Things Keeping Us Going: Reading & Writing Edition

March is National Reading Month, so I figured we should have a totally lit (see what I just did there?) TKUG. I have been working through a pretty heavy reading list this winter, so this month I am enjoying children’s literature and my beloved Irish poets. My writing of late has consisted entirely of these weekly blog posts. Perhaps my fellow Sickies will inspire me. This is what is keeping some of the writers of Sick Pilgrim going this week:

Mary Bishop shares, “I know my friends love me because they send me books in the mail. In the past month I’ve received two packages of books from friends—I am rich indeed!”

Rebecca Bratten Weiss confesses, “Getting to work on my Appalachian Gothic novel revisions as a reward at the end of my extremely long work days is the motivation for me to keep pushing onwards. I thought I was sick of that manuscript and had barely looked at it for a year. Now it’s taken on new life. Lots of dark stuff going on in there.”

John Farrell finds himself, “Getting back to my play after several distractions and other deadlines.”

Karl Persson, always thoughtful, always helpful shares his newly adopted strategy for getting some writing in: “Maybe I could talk about my recent discovery of time-blocking – that is, committing a certain amount of fixed time slots weekly to writing/research rather than having larger more abstract goals that never get done. I find it helps me to remember that writing is a bodied and quasi-contemplative activity needing time and space rather than merely ideals and aspirations. The person I’m following who suggests time-blocking is Cal Newman who is a theorist in this area, but I feel like he’s really just channeling for a modern audience the same kind of wisdom Benedictines know intuitively from their traditional work in prayer and writing/scholarship. And setting aside this time really feels rewarding and like part of my vocation – if I don’t do this, the entirety of my energy and time gets eaten up by teaching and committee work.

I would be well served to take Karl’s advice, though I know me. It’s highly unlikely that I will.

What is getting you writing (or reading) this week?