How to Capture Shower Ideas

They pelt my head like little needles. Batter my brain. Tease me.

Sometimes I see them dancing on shampoo bubbles. They dart in the shallows like little minnows and nibble at my toes. Then they swirl away. Gone. Down the drain.

Sometimes they laugh at me and leap over the edge. I jump out after them. Naked. Water drips everywhere. I try to lasso them with toilet paper, stick them to the windowsill with toothpaste, or seal them in the mirror steam. I chase them through the house, grab a pen/pencil/crayon/knife, and write/carve on whatever is closest--a napkin, a newspaper, a bill, a table, a wall.

Yes. It's the Secret of the Shower. That place where words and ideas gather in the pipes to plan the next attack on an unprepared writer.

But no more! Shock and awe soon to commence. I will win the Battle of the Brain Drain with new high-tech weaponry!

At first I considered a permanent marker to write directly on my body.

Then I considered bathtub markers.

Supposedly they wash off easily. But I have better things to do that clean my tub/shower/walls/ceiling. Like write. Anyway, some reviewers claim they can still stain. Scratch that idea.

And then a friend suggested something that her forester husband uses. She wrote:

"I was right. There are notebooks out there for your shower reveries.

"Rite in the Rain" brand notepads with a coating on the paper making possible to write clear, readable notes even during a rainstorm. Pocket-sized, spiral bound notebooks are $4 to $5, depending on the exact dimensions you would prefer. They also have traditional paper sizes, and even computer printer paper for printing charts that won't run or ruin.

The source: Ben Meadows catalog. 800-241-6401. OR benmeadows.com.

Order number: JBO 32311 or JBO 32310, depending on if you want to put it into a big pocket or a small one.

(Side note: I don't have pockets in the shower. Is that TMI?) 

Now, as I was relating my unusual request to my husband, my grown kids were hanging on every word and making conversation impossible with:

Oh, I know! She could just put a tape recorder in her bathroom and as she got ideas, she could just sing them into it, sorta like singing in the shower, or even singing in the rain!!!!!!! Sighs. Guess you had to be there. I could hardly speak for laughing.

So there you go--everything my whole family knows, delivered to your door with a smile."

They even have special pens! So a writer can capture every sense of a rainstorm--in the middle of the storm!

Thanks, Katharine!

And then I found this product.

Maybe a little more pricey, but with suction cups for pad and pen!

So there you go. No more ideas down the drain!

Both products on order. I'll let you know what works best. So glad my husband bought me a new hot water heater for my 60th birthday.

Now does anyone manufacture a waterproof computer?

How do you capture shower ideas?

Copyright © 2010 by Sandra Heska King

A Writing Room of My Own--A Tour

It's not exactly a palace.

But it's a step up from the pit. With a penthouse view. Where I can look down on the fields.

I used to work in the dungeon. The furnace room. In the basement. Where I could look up at some face staring at me. A possum. A woodchuck. A raccoon. A skunk. Or a cat. Some critter that sought refuge under our porch. Nose pressed to window. Only one made it inside, though. King Kobe.

Now I work two floors up. In the room where my son slept for 20-plus years. In the room where my husband slept for 20-plus years. At the top of the house. On the north side of this 150-plus-year-old farmhouse. Where it gets cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Where the floor slopes just so, so that I often have to hook my leg around the desk leg when I work to keep from rolling out the door and down the stairs.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

But it's mine. All mine! A real writing studio. I'm on top of the world.

And I don't need to worry about looking up to see a face out the window. I only have to worry about jumping out the window if my heater or fan or 'puter or another of my many electrical devices catches fire. Or if someone sneaks up behind me while I'm engrossed in my writing world.

There's a bit more clutter here than you'd expect given the dump truck mentality I've described in my other blog. But almost everything has some meaning and provides inspiration.

Let me take you on a brief tour. Or not so brief.

Welcome. This is what you would see as you enter.

I spend hours in this chair. Notice the paraffin bath under the desk? Great way to pamper and work at the same time!  By the way, I hate cords!

My reading place, also known as the pansy corner. "Pansy" was my father-in-law's pet name for his wife.

This is actually a porch rocker from Cracker Barrel--oh so comfy!

 

This picture hangs above my rocker. A family friend painted it in 1997. She took painting classes after her husband died, and I think she must have been in her 70s when she did this. I've noted many of her paintings in stores around my hometown, and this reminds me that you are never too old to pursue your dreams.

My dad created this relief carving and the pansy letter opener. (He carves canes, too.) It reminds me that God has placed a gene of creativity within me, actually from both parents since my mom has penned some fun poems.

I had to hang this with the rest of the pansies. It reminds me of the wonderful gifts God has given us in our children--in His time and in His way.

What I see as I sit at my desk. I might catch a glimpse of deer or a fox. Once we even saw a coyote chasing deer. And I can watch Gracee as she plays.

Binoculars stand ready for a wildlife closeup!

My son made the clay project in Sunday School. The lamb was a gift to him from our adult Sunday School class when he was baptized. A reminder to let the Good Shepherd guide me in all I write. Well, actually in everything!

A little prayer corner.

Another Sunday School project. This time my husband's--probably over 50 years ago.

The view from the prayer corner, facing east.

I love to chair fly to the bookcase. Not all my books are here. There are two identical cases downstairs as well as on a wall in another room and in cabinets in the garage. Most books escaped the declutter brigade. I'm thinking the white boxes on the top right shelf will be perfect for storing manuscripts. (Will they each hold 90,000 words?) The three white magazine boxes on the left hold research material for my works in progress. The fourth one on the right and the white notebook hold current Bible study materials. The books on that shelf are ones I'm planning to review. I've already written reviews for those on the bottom. The white box on the second shelf, right bookcase, holds material related to the Bible study I'm currently teaching.

Closeup of a picture done by a local artist, Jesus and children. The caption reads, "A merry heart doeth good medicine." It reminds me to be childlike in my faith.

I cross-stitched this back in 1983.

Moving now to my desk . . .

The Lord is my shepherd! Hangs above my computer.

Chocolate for energy! I use the colored Twistables for marking my Bible. The dogwood reminds me of  Georgia (we lived there three times) and of Jesus because of the legend that is attached to the dogwood.

My sister gave me "A Quiet Moment" (Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus) that sits on top of this antique spool cabinet that houses supplies. I seldom watch the TV, but the Worship Network shows some awesome nature videos combined with scripture and music.

 

Moleskine planner and notebook. I keep another notebook in my purse. Great for capturing notes, last forever, and make me feel like a real writer. Purchased at Barnes & Noble.

And, of course, my bookworm pen.

 

Compassion International! Releasing children from poverty, in Jesus' name.

A sheep bank to remind me I can actually make money doing something I love. And an aromatherapy candle. Serenity!

Another drawing by local artist, Barbara Bosworth. Amazing Grace! "And you shall call His name Jesus for He shall save His people from their sins." Matthew 1:20.

"The draped ribbon joining these images symbolizes our common need of God's Saving Grace forming the name of the one who alone can offer such . . . Jesus."

Can you see His name?

She also incorporated lambs in the composition to represent the parable of the Good Shepherd.

"Fear not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine." Isaiah 43:1

Given to me by my Precept class more than 25 years ago. This verse has carried me through many trials and doubts.

From my daughter.

From my son. Turn it on for light, shimmering water, and the sounds of birds.

This is a Homedics sound machine that plays sounds of a rainforest, ocean, thunder, a summer night, a waterfall, and rain. Currently I have a CD playing "soothing sounds of the Native American flute." I also play "spa sounds" of Celtic harp and hammered dulcimer. At some point I'll try some soundtracks. I'm just getting used to having music while I work. One of the white boxes holds music CD's and the other holds photo and backup CDs.

 

Last, but not least, this floor register provides heat. The animals like to lie over it.

I supplement with an electric heater on my feet, so the paraffin bath is a necessity!

And that concludes today's tour.

I'm glad you stayed until the end, and I wish we could sit down and have a cup of tea--or coffee--together and share a bit of chocolate. Maybe next time.

My writing "studio" is a work in progress. My writing is a work in progress. I am a work in progress!

Where do you write?

In Pursuit,

Sandy

Copyright © 2010 by Sandra Heska King

In Pursuit---An Introduction

I missed out on a late-night conversation during the holidays. My sister apparently told my daughter and niece that I am a woman of many interests. That I throw myself into something and then abandon it when something else grabs my attention.

That might just have been a nice way of describing me as fickle. But then she told them that I always came back to writing.

She's got that straight. Sisters are smart like that. Especially younger and wiser ones. She reads me.

Lots of pursuits entailing lots of supplies entailing lots of money. Sometimes even making money.

Lots of hobbies. Soapmaking, quilting, antiquing, decorating, organic and vegetarian cooking. For starters.

Lots of jobs. Nursing, transcribing, editing, selling. For starters.

But it always comes back to writing. And reading, too. The pursuit of words. Tasting and tumbling sounds and syllables. Delighting in the perfect phrase. Making music with the alphabet. A passionate pursuit in the midst of pursuits.

I can't remember not writing in some form.

I loved Bambi so much that I brought the book home from the school library and attempted to copy it with a pencil.

I wrote long letters to my aunt who was a cloistered nun. Some were in journal form inspired by Jo from the Little Women.

Once I wrote a Nancy Drew type story where I was the heroine and captured bad guys down by the lake. I sent it to a local newspaper, just like Jo. It came back with a written rejection, and I burned both.

My parents took me to a Tigers game when I graduated from eighth grade. I wrote a poem about the game (the Tigers beat the Yankees) and sent it to George Kell and Ernie Harwell along with an autograph book. I don't know what they did with the poem. They didn't return it. But they did return the autograph book, and every player had signed it, including Al Kaline. A couple years later, I decided that was childish. And I burned it.

Sigh.

In the 80's I took a writing course through the Christian Writer's Institute with Esther Vogt as my instructor. I went to a CWI conference and started to submit articles. Some were actually accepted, and I made a little money. I wrote and edited a church newsletter.

During this time, I also dug deep in the Word, inductively, and led Precept classes. I taught. I spoke. I overcommitted to good stuff. 

And then came pain. Infertility. Pregnancy loss. Children adopted in our mid and late thirties. More joy and more pain. A granddaughter born to a single mom. Challenges. Dark nights of the soul. Wilderness times. Mountaintop moments. Emotional and spiritual growth.

And then near total burnout. Overwhelmed. Living life in frantic fragments with a blurred focus. I was tempermental and moody.

And restless with a deep desire to have my time, my work, my life, stamped with eternity.

I quit my job to regain my balance. I began to dig out of the rubble.

Dorothea Brande in her book, Becoming a Writer, says of a writer that "the moods and tempers, when they actually exist, are symptoms of the artist's personality gone wrong--running off into waste effort and emotional exhaustion."

So maybe my moods, my crankiness, my overwhelmed state were really a result of being overwhelmed with the wrong things? I'm certainly as busy or busier now as then and am much more overwhelmed with joy.

Ms. Brande also talks about arranging "affairs and relations so that they help you instead of hinder you on your way toward the goal you have chosen."

Or that was chosen for me?

At any rate, once I started the decluttering of heart, home, and head, I began to hear more clearly. A whisper. A faint rumble. A call. The call. Passion reawakened.

The right pursuit. The write pursuit. Placed in my heart by the One whom I pursue. With Whom I want to be right.

So today I spin this blog off Beholding God, which I started late last summer. That one simmered with an eclectic flavor. But now it will be mostly devotional and personal.

I hope The Write Pursuit will appeal to readers and writers, those also in pursuit of words. I'll focus on my writing journey, book reviews, author interviews, maybe some guest blogs, and writing tips as I learn them.

Thanks for visiting. I hope you'll come back, and I hope you'll find some encouragement for your own journey.

P.S. The pen above is a bookworm pen, a Christmas gift from my sister. The perfect gift for a reader/writer. You can find it and others here.

In pursuit,
Sandy

Copyright © 2010 by Sandra Heska King