So interesting Amanda. I am wondering when an extended Season of Rest (blended with a Season of Musing) feels ripe for A Season of Tending. When you characterize this season as : ‘In a Season of Tending, we’re giving concentrated attention to marketing, branding, learning and relationship building,’ I feel the resistance you mention and a lack of physical or mental energy/capacity due to my long slow recovery from my low back injury. I love the relationship building in terms of commenting, engaging with other like/minded writers and restacking and celebrating their work. But beyond that, marketing and branding has me flummoxed. I want to want to do it. But with more limited creative time & energy, how do I prioritize? Perhaps this is something to discuss in the workshop. I am sure you’d suggest I explore my ‘why’ for a season of tending. Will think about that.
This is a really rich question, Amy. I think the reality is that the seasons show up with invitations and we have to work with the resources we have and use our wisdom and discernment to decide if there's a season to put to the side in order to prioritize another. This is probably where my strategic side comes in and wants to do a 30,000 foot view survey, knowing that we can work through our writing seasons intuitively and also need to put compassionate discipline to make the most of a season. I'd love if you brought this up on Friday. It's such a good context to consider the Writing Seasons inside. ☀️
As a utilitarian, task-oriented person, I feel energized in seasons of tending! In your previous post on musing, you mentioned how our swirling, unorganized creativity in a musing season can start to feel like it might eventually burst out of us. For me, this bursting out feels like a season of tending, where I can’t quite make sense of the writing yet, but I can tend to the vibe of my about page or welcome emails or profile description. Sometimes these tending activities help me make sense of all that the musing uncovered.
Since I started writing my book draft a couple of years ago, I’ve cycled through these seasons several times. There have been moments where I felt discouraged at being stuck. I don’t always remember to consider what season I might be experiencing, and if it might help to reframe my stuck-ness as a natural rhythm. You are reminding me that I haven’t experienced points of failure—I’ve been following my instinct through creative seasons.
So interesting Amanda. I am wondering when an extended Season of Rest (blended with a Season of Musing) feels ripe for A Season of Tending. When you characterize this season as : ‘In a Season of Tending, we’re giving concentrated attention to marketing, branding, learning and relationship building,’ I feel the resistance you mention and a lack of physical or mental energy/capacity due to my long slow recovery from my low back injury. I love the relationship building in terms of commenting, engaging with other like/minded writers and restacking and celebrating their work. But beyond that, marketing and branding has me flummoxed. I want to want to do it. But with more limited creative time & energy, how do I prioritize? Perhaps this is something to discuss in the workshop. I am sure you’d suggest I explore my ‘why’ for a season of tending. Will think about that.
This is a really rich question, Amy. I think the reality is that the seasons show up with invitations and we have to work with the resources we have and use our wisdom and discernment to decide if there's a season to put to the side in order to prioritize another. This is probably where my strategic side comes in and wants to do a 30,000 foot view survey, knowing that we can work through our writing seasons intuitively and also need to put compassionate discipline to make the most of a season. I'd love if you brought this up on Friday. It's such a good context to consider the Writing Seasons inside. ☀️
Happy to do so & thanks for that helpful response!
As a utilitarian, task-oriented person, I feel energized in seasons of tending! In your previous post on musing, you mentioned how our swirling, unorganized creativity in a musing season can start to feel like it might eventually burst out of us. For me, this bursting out feels like a season of tending, where I can’t quite make sense of the writing yet, but I can tend to the vibe of my about page or welcome emails or profile description. Sometimes these tending activities help me make sense of all that the musing uncovered.
Since I started writing my book draft a couple of years ago, I’ve cycled through these seasons several times. There have been moments where I felt discouraged at being stuck. I don’t always remember to consider what season I might be experiencing, and if it might help to reframe my stuck-ness as a natural rhythm. You are reminding me that I haven’t experienced points of failure—I’ve been following my instinct through creative seasons.