after I write something. It needs time to season before my final edit…or maybe I need to time to let it season in my mind a little longer!

I have found that I write fast and get the article written rapidly. Then I must go back and edit. I cut and chip away at the sloppiness. Correcting sentences that aren’t written well, paragraphs that go on too long, or paragraphs that need to be chopped out altogether! The next day, I can take a fresh look and be more objective about what I see. Of course, editing on blog posts isn’t quite as stringent as on other writing because of the time pressure to get it out, but still, I want it to be understandable and lucid if not always concise.

The two kinds of rest I need in writing

Those are the two ways I need rest in writing: changes of scenery that give my mind a break, allowing me to think along different lines than normal. Second, letting the writing sit to marinate before sending the final copy out. It’s as if it needs to age a bit before it is ready to be read. If I write it one night, I need time to let it rest so I can finish it up in the morning. It makes a much better article that way.

I enjoyed this chapter more because it is something I figured out by myself but hadn’t heard much about. Now I have read this, I am applauding. Yeah! I have been validated. These other writers who make a living with their writing say it is true.

Thank you Anne and Charity…and of course Kate:)