Tag: Ten.10.X

#1000wordsof summer2024

Published on by Honoré5 Comments

For the first two weeks of June, writers of every genre across the globe are participating in the global #1000wordsofsummer2024.* Totally free. Totally up to each writer what s/he aims toward and achieves, any day, any number of days.

Daily writing/journaling is not a problem for me. T’is a habit I’ve had nearly all my life – since maybe I was 2.5/3 years old, could hold a crayon and/or pencil, scribble letters and eventually words on a piece of paper. Journaling/Writing is how I start my day. Is how I’ve begun the day, daily since the mid 1990s…

My initial plan for this two weeks’ #1000wordsofsummer2024 stint was to establish a writing practice to end the day. Such a practice eludes me – I’ve been trying, off-n-on since 2019 (?) … I’ve even dubbed it Ten.10.X. The idea: identify ten things that represent the day, ranging from the weather to activity to thoughts, surprises, events, etc. So, I told myself: “Turn the calendar page to June and have at it!”

Well, I turned the page but I didn’t “have at it.” The seven o’clock hour usually signals that my day is rapidly approaching a full-on wind down. Shower. Dress for bed. Gather reading and WRITING materials and settle in for the balance of the PM. Occasionally, I’ll manage to watch TV, 8-ish to 9-ish but I usually fall asleep. And I DON’T write Ten.10.X. The thought rarely (ne’er?) crosses my mind! [Growl! Growl! Growl!] What’s a person to do?

Try a DIFFERENT approach. What a novel idea! (And the author – c’est moi- falls out laughing at her own witticism). The problem isn’t I don’t have the desire or the stuff to implement Ten.10.X, it just doesn’t cross my mind. So, I’ve concluded that my approach is all wrong. I need to focus on establishing a new habit: Interstitial Journaling So, instead of just writing a daily “to do” list, I create an evolving list- a daily “done”diary, record, tracker, ongoing summary of the day’s activities, accomplishments, inspirations, discoveries, postponements, words of wisdom, creative ventures, etc., written down throughout the day at specific intervals …

Perhaps I’m making this project more difficult than it really is. I will soon find out, providing I actually implement and experiment with the process. Clearly it’s a process I can create and control. I’m the boss of me! I turned to a page in my Full Focus Planner and this quote at the top of the page greeted me: “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt.

Or as Gretchen Rubin says: “Onward!”

Time will tell.

Cheers~

P.S. This post is 469 words … and the photo of the lovely flower was in my iPhone photo library. I took the photo several years ago and Apple, in its infinite wisdom, decided to profile it today!

*There is a FAQ : 1000wordsofsummer.substack.com/ on Jami’s substack Craft Talk.

zibaldone | 10.26.22 …

Published on by Honoré6 Comments
  1. Ten. 10. X : Over the past month or so – and occasionally throughout the past several years – I’ve attempted to document the day by creating/documenting ten things that have inspired (or sometimes annoyed or encouraged ) me throughout the day. My aim is to create this list as my nearly “last action” of the day. I don’t always succeed – but that’s OK. I enjoy the process and am finding it is a good way to capture and review the day.
  2. I first ran across the inspiration for the list from Alisha Sommer’s blog, finding it both fascinating and intriguing. She created the blog inspired by an interview she heard Krista Tippet conduct with author, Marie Howe. This overview from Good Reads is a great intro, if Maria is new to you as she was to me.
  3. Lately, since my July trip to Sisters OR, I’ve been enamored by and re-engaging with slow stitching – stitching by hand. I find it relaxing, inspiring and rejuvenating. The seasonal switch to autumn: changes in temperature and colors and slower pace invite this type of activity.
  4. To that tune, I saw a class, offered by the Sisters OR Stitchin’ Post featuring Rosalie Dace, a quilt instructor, from South Africa. Autumn, 2017, I attended a week long class in Sisters with her. This current class is also being offered via Zoom this weekend. I wish I’d known this sooner and was free for I’d have seriously contemplated signing up for a Zoom seat…
  5. I’ve made considerable progress with my AmaZe writing project; to date, I’ve digitized nearly 230 vignettes- I’m not a typist. My plan is to make a photo storybook.
  6. The other day I had a grand surprise: I discovered 62 stories that I wrote in 2012 that I also need/want to include. More typing practice for my M- F…
  7. The London Writers’ Hour, offered 4 times a day. I join the M-F, 8 AM EST Zoom session; it has played a big role in helping me focus on the AmaZe project.
  8. I am a big fan of Gretchen Rubin and her weekly Wed podcast, Happier, with her sister Liz, is my fave morning walking companion. Their October 19 episode was the 400th. I suspect that since winter’s soon to arrive, I’ll be switching to PM walks…
  9. I received a mug I’d forgotten I’d ordered and it makes me “happier, ” indeed. I’ve yet to indoctrinate it for my MSQT (morning solitude and quiet time) and Writers’ Hour sessions. I’ll start in November.
  10. A thought: perhaps I’ll choose Happier for my 2023 word; hmmm…