It's bird-a-palooza around my home. A Bald Eagle landed in our backyard last week, and waterfowl daily return. Two Bufflehead ducks, a pair of Merganser ducks, and a Great Blue Heron swam or searched for breakfast in our neighborhood this week. Obviously, despite the endless rain and dull gray skies, the birds have returned for summer.
What did they do over the winter? What did they see? Did they head to Mexico, stop in Georgia, or fly over DisneyWorld? And why did they choose to swim in the front retainage pond in my sub-division as opposed to a river or lake nearby?
I want to migrate. The endless rounds of buying groceries, tackling laundry, paying bills, and other tedious duties drag on each week. Where's the migration in that?
But maybe migration exists in my life. Our basketball season ended this weekend with three days of tournaments. Goodbye winter. Track and baseball will soon begin--hello, spring and summer. And my latest book? Almost done. Another exciting project awaits.
Writers migrate whether we realize it or not. The tiny idea for a book may be spring, the first draft summer, the initial revisions fall, and the final revisions winter, but eventually, writers migrate back to another tiny idea and start the process over again.
Now, the laundry, groceries, and what-not are here to stay. Sorry about that. Wish we could migrate from them too! But at least we have some areas of migration in our lives!
Do your projects feel like migrations? Or does everything feel like the same old thing?
Join me on Wednesday for 5 Easy Questions with...Cindy Wilson!
Happy Monday!
Every once in a while we'll see a blue heron and man they are incredible!
ReplyDeleteIt's so true - we migrate through the different stages of telling a story!
I like how you unfolded a story idea into a finished product by seasons! Very clever and true. Oh and thanks for reminding me I'm stuck with laundry. Made my day. Really. ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat thought--migrating from project to project. Considering my last book took place during the summer and now I'm working in winter, I can apply this point even more.
ReplyDelete~ Wendy
Definitely migrations. It's all a journey, and hopefully when we come around to a new manuscript, we've brought some wisdom we learned from the first trip ...
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteLaura: I live near Lake Erie. You wouldn't believe the herons we see--they are gorgeous!
Jessica P: Yeah, it's laundry day for me today. I can run, but I can't hide. :)
Wendy: I know what you mean. I'm really glad this book will be finished before spring.
Joanne: Each project brings fresh insight, certainly. I don't know about you, but I also aim to brush up on craft issues when I switch projects. Even a quick study session on commas or writing conflict makes my writing better.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
I'm wanting to migrate faster than my book is allowing me. I'm doing book surgery. Can't wait to be done with it!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading about the birds migrating 'home' to your area again. It gives me hope that I shall see my feeders buzzing with activity again soon. Yes, life including writing 'mirgrates' to different places. My next place is reading a book on writing again, and photography. Time to study!
ReplyDeleteI love the analogy between migration and writing. Very true. Right now, my current wip feels like it's in the "fallow" stage....a necessary part of the creativity cycle.
ReplyDeleteLove this word picture! I've been in a slow migration with my current project, but I feel the blossoms of Spring coming along with new chapters to begin.
ReplyDeleteKatie: Sometimes I feel that my book will never be finished! Keep hacking away!
ReplyDeleteLynn: It's still cold here, but the birds don't seem to care. The Kildeers came back yesterday, and boy are they noisy! Spring is on its way!
Patrice: Oooh, good word. Fallow! Love it! Reminds me of plowing and oxen. :)
Tamika: Yay! Your positive energy always inspires me!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
I love the 'change of seasons' analogy for the process of writing a book. It totally applies! I guess I'm in the summer stage of my current project.
ReplyDeleteWish it looked like it through the window. At least the sunshine on all this snow looks cheerful.
And I love the bufflehead duck name. :)
Love the duck pic - looks like he's having a bad hair day!
ReplyDeleteMigration sounds wonderful, especially if I could go to Florida. But if the birds are coming back, well, I guess it must be spring. How lucky you are to have such a rich harvest of waterfoul of every type. I love birds. Enjoy your newcomers.
ReplyDeleteInteresting analogy! Good post, thanks. :)
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Karen
I'd love to mirgrate to the published novelist side of my writing journey. Hopefully soon! Great post!
ReplyDeleteJill, I love how you compared the stages of a story to the seasons. I'm in the spring of my WIP, and it's so fun. After having spent the better part of two years enduring winter with my last book, I was more than ready for the change of seasons.
ReplyDeleteA Great Blue Heron walking around your neighborhood? That's so cool. I saw one of those once at a nearby river and it was beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI think I'm so fond one new projects because it feels like a migration. A step toward something new and different, and a chance to leave some of the old things behind.
Hi Jill! I love the way you start up the engine in my head and create a space for me to wander around in. The comparison between writing and migration got me thinking about the irregularity in so many seasons of our lives. Unfortunately, situations are much less predictable than seasons. Looking backwards, we can usually make out the lines of demarcation, when a change took place, etc. I've been taking a run-ago at my story for months, hitting walls, falling down, generally feeling like I'm getting nowhere. But when I look at it with a "migratory" viewpoint, it's much easier to gauge the distance I have come - and feel encouraged! I AM migrating, heading to a destination. In my own power, at my own speed.
ReplyDeleteErica: The summer of your WIP--what a nice place to be! We keep getting snow too. It melted over the weekend, so I'm hoping none sticks until next winter!
ReplyDeleteK.B.: It's like a Duck mohawk! Cute!
Nancy: I feel very blessed to have such a rich array of birds nearby. It truly is a treat!
Karen L: Thank you!
Lynda: I hope that for you (and for me!) too!
Keli: Two years of winter can drain the sturdiest of writers. Have fun in your new, fresh season!
Cindy: Great Blue Herons lurk here all summer. So majestic! I'm with you on starting something new and leaving the tired parts behind. :)
Patti: Oh yes! It's easy to fall into the "I've made no progress" frame of mind, but when we step back, we see how far we've come!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
For me everything feels like the same thing right now with writing but that's because I am editing. And editing...and editing. Do you notice a pattern??
ReplyDeleteI love your migration metaphor for writing and life projects. I'm migrating between revision for fiction and poetry right now, along with trying to migrate away from laundry - but the stuff keeps piling up.
ReplyDeleteTerri: Tell me about it! Editing feels like the longest winter, doesn't it? :)
ReplyDeleteTyrean: Nice--fiction and poetry. I'm sure the transition keeps you fresh. I would love to migrate away from laundry too!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Love the writing and migration analogy. Projects definitely feel like migrations!!
ReplyDeleteEverything was the same, but I think with the subtle changing of the seasons, I'm migrating again. YAY!
ReplyDeleteHi Jill -
ReplyDeleteI'm in the first draft stage of a project. Very exciting!
Blessings,
Susan :)
I adore migration season. I'm thinking about doing a bird series at the Moonboat this spring.
ReplyDelete