Saving Grace & Coursework

After several days of dedicated prayer and a day of fasting, I’ve decided to give Saving Grace a sabbatical and myself a much needed break.

The questions that prompted that decision still need to be answered, but they are no longer dominant. In their place is a quietness of mind that lets me know it’s okay to take a break and let things cool down.

Instead of hardcore story design, I’ve been designing some new paintings and working on existing portraits. I’m pleased to report that I’ve been thinking of painting at night instead of ‘hearing’ dialogue and seeing scenes. I’m hoping that this shift in nocturnal musings translates into productive studio time the same way it often translates into good writing days.

The colored pencil class is going very well, too. It is partially responsible for the new painting ideas, since one of them is going to be a 16×20 inch colored pencil painting with a full background. I haven’t done a colored pencil of that size in nearly eight years! I’m excited and, I confess, a little bit intimidated at the prospect of facing that much unmarked paper!

But I haven’t set writing aside completely. I’ve been doing coursework on character development and working my way through archived workshops on subjects as varied as passive vs. active voice, pre-plotting, word choice and the writer’s palette (that one has a special appeal to me, as you might guess!). The archived workshops are not interactive, but they have already proven to be very beneficial.

Consequently, daily word count is still high and that pleases me a great deal.

Since Saving Grace went on sabbatical, I have had more than enough to keep me busy. Given the studio schedule and the first of hopefully many horse shows on the horizon, I see little chance of that changing.

So how long will the sabbatical last? I don’t know. When it began, I felt like someone standing in a room full of closed doors and windows. When all the doors and windows are closed, the best thing to do is wait. I’m not very good at waiting, so I suppose part of the process was just getting my attention. A tangle of guestions may have been the best way to do that.

When an idea comes, an answer is revealed or a door or a window opens, then I’ll step forward again.

Until then….well, I’m doing something I’m not very good at. Waiting. Patiently.