A Reminder for Writers to be in the Flow

There is no greater feeling as a writer than to be in the flow of the creative process. It is that time when the clock on the wall (or the digital time in the upper right hand corner of your computer) no longer exists. You are so focused on your passionate journey through the worlds of fiction, that it is as if you are swimming underwater for miles and miles without ever needing to come up for air.

Sometimes, we need to warm up our brains and hearts to get to this desired entry to the flow of writing, but once we are there nothing short of being short-listed for the Orange Prize for Fiction will cause us to take our eyes off the page. What takes the writer’s intensity away from the act of writing after a project is complete, and necessarily so, is the need to market, publicize and sell the book that took two years to write. Finding balance between selling books and writing books can be quite frustrating, and it can cause a certain literary malaise to fall like a curtain.

I have yet to find the balance between promoting books and the process of writing a new poetry collection. To be honest, I find it difficult to find the juggler’s balance between being a writer, mother, wife, chauffeur, cleaner, cook, folder of laundry, events organizer, editor, and daydreamer. What makes me think I can fulfill the roles within the scope of being an author too?

While it may take me the rest of my life to figure out this question that many women writers before me have faced and which all writers endure, one thing remains certain – with an eye for creation, a vision firmly set on the new world created through the interplay of words, I can help others heal, find joy, and reflect on this wondrous life. This is the reason why I write – to be a light for my own dreams and to shine a halo of inspiration over the many journeys my readers take every day. If I can stay true to this purpose, I will never lose sight of why I write in the first place – not to sell books, but to create them. (Of course, feel free to buy my books, like The Red Drum that just came out in November!!! Excuse the plug – it was a moment of weakness.) I write because I cannot imagine a life without writing and the surprise of the discovered, beautiful expression that ensues from playing with the roll of words on the tongue.

Keep writing and reading. Stay in the flow and your heart will lead you to yet another undiscovered land, where life holds truth in the center of an outstretched palm.

Peace & Poetry,
Cristina M. R. Norcross
www.FirkinFiction.com
Author of: Land & Sea (2007) AND The Red Drum (2008)

"Kindred spirits mix mediums to celebrate life"

The Paintings & Poetry Event made front page news!

Check out this wonderful article by Living Lake Country reporter Paige Smaga! Click on the headline below:

Kindred spirits mix mediums to celebrate life

And don't forget to come out to this exciting, fun charity event featuring the oil paintings of Anne Raskopf, poetry by Cristina M. R. Norcross, Liz Rhodebeck, Mary Jo Balistreri and Charles P. Ries at The Lakes Gallery of Fine Art in North Lake, WI.

TWO SHOWS!
January 17th 2009 / at The Lakes Gallery of Fine Art
2:30-4:00pm
4:30-7:00pm

Free Event!
Door Prizes!
Refreshments!

Donations collected for The American Heart Association and the rebuilding of The Merton Town Hall Library

Paintings and Poetry for a good cause!