Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Getting warmer . . .

 Have you ever heard that the more sleep kids get the more they sleep? I remember discovering that when I tried to keep Henry up late so he'd sleep in the next day only to find him awake even earlier than normal!

Since starting JaNoWriMo it seems that the more creative writing I do the more creative things I want to do.  This weekend I decided to carry my camera with me everywhere (a hassle because it's heavy and bulky and I'm lazy). I got lucky with a synchronicity of elements - the lighting was just right, the sky was dark and not the normal blah grey of the endless English winter and then, as a gift, a pair of riders appeared. 

Unlike some photographers, I rarely have time to wait for a picture. Most great landscape photographers are the ones who venture out at the crack of dawn and then wait hours for the perfect shot. If I'm out, it's at a decent hour and I usually have my dog with me - on the day I took this photo my son was with me too - neither child nor dog are known to want to hang around for long while I take pictures. 

I read an article recently in Oprah by Martha Beck where she advised to move towards things that make you feel good and away from things that don't as if playing "warmer, colder". For example, if you feel good after you've exercised - warmer! Drank too much and are now hung over? (Who me?) Colder. I must've needed to hear this message more than once because I'd downloaded a bunch of author interview podcasts from iTunes, she happened to be one of the authors and she said it again. 

Creative writing - warmer; photography - warmer; falling off diet wagon: colder; making word count for the day - hot!

  

7 comments:

Ceri Hebert said...

What a fantastic photo! I want to be there right now. On on of the horses.

Excellent post.

Dru said...

That's a perfect shot without having to wait. WTG on your word count.

Marianne Arkins said...

It's a great photo. And, yes, I agree with you about creativity begetting creativity -- it's like a muscle, don't you think? The more you use it, the stronger it gets.

Amy said...

I LOVE the idea of living life playing warmer/colder.

A very wonderful and prolific writer once told me that the more you write, the more ideas you have, so on each book don't hold anything back for the next story because by the time you get to the next story, you'll have more ideas than you know what to do with!

That photo is AMAZING!

groovyoldlady said...

That's an awesome photo!

Me this week? Cold all over!

Guess I need to move closer to the fireplace!

Jen said...

Whoa, you sure did - GREAT word count! I love that idea by Martha Beck. I've read some of her work and she can be very inspiring.

Your photo is incredible.

edeevee said...

Great pic! And I love the warmer/colder wisdom. I'm totally an iTunes girl but I never thought to look for author podcasts there. Thanks for the tips!