Grounding
In the DR. Island of my dreams, my getaways—magic each and every time,
just as if it’s the first time: EUPHORIA
The luminous joy of knowing wonder,
a wonderful secret, employing a
wonderful plan, basking in a wonderful you.
No worries, no guilt, no chores, no tasks, no knowledge, just perfect—
coffee, mimosa, passion fruit juice, fresh squeezed—save space!
for the vegetarian omelet cooked just for you
with all the love and respect you never
experience in the North, the cold North
Every wonder, every delight:
the spa treatments, the hammock, the piña coladas, the mamajuanas, the mofongo, the parrots, the bachata music, the smiles, the appreciation of your appreciation
whereas one never has enough, is enough, has done enough to count, to rest, to be left alone, here,
you’re more than enough and greatly counted—
The Sunlight, the excursion, the pool, the sand you bury your feet in, the relaxing tingles all over your body, the years melted away, you sit in the lounge chair and heal from all that‘s broken and toxic in the North, the soulless North.
ahhh, Relief,
You are grounded.
Rowing Towards
It's time to go, I cannot stay
to wade through the melee of freedom
truths, lies, and the archipelago of what
was full of promises & what you now deny.
I am fruitful. You are lithe.
Yet three minutes in, we fall into the abyss.
It's an English summer day,
it's a starry Cayman night,
and I must take this canoe and
paddle towards twilight.
Just Do It
Force yourself to write.
1. Make a cup of tea/coffee.
2. Select a playlist--soundtracks and Ludovico Einaudi or Jorge Méndez work well (nothing with words). You can also try binaural soundbeats. Play it while writing and start visualizing your story or empty your mind and listen to the music. You'll figure out what works for you.
3. Give yourself a 1000 word minimum and one chapter theme/story beat to write per day, everyday, except Shabbat. I recommend using pencil or pen and a spiral notebook that you like.Write at a stand up desk if you can, or laying on your stomach in bed. Do not allow yourself to get up until it's done.
4. When you have 5-10 spiral notebook pages, you'll be done. If you want to keep writing, do so until you are done, but never allow yourself to stop early. Type it up, spellcheck, but don't read it or edit.
5. Repeat this process, no excuses, for 35 days, and you will have a novella, 55 days and you will have a novel. This is your rough draft. Save it often.
6. Give 3 days to rest and to decompress. Then print and start reading your story. Use a pencil or purple pen for notes & edits. This is your copy editing phase, don't make big story changes, just grammar & spelling. When you edit it in your computer, duplicate your rough draft and rename it as your first draft. This is the copy you will edit.
7. For the second edit, duplicate your 1st draft, rename it to 2nd draft. Print. Start playing around with your story. Fill in insufficient character background, descriptions, etc. Type these edits into your 2nd draft. Spellcheck and grammar check.
8. Repeat step 7 for your 3rd draft. This is the copy you will workshop.
9. Apply edits, repeating step 7.
10. You are now on your 4th draft. Duplicate and save as Draft 5. Send this copy to a story editor, then a copy editor, then a book cover designer & layout editor.
11. You are now on your 8th draft (once you duplicate the layout/1st proof). Check the font, margins, paper weight. Read it as a customer. Make notes In your spiral notebook. Now read it as the author. Make notes. If you are happy, save the PDF file and upload it at Amazon after you copyright it and secure a barcode for it. Now you get to focuson marketing, publicity, and getting book reviews to help sell your work.
If you are not happy with it, repeat step 11. Send your notes and corrections to your book cover designer &/or layout editor. Get a 2nd proof, and go again until it's right.
Tips:
*Wear orange UVEX glasses for screen time
*Use symphonic music while writing
*Write your rough draft with a pen/pencil in a spiral notebook, unless you prefer a voice recorder. Transcribe to a computer writing program that is easy to save into PDF, and always save in the writing format and the PDF format.
*Take walks before and after writing
*Eat a snack and use the facilities before aitting down to write.
*Do chores, work in the yard, or paint/do photography/doodle after writing. It's good for the body and helps the brain decompress.
*Bluelight, TV, video games, and social media are your enemy and a cololsal waste of time. You will never write anything if you engage in these activities, gossip with your friends, are obsessed over your partner/child/parent/evil neighbor, etc. The craft comes after prayer/meditation--no excuses.
*Do not use a red pen to edit your work. Red is the color of teachers, stop lights, and judgement. You will not encourage your self improvement or creativity with red.
Things That Will Never Change
A mother’s love
Political strife
Sadists that tax society at more than 10% (flat rate)
Religious fervor
How human beings make me fall in love with them when they are KINDNESS EMBODIED
A snake’s need to bite
The allure of gold
The paralyzing effect of Ramin Djawadi’s music
The healing power of the sun
The loneliness in the oceans’ depths
And man’s striving to see Hashem again.
Unchanged
The Evolutionary Wheel of This Life
My life—which lives in a body
(rejected by) mother, father, husband, son
Rebounding, renewing—a Phoenix Rising
only kosher... so more like a dove
with the talons of an eagle
The people I knew and lost and never had
because they were never mine
The crushed heart inside,
pulped and still whole
at the moment it is observed and then disappears forever.