September 27, 2013

Rest along the Road

What's the purpose of your life?

The thing that's bigger than yourself--your mission, dream, calling, purpose, the something that you alone feel uniquely designed to do.

Maybe it's writing a book (harrumph). Maybe it's spiritual growth. Maybe it's investing in a relationship. Maybe it's leading a ministry. Maybe it's raising a child (or a few). Maybe it's spending a year backpacking across the country, like my friend David. Maybe you don't have a clue, but you're seeking it. Something you were born to do. Something you believe in, that gives you purpose, that makes you feel alive.

Purpose is a great thing. Without it, we constantly ask ourselves, "What am I here for?"

But journeys of purpose are big. And big journeys take time. Lots of time.

As time passes, energy drains away. We lose sight of the distant, big-picture goal because our myopic vision gets crowded with small failures, hiccups, hardships, naysayers...and tiredness. Just plain road-weariness.

Photo credit: Chaz Harding

I read this story about the Biblical prophet Elijah today. Talk about someone with a big life purpose. But at one point he said to God, "I have had enough, Lord" (1 Kings 19).

Had. Enough. 

Photo credit: Soon
The long road of pursuing purpose can leave us feeling burned out like fire-gutted stumps. Elijah was so fed up with chasing purpose and feeling like a failure that he wanted to die.

God's advice, delivered by angelic messenger?

"Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you."

God even sent Elijah an ancient Hebrew Happy Meal to get him started.

Photo credit: Stefan
Before God urged Elijah forward in his journey of purpose, the prophet's immediate needs had to have some attention. He ate some food. Took two long naps. Went away to Mount Horeb for some refreshing alone time. Spent time in the presence of God. Found a helper.

And THEN he was able to go back to full time prophet-ness. Proclaimed God's words to difficult people. Did miracles. Made history.

There's a lot on my plate right now, especially as I look to move forward with my writing career. Maybe there's a lot on your plate, too. But Elijah's story encourages me.

The strength to carry on, to continue down that long and worthwhile road, may be closer than you think:

Eat food. Get sleep. Take some time away to refresh. Be in the presence of God. Get a helper.

Or, in the sweet and simple words of my friend and fellow blogger Anna Taylor: Peace, darling.

Purpose is a long road. So pace yourself. Rest along the way. You'll make it in time.


How do you find rest along the way of purpose? 


September 20, 2013

Inspiration: The Playlist

How do you get inspired to create? 

Some authors (and other kinds of artists, too) have the luxury of full-time creative work. Others, like the 40 pictured in this article, have had brilliant, inspiring spaces dedicated exclusively to their craft. 

But some of us have other jobs. When I'm not writing, I'm teaching kids to craft paragraphs or fixing people's grammar. I'd love it if my workspace always looked like this:


But more of the time, it looks like this: 


Or just this: 

Just enough space to sit in the middle of the explosion.
So how do you get your mind to travel to far-off places and create vivid, enthralling scenes when all you can see is the carpet that needs vacuuming or the piles of unanswered notes on your desk? 

I'm going to be writing a series of blog posts on where I find writing inspiration. These are my personal quirks to trick my brain into creating, even when the space around me doesn't inspire or my brain would rather just spend all day staring out the window.

Number one is the playlist. 

For my novel-in-progress (which is very, very close to being my COMPLETED novel), I write to a list of songs that take me to the fantasy world of my story and reconnect me with the characters. I've developed an almost Pavlovian response to the song "Ora" by Italian pianist Ludovico Einaudi (the first one on my list). The first few notes play, and I'm instantly in the story. I don't know if I'll ever be able to write another story to this song. It's too tied to this set of characters. 


Over time, I've collected more and more songs for this list. There are now 43 songs on it, for a total of 2.9 hours. I know it's a good writing day when I finish the last song and have to start the playlist over. 



With a few exceptions, most of the songs are instrumental, so the words in my head don't have to compete with the ones in my ears. Some tunes are classical (like Beethoven's 7th Symphony or Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring") but more have a Celtic flavor to them. I especially like Enya, Jim Brickman, and Loreena McKennitt. 

Soundtracks are also one of my favorite resources. Music that was originally composed to tell a story helps me tell mine. My list includes selections from the live-action Peter Pan, The Lion King, and A Series of Unfortunate Events. 


I've made playlists for other stories, too, but they look completely different (well, except for the emphasis on instrumental music). One has a couple of Irish drinking songs on it; another emphasizes classical Spanish guitar. When this novel is done, I guess I'll have to start an entirely new playlist of inspiring songs.

Does music help you to create? What songs get your creative juices flowing? 

September 13, 2013

Even More Cuteness, Part 3

Does anybody else need some cuteness this Friday? Yeah, me too. Five different kinds of cuteness, coming right up.

Four baby raccoons in a tree! (A group of raccoons is called a gaze.)

Photo credit: Tyler Smith
Fennec foxes. (A group of these would be called a leash, a skulk, or an earth.) The pets I want almost as much as hedgehogs and sugar gliders. Look at those ears!

Photo credit: Dean Thorpe

Baby sloth in a box! For extra squeals, here's a video of baby sloths taking a bath! (A whole bunch of them together are a "bed" of sloths :)).

Photo credit: Jennifer Jordan

Koala taking a nap. (There's no name for a group of these, because they hang out by themselves.) Sooo cuddly.

Photo credit: Susan Renee
And squirrel monkeys goofing off for the camera. (Hehe, a group of monkeys is called a troop of monkeys!)

Photo credit: Joachim S. Muller

Happy Friday!

September 6, 2013

Literature, Kniterature

Today I'm tickled to host my second-ever author interview! My good friend Audry Nicklin has designed, written, and published Lit Knits, a book of ten knitting patterns inspired by works of classic literature that allow you to "wear your favorite story." 


What a delicious stack of old books!
Ever since I decided I wanted to be a writer at age 14, I've loved reading interviews with authors. I love to get inside their heads and learn their habits and tips. Maybe it's my secret hope that the literary prowess will rub off. 

Let's go behind the scenes of a real live author's creative process. Welcome to my virtual living room, Audry! 

1. We all know that a book takes a long time to produce. How long has your book been in the making, from concept to publication?

This book has been a long time coming. It took me roughly 2.5 years from concept to publication. And within that 2.5 years, I was also working part time at a yarn shop and submitting patterns to other publications.

2. How did you get the idea for Lit Knits?

After reading Anne of Green Gables in early 2011, I was inspired to make a shawl that had bits of the story knit into it. So I made up a stitch pattern that looked like the house, Green Gables. Below that I knit a texture of a fence followed by a field of flowers leading down to the Lake of Shining Waters. 

The "Avonlea" shawl from Lit Knits. I love Anne of Green Gables!
After completing the shawl, I started working on a pair of mittens inspired by the white rabbit in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. One thing led to another and I realized that I had a solid theme for a collection of patterns. It did take some time to figure out how to make the collection as cohesive as possible. I thought about doing a knit for A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens and one for The Raven by Poe. But Anne of Green Gables and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland are considered classic children's literature, so I kept within that theme.

3. Of the 10 patterns in the book, which is your favorite?

I can't say that they are all my favorite, can I?

Each pattern represents a different part of my knitting journey, so I like each one for a different reason. "Down The Rabbit Hole" is based on one of my favorite childhood stories. But the "Robin Hoodie" represents the culmination of all my knitting abilities. I couldn't have written that pattern when I started the book. But I gained enough experience while writing the other patterns to make it a reality. 


The "Robin Hoodie," the culmination of all of Audry's knitting abilities.

4. What would be the 11th work of literature you would add if you could?

This collection almost had 12 patterns. Before I designed each garment, I read the book I wanted to base the knit on. I read Little Women and Heidi, but when it came down to it, I had trouble designing knits that didn't look kitschy. So I cut the collection down to 10 patterns.

5. The photography in your book is incredible. However, we all know that serene images don’t always come from serene photo shoots. What were some funny stories that happened while you were taking pictures for this book?

Well, you were part of one of the more amusing photo shoots. Since the socks you modeled were Black Beauty themed, we needed to have horses in the background. After getting permission to go to a field where there were horses, we couldn't find them! It took a good half hour of circling around groves of trees before we found the herd. Then three curious horses came over to investigate. Just as we would shoo one away from the equipment, another one would sneak up and have a look. I still have horse spit stains on my camera bag.

Glamor? More like cold mist, grass stains, allergies, and horse spit. Photo credit: Juliet Nicklin
I know you were cold during that shoot since it started to mist by the end of it, and I had horrible allergies for two days afterwards because I spent the entire time with my face practically rubbing the grass. And I never did get those grass stains out of my jeans.

6. I know you made extreme efforts to use authentic props in your photo shoots. What was the coolest prop you collected for this book?

I was lucky to have all sorts of neat props for this book. But my favorite prop was the real Piece of Eight that I used in the "Sail To Treasure Island" shoot. It came from my Opa's coin collection and was minted in 1744 during King Philip V of Spain's rule. 

The "Sail To Treasure Island" blanket, its inspiring book, a compass, and a real Piece of Eight. 

7. Okay, let's get into your secrets of creative success. On a “normal” day, what does your creative routine look like?

I know some people like to have strict time schedules. I find that keeping up with a schedule stresses me out, so I just have an order I do things. I'll get up mid to late morning, shower, and walk the dog, Scooter. Then I walk myself to and from a local coffee shop to get tea, after which I eat lunch and read a little bit of a book before I sit down and work. I typically make a list of what needs to be done the night before, so I just start working down the list. Then it is a second dog walk followed by more work. After eating dinner, I might watch a little TV with Scooter while knitting. (He gets grumpy if he doesn't get at least a half hour of TV time.) 

Audry's four-legged creative muse, Scooter.
Depending on what stage I'm at in a design, I might be doing "work" knitting or "personal" knitting. After TV time with Scooter, he and I head to bed, where I might work into the wee hours if things are going well. If not, I give up and go to bed. Before my head hits the pillow, I'll typically list a few things that need to get done the next day.

8. 2 1/2 years of dedicated work is a lot. What kept you from quitting on this project when the road got tough?

My options were to either finish the book or go look for another job. Working on the book looked like the better option. After a while, I had told so many people about the book that it would have been terribly embarrassing to not finish. So avoiding humiliation is what kept me going after a while. That, and I didn't want to disappoint my parents.

9. Self-publishing v. traditional publishing is a big conversation in the book world these days. Why did you choose to self-publish rather than seek traditional publication? Are you glad you did?

I chose to self-publish because I didn't want to sign over the rights to my work. The thought that a publisher could do one print run and let the book go out of print was a little too much to take. However, this also means that I am in charge of all the promotion. So while part of me is frustrated that I don't have the resources to promote Lit Knits as widely as a publisher could, I'm still satisfied that I've chosen to self-publish. I've been lucky that my background is in print design. I don't think I could have done it myself without that experience.

I'd say she did a pretty good job designing her own cover.
10. Now that Lit Knits is done, do you have another creative project in the works? Can you give us any hints?

I think I'll always be working on some sort of knit. I have 2-3 more book ideas, but at the moment, I'm working on some single-pattern proposals for knitting magazines. It's been interesting seeing how each of my previous jobs has led to the next. I look forward to seeing where this book takes me.

Thanks for having me, Alina!


My pleasure! It was a fun privilege for me to both copyedit the manuscript of Lit Knits and model a pair of socks. But above all, seeing my friend successfully pioneer her own book enterprise inspires me to take my own novel seriously and see it to completion. 

If you love to knit, know someone who does, or just like whimsical pictures of cool, literature-inspired clothes, check out the book on Audry's web site. She's got a special preorder deal going until September 25. You can also find her author page on Facebook.

Have more questions? Leave a comment! Audry and I will both be around for some Q&A! 

Unless otherwise noted, all photos are courtesy of Audry Nicklin.