Writing Quote Wednesday: Nurturing the Writer

“When earth is rich it bids defiance to droughts, yields in abundance, and of the best quality.”

 –Letter from Thomas Jefferson to his daughter, Martha, from Philadelphia July 21, 1793

p. 22 THE DOMESTIC LIFE OF THOMAS JEFFERSON, letters compiled by Sarah Randolph

In this quote, Thomas Jefferson is talking about his garden at Monticello. He’s advising his daughter to put manure on the garden so the soil will be rich for the next gardening season.

I view my summers like this. It’s time to fertilize the writing mind, not with manure (ha! ha!), but with the time to nurture and prepare for times of drought. On Monday I wrote about a class that I audited at Hollins as an artist’s date. I attended, not for credit, but for nurturing. This is the time to feed my writing soul good nutrients so that in the common months when I’m knee-deep in school work and kids’ schedules, and stress, that I can have something to draw on.

I know there will be times of writer’s block, frustration, and pesky little critters that will sneak in and steal my writing time or my motivation during the year.

I write a lot in the summer. I try to write and get ahead so that when September rolls around, I can still dip my toes into the writing world because I’ve laid the groundwork.

What are you doing to fertilize your writing life so that you can be ready to bid defiance to droughts? Did you attend a conference? Go on a retreat? Or just make some time and space for yourself at home?