31 Days of Writing in Community: Day 6 -Make the Best Out of Your Mess!

"Make the Best out of your Mess!"
Sign in our Art room, courtesy of
Mrs. Morgan, My Art teacher (k-12)

Yesterday, we talked about making a mess... sometimes we're intentional with our mess-meaning that we know the process is going to be in several pieces for a while. But what of the times that we intend one thing to happen, feel sure that it will, and then the whole thing implodes? Scattered bits of something, glue running off the sides, a paint color that's not quite right...

In Art class growing up, the amazing Mrs. Morgan would say:
"Make the best out of your mess!"
Students whined for new paper,new glue, new paint. But she knew the importance of learning to take a mess, and see the potential for something lovely and unexpected in it.She knew that this as great lesson for art students. I think it works for teachers, writers, and mothers as well.As a writer, the story can stall. Characters don't cooperate.Teachers know the frustration of a class that seems stuck. The lesson that didn't go where go where it was supposed to. Mothers know the days where perfect turns to perfectly awful in a heartbeat.

Life gives us so many messes. Some we create for ourselves. Some we have to deal with, even though we didn't make them.Some seem to be just Fate. A jumble of words. An accident. An illness. All of these messes can translate into something beautiful, or useful, at least.

Part of me can be stubborn about this. I drag my heels; I don't want to make the best of this situation. That's where community helps. I see the encouragement of another person forming something spectacular out of sorrow. I hear words that lift me up. There are hope, and faith, and peace-threaded joy.I read the words another writer dares to string together- and they are precious pearls. Tomorrow, I'll be featuring some fabulous friends who have made the best out of their messes. For now, let's remember this:

"He has made everything beautiful in His time..." Ecclesiasties 3:11

What mess is being made beautiful for you?

31 Days of Writing in Community: Day 5- Make a Mess!

31 Days of Writing in Community: Day 5- Make a Mess!

"All of their messes are really lessons about life and the earth. Don't be afraid to get dirty and don't be afraid of the mess..."

The Creative Family (Amanda Blake Soule)


Making a mess. Flour all over the kitchen! Fingerpaint on the walls! Itty bitty pieces of paper all over the floor! Some of us shudder at the thought. (Mostly the thought of cleaning it up!)

What if making a mess is necessary for creativity? Sometimes the ideas don't flow out in a concise manner. Sometimes the words, the art, the dance, are choppy at first-awkward. Then slowly, the mess becomes something beautiful. Something worthwhile. A little wild, but stunning.

In a community, we need to share our mess. We need to let others in on our process. We need to be vulnerable, so that others can be brave. I love it when home decorating blogs post pictures of a messy room. I feel instantly better-like maybe my mess could become something...And I love looking at old writer's notes, criss-crossed with additions, subtractions, and scratch-outs. Greatness comes from this: the risk of a mess. I was so tempted at first, to take the old posts off of this blog. But then I thought, no, that's my mess. It's a hot mess, to be sure. But it's all part of this process and I don't want to forget it. I don't want to forget that a mess can eventually turn into something wonderful. (Even if it's only for me!)

Just like a child covered in paint, our mess is leading us somewhere... What mess will make today?

31 Days of Writing in Community-Day 4: Meet Us Back Here: Your Downward Facing Dog(s)

Downward Facing Dog has many jobs and functions, among them-assessment pose, transitional pose, resting pose, strengthening pose, inversion pose, and rejuvenator. ...Benefits include decrease in tension and headaches..decreased anxiety..." Active.com (Svansana)

The first time I took a yoga class, we learned Down Dog. It's one of those yoga poses that is easy. You can't fall out of Down Dog like you do, say, airplane or tree. Yoga is all about rhythm and I knew that I was a beginner. I knew that there might be poses that proved difficult. Then one of those pivotal moments occurred: (you know, the ones that bring a flash of insight in an unexpected place!) The teacher said that if we got lost at anytime in the class, to return to this pose and wait for the class. The way she said it intrigued me:

"Meet us back here."


Meet us back here. There was no shaming or even, "try harder, do more". It was just meet us back here. When I write , I find myself creating a little community of "Down Dog", places that I go for inspiration, rejuvenation, stress relief. Some are blogs, some books, some people, some places. Some blog favorites include: Nesting Place, Chatting at the Sky, Soulemama,Life in Grace, MelissaWiley.. Books to which I return: Bird by Bird, Outside Lies Magic, Communities of Practice, Why Writing Matters, The Book Whisperer.. The Bible. There are people that I email, or text or message on FB. BFF's, TBF (Teacher best friends), NWPeeps,.. When I feel that what I am doing is overwhelming or I'm getting burned out or I want to share, I go meet all these ideas, people, creativity.. a sort of touchstone to remind me who and what I am about. They are my Downward Facing Dog. I know that whenever we part ways, wherever we go, I can always meet them back here.

What or who are your Down Dogs? (Down DAWGS?) What's your inspiration blog? book? Person? Place?

31 Days of Writing in Community: Day 3 - In Which My Circumstances Cause Me to Go Somewhat Off Topic... (but not really)

Hey all! No one is reading this because I can't get my "button" to work... and so I haven't linked up to 31 Days.. and my daughter and I had Bronchitis .. and a 3 1/2 hour eye doctor appointment .. and volleyball.. and, oh yeah, I totally forgot about this project that's due TOMORROW (!)...and my ancient computer being testy and uncooperative..and LIFE!

Which fully explains why, on what is supposed to be Day 8, I am on Day 3.
I thought about giving up. I really did. Discouragement and perfectionism pushed at me... I was embarrassed that other people were on-task, on-target and I was... well, not.

But then I re-read my last post... and I saw these words: "Practice is a form of opportunity".. and I think that this is an opportunity that I can give myself. An opportunity for grace and a chance to write...Even if no one ever reads any of this.. even if it takes me 45 DAYS TO DO 31 DAYS...(Get a visual of Scarlett O'Hara and Tara here)...I will complete this!

Nester puts it best: "It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful."

And it's all ok. This is all part of the dream of my life,too. Someday, I'll have more time, a better computer,whatever... but I don't want to wait until someday to write... I think I'll give myself the opportunity now.

31 days of Writing in Community:Day 2- Communities of Practice Take...Practice!

"Practice isn't the thing you do once you're good. It's the thing that makes you good."
Malcolm Gladwell "The 10,000 Hour Rule" Outliers

Day 2 of 31 Days of Writing in Community... Today we'll cover the idea of a Community of Practice, we'll discuss Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours idea, and we'll talk about how those two things work together to create a priceless tool for writers - whether they be classroom, blogging, professional, or tinkering writers.
We've all heard that practice makes perfect. That we should keep practicing if we want to be good at something. But how does that work in a community? One way is through a Community of Practice.

What's a Community of Practice?
A COP is a purposeful gathering of people to pursue a common goal. Churches are a good example. Organizations, clubs, businesses, even blogging communities can all be communities of practice. Research shows that this combination of communtiy and purpose helps to achieve the highest learning potential:

"And in spite of curriculum,discipline, and exhortation, the learning that is most personally transformative turns out to be the learning that involves membership in these communities of practice."Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning & Identitity (Wenger)

Writers are learners, observers, diggers, and dreamers. We use words to transform ourselves and others. Doesn't it make sense to do so in community?

Gladwell's quote from Day 1 of 31 Days of WIC tells of the key importance of community, history, opportunity & legacy. Practice is a form of opportunity. Every time we practice, we give ourselves the chance to get better, to see something new, to discover.Practice doesn't instantly make perfect, but it can make you better! So how much practice do we need for success? Gladwell answers this for us in his essay "The 10,000 Hour Rule":it's 10,000 hours. But, again, this can't happen alone; we must engage in community.

"..ten thousand hours is an enormous amount of time. It's all but impossible to reach this number all by yourself by the time you're a young adult." Malcolm Gladwell "The 10,000 Hour Rule" Outliers

So community plus practice... one thing that struck me was the idea of this 10,000 hours. (In a year, at 8 hours a day, 365, you have 2,920 hours. But let's be realistic and say that you could average an hour a day of writing (365 hours)... You'll need 27.4 years to get 10,000 hours. Eeeek!But, if you could devote a few weekends here and there (like conferences or projects) at say 10 hours, even just a few times a year- you get much better, much faster. And this is where I believe Community can be of a particular help. Communities advertise conferences, encourage ideas, have linky parties. Communities say "Try this!", "Here's a shortcut!", "Join this party!". With a community, your experience, your practice is accelerated. It's as if you get your hours plus my hours plus someone else's. Priceless, indeed!

31 Days of Writing in Community: Day 1: Why Community?

"They are the products of history and community, of opportunity and legacy. Their success is not exceptional or mysterious." Malcolm Gladwell "The Secrets of Success" Outliers

Writing is often thought of as solitary. Yet throughout literary history, there are great groups of writers. C.S. Lewis and Tolkien wrote with The Inklings. The Bloomsbury group wrote and shared together. Writers have often sought community.Why?

Gladwell's quote states four keys to success: history, community, opportunity, and legacy. Why include community? Communities provide security, eradicate fear, contribute ideas, and add to ability. Perhaps you need a listening ear, a good editor, or new places to publish. Communities provide these opportunities.

Today, I'm thinking about myself in community. In a great community, what worked? For me, there was a flow of ideas, mutual support, encouragement, a chance to be heard and to hear...
Have you ever been in a great community (writing or otherwise)? What made it great?

31 Days & Writing in Community

It's hard to tell by this blog, but I've been writing.Over the past several years,consistently. In longer and larger spurts than ever before. And, oddly, at the time, I didn't even realize it.


I love to write, I always have. I've been frustrated in the past by times of not getting to write. A feeling of hopelessness would come over me. These were usually connected to periods of time of not getting to read, either, creating a double-edged sword.(You know- babies, illness, schedules changing yet again, etc.)Or, I'd feel at loose ends... So , what was so different? What was so pivotal?


I think it was.... community.
Communities come in so many forms and flavors. We find ourselves a part of something, sometimes by serendipitous circumstance. Take Nester's 31 Days over at www.thenester.com.She's created a community of writers by inviting bloggers to write for 31 Days on a topic near and dear to them. Starting October first, I'll be writing here, but you definitely want to go and check out the over 700 bloggers joining us!

When I look back I've had community in all of this writing. And that's what I'll be writing about for these 31 days. Community in my classroom, community among teachers, friends, bloggers. We'll explore the ways in which community affects writing and writers. And, hopefully, by the end, we'll find in one another: community.

-Karise
P.S. It's not too late to join 31 Days... Come be in community!