Hi everyone.
Here’s the recording link to last week’s “Practice” workshop with the wonderful Porochista Khakpour (only up for a month so watch it quick) and this week’s prompt is below. I’m in the process of doing it myself and just wanted to share a few observations.
The two new activities I did this week to see how they would affect my writing has been a qi gong class and painting a still life (I’ve painted before but usually abstract). The qi gong class hasn’t really made an impact yet and that’s okay… one thing with trying new practices I’ve noticed is that it often takes time for things to sink in, so it’s more important to just try them out and see how they feel, and maybe stick with things for a while if you feel even a small amount of connection.
I’ve noticed though that even more than abstract painting, doing this still-life has automatically made me more patient with revision, just because it reminds me how many layers of paint it takes to do a decent representational painting, and also whatever I do wrong I can just cover and do over again (at least in acrylic). Also one of the big benefits of doing any artistic activity other than writing is that it reminds me of my original love for making art without any of the professional pressures that come with it. I hesitate to show you the result but I figure since I’m talking about it I might as well:
And here’s this week’s prompt:
Draft 250-500 words on a topic or theme of your own choosing
Engage in a meditative activity that’s new to you for thirty minutes or more twice during the course of the week. Examples include swimming, jogging, walking, painting, or online classes for qi gong, meditation, Iyengar yoga, or Feldenkrais (from my personal teacher, so you might see me).
Within twelve hours of your second activity session, draft another 250-500 words on the same or adjacent topic.
Compare the drafts and observe both the similarities and differences between them, as well as your state of mind before, during, and after your writing. Do your best to make actual observations based on your experience rather than deciding what the results are or should be ahead of time.
Write a reflection about the exercise, what differences you felt while engaging in these new activities and what stayed consistent for you.
OPTIONAL: Before you write your initial draft, spend thirty continuous minutes or more engaged in a highly stimulating activity like social media, video games, YouTube, etc. to heighten the contrast between your conditions for writing the first ms and the second ms.
See y’all soon!
M.