Friday, April 17, 2015

The Espresso Routine


There is something to be said about the importance of routine for a writer like me, just as there is something to be said for spontaneity for others.

I have a morning routine. Each morning upon waking I drink an espresso. My pleasure in a morning espresso began back in the early 1990s when I earned a Krups Espresso Machine in a sales contest. The moment I took the first sip of this tightly packed, fine grind, pressure cooked coffee, I was hooked. The flavor was strong and rich, quickly turning the average coffee drinker in me into a connoisseur of sorts.

As you can envision from this brief history, the morning espresso has been my regimen for several decades. It is a routine that I do not break. Consequently, I always have espresso on hand except . . . this current
mid-April week. The espresso ran out.

My husband and I thought that this wasn't a big a problem. All we needed to do was run into town and pick up some more. After all, espresso consumption has grown tremendously in the last few decades.

In most cities, one cannot walk more than a couple of blocks without seeing a cafe or espresso cart - they are in bookstores, grocery stores, and gas stations. There are many drive-through espresso shops in parking lots!

We soon found out how hard it was to find in the small farming communities make up the area in which we live. Every store we visited in our county and the next either ran out and stopped carrying it. We spent three days and put on enough miles to have visited our out-of-town children in search of the coveted espresso blend.

Perhaps the hardest part of this adventure was the break in routine. Instead of accomplishing our usual tasks in the set timeframes, we spent each day driving to a few towns, locating the stores, perusing the coffee aisles, questioning the clerks, and leaving forlorn.

We managed to fit in the most important daily chores, like preparing dinner and playing our nightly game of Bananagrams, but the rest was put off until the next day and then the next until we finally found and bought the espresso.

I didn't realize how important routine was to my writing. Although ideas for creative pieces and serious projects pop into my head at all times of the day and night, to actually sit down and put them on paper takes routine for me. I grab my water, go into my office, surround myself with words along with the quiet to hear to them, and commence typing onto the computer screen so I can see them, create a draft, edit, and re-draft. I spend the majority of my day writing, with breaks for meals and exercise and family.

It is a comfortable routine, but a routine. When it is broken for a few days, the word begin to hide and I must hunt for them a little a harder when I launch into my routine.



The moral of this story, at least for me, is make sure to have extra espresso hand!

How about you - is routine an important for you?

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Writers' Retreat or Just a Break?


This past week my husband and I have been visiting our daughter and her best friend. Our daughter is the Program Director at Lutheran Lakeside Camp in Spirit Lake, Iowa and she lives onsite.


Onsite is 135 acres of beautiful waterfront and wooded property. There are deer galore and they are not afraid of people! Each evening we saw upwards of seven to eight yearlings and does. Also, turkeys are a common sight and Loons and birds of all varieties and squirrels and chipmunks and on and on. There are cabins, retreat houses, a lodge, a dining hall, and recreation buildings and activities all over the camp. It is a magnificent place!


While there, I though about writers' retreats. My daughter and I have discussed possible writers' retreats as a program she may offer in the future. The camp is completing the construction of two retreat houses that offer single and multi-occupancy rooms with lake views.

There is no typical definition of a writers' retreat. It is a gift a writer gives to herself - time and space to focus on writing and connect with her vision. Some are done in solitude, some are done with another writer to perhaps keep each other accountable, while others are done at places that writers can gather and connect. Writing demands solitude and focus, but it may need a boost of inspiration at times, thus the writers' retreat.

I pondered this quite a bit as I woke in the wee morning hours and took a solitary walk around camp. I heard the woodpecker and other exhilarating nature sounds. I saw God's creative hands all over the trees and brooks. It was inspiring and I thought about writing, but I didn't rush back to my laptop. Instead, I kept walking, listening, viewing and finally wondering if I had the discipline to go on a writers' retreat and accomplish the goal of writing there.

I am a disciplined writer. If I have a deadline or set a goal, I will undoubtedly accomplish it and many times early. Though I must confess, some times I do procrastinate and finish just in the nick of time.

I make a plan, sit down in the quiet solitude of my office, put my fingers to the keys, and let the words flow with strength and consistency like a mighty stream in the stillness of the woods. I don't stop there either, I draft, edit, collaborate, look up words in the dictionary and thesaurus, and redraft until my piece reaches near perfection. I work hard and I am disciplined.


Do I need a retreat to write . . . perhaps not. Do I want a retreat, maybe just to reboot, refresh, and think about writing . . . a resounding YES!


Let me hear from you!
Do you need or want a writers' retreat?