As I wake up this morning my eyes can barely see the lines. My body does not feel rested. My mind seems to be over stimulated and working at rapid rates.
What do I remember about my dreams?
I remember being pulled in many directions. I am getting up every day at 4:30am and by 10:00am I have done more work than most folks. I am rising and showing up to the page everyday but I still feel like there is something I am forgetting to do. Am I getting enough done?
My mind is filled with clutter. There is so much I am doing right now… over committed. This is what I am meditating on.
I am giving SO MUCH of myself to many people.
How to say NO? And being at peace with saying it!
This is how I am feeling today over committed and pulled in so many directions. Waking up at 5:00am feels AMAZING I have every intention of making this a life change… but it is still challenging and my body has not gotten used to it. I have learned that I still need to carve out more time for my story because it requires it. I don’t think people really GET IT! I don’t believe many people understand how much work this really takes. This life passion, this standing in who we are… it comes at such a cost… sometimes the cost is loss of sleep, sometimes its people, sometimes its relationships… the cost is great, however, the reward is greater!
I am being met with a block this morning… something is struggling to come out. There are specific moments that I know I must write! (Come back to this thought Alicia… freewrite about what wants to come out).
What I discovered in yesterdays writing was that there were letters being written between my main characters. There were updates. Important details being shared… secrets and hidden messages being sent. Who has all the power? In the show North and South there was a wonderful scene between men. The rising action was around this conflict with workers of a cotton plant and one man’s desire for fair wages and rights and the master’s denial of granting them this. It took too long for the story to start… however we do learn immediately who the antagonist is by his first blow to a young man’s face. (my thoughts just went to the young boy I saw in the Bronx while on my way to work, he was 14 years old and he ran over his foot, there was so much blood… he didn’t know how to drive… I can hear his cries… he was crying and screaming so much… I pray he will heal and that he has not lost this foot.)
My intention for today is to not rush. I intend to really spend time with the men of my story… to really listen to their conversations and how they feel about the different classes in the Dominican Republic. I want to see a scene with the parties that were thrown in his house. I want to see the spectacular dresses the women wore and hear the dialogue around how girls were expected to behave. I want to know what the men were thinking as they watched those young women… the conversations amongst men vs. how they felt about their wives. I want to spend time seeing how Maximo treats his wife.
And so it is. Namaste. Aché
With all my love,
Alicia
Today’s writing prompts:
As I wake up this morning… (Set timer for 5 minutes)
My mind is filled with… (Set timer for 5 minutes)
What I discovered in yesterday’s writing… (Set timer for 5 minutes)
My intention for today… (Set timer for 5 minutes)
10 minute freewrite/brainstorm/reflection: look at what you wrote yesterday and what was left unsaid.
Breathe
30 minutes: Pick a scene… if this scene were a move how would it unfold? Show me this scene without telling me about it. For example: in my scene there are men sitting in different chairs in a library. They are drinking. There is cigar smoke in the air. Think about the rising action!
Show me what is happening using description, dialogue and imagery. Paint this picture… set up this scene. Begin!
Side note: you will notice that sometimes I come out of my writing prompts to honor the thoughts that rise while I am writing. I find it helps to keep them where they are because I know that there is a reason the extra voices show up. Rather than silencing all the voices that want to speak to you… keep them on the page and keep moving.
Wishing you the most amazing day.
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© 2014 Alicia Anabel Santos. All Rights Reserved.
The Writer and The Story 