A SHIFT IN PERSPECTIVE

When my eyes aren't too tired, and the focus is good, I get a chance to read. One of my recent forays into subjects that need a little more brain work brought me to an American poet and writer named Pat Schneider (1934-2020). During much of her life she taught folks how to write--or a better explanation would be, taught folks to recognize that they could write, never mind their age, economic status, gender, or previous experience (or lack of it).

Pat taught workshops for all kinds of groups, large and small. I first encountered her in her 2013 book, How the Light Gets In: Writing as a Spiritual Practice.

And this is one of the nuggets of wisdom I gleaned:

• Beginning Again is not the same as Starting Over.

I say "one of the nuggets" because I'm only about a quarter of the way through the book and it's sprouting little Post-It Notes on many, many pages.

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That nugget of Pat's is especially important to me right now because I'm stuck--as in axle-deep in wet cement with no one to pull me out--in the story I'm currently writing. Actually, have been writing since last February or March.

The first trial, I set the story on Ash Wednesday, with my usual cast of characters: The Rev. Dr. Abercrombie, his curate Rev. Andie, and a parishioner. Wrote a few pages. Hit a wall.

So, I waited a while (probably a month or two) and tried again. Dr. Abercrombie is getting ready to officiate at a funeral in his church. That went all right for a chapter or two, then I got interrupted, and when I came back, I picked up the story in the wrong place, the time frame went down the tubes, and I was close to trashing the whole thing. (Since it was on the computer, not printed, I would've had to delete a lot of manuscript--and I just couldn't do that. I think it's a case of "waste not, want not," which I learned in childhood.)

Another wait. Inspiration eluded me. Tried ignoring it. Still nothing.

Enter Pat Schneider. When I can't write, no matter the reason, I like to read about writing. Pat held up her lamp and I began to see some things--not what I needed to do next, but at least I was noticing.

When I got to the part where Pat says (I paraphrase here) "Beginning Again is NOT Starting Over," I felt a sharp elbow in my ribs--"Hey, you, pay attention!"

As Pat explains it:

• Starting Over means getting rid of what you had.
• Beginning Again means keeping what you had and finding a new place to begin, and go on from there.

It's a tiny shift, I suppose. People (myself included) have been starting over for eons. But it seems like a case of tossing the baby out with the bath water (another childhood warning). As a writer, I can't bear to think about shredding pages of notes and research, deleting forever computer files of previous drafts. Think of the hours and hours of work just discarded.

So I've become a die-hard advocate for Beginning Again. Seems to work with other tasks and endeavors: painting, cooking, sewing/quilting/knitting, you name it . . . .

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If you've read this far, I thank you for allowing me to share a difficult time and what I (may have) learned. Life Lessons are everywhere.

Blessings,

Thursday's Child