Poetry Friday: 60 Miles to Creativity
60 Miles to Creativity: Productive Meditation
I recently took a class with Julie Falatko called the Unfolding the Map. It’s a follow-up class to the class I took earlier this year called The Map to Inspiration. We were encouraged to make a goal for the class. My goal was “60 Miles to Creativity.” The idea was that I would intentionally walk 60 miles doing productive meditation during the 6 weeks of the class.
Productive Meditation is a term Cal Newport coined in his book “Deep Work.” His example was to walk with the intention of work on a problem or task that required some thinking. He carries a notebook with him to record, if needed. He talks about it a bit here.
I walk about 7-8k steps during my workday on a normal day (sometimes higher). I wasn’t going to count this mileage because it wasn’t part of my thinking routine of productive meditation.
This was a lofty goal as it was at the end of the school year, and I had several evening events, and book fair during this time. Book Fair essentially means I get lots of steps in, but don’t really have time for other exercise. My husband cooked every night for 2 weeks during this time because I got home so late.
I pulled out my Field Notes notebooks, and filled up 1.5 of them with notes (they are 48 pages each, but only the size of a 3×5 index card).
I kept track of my mileage each time I walked, and I kept a running list of things I wanted to work on.
After 6 weeks, I was able to complete 52 miles!
Nope, I didn’t get to all 60 miles. However, I’m really proud that I did 52 miles of thinking and walking.
I found that brainstorming about different ideas or brainstorming ideas for how to fix a problem in a story worked best for me. I also found that I often needed to come home and go through my notes–sometimes I can’t read my handwriting.
During this time, I focused on doing longer walks once per day. Now that I’m home for the summer, I might vary the way I do the walks. Maybe shorter 30 minute walks but 2x a day. This will help me get up from my desk. I’m not used to sitting much at all during the day, so sitting to write in the summer means I have to be intentional about getting up to move more often.
Suffs on Broadway
I’m not much of a person to do big things spontaneously, but I’ve been wanting to go to NYC to see Suffs: The Musical since it opened on Broadway in April. I just couldn’t get away for a weekend this spring. Last weekend, I decided to be spontaneous, and just GO. I checked on availability and booked everything a few hours before Shaina Taub won two Tony Awards!
Suffs covers the same timeline that my forthcoming book ONE STEP FORWARD does (1913-1920), though the musical does a brief scene in the 1970s. While it doesn’t have Matilda Young, the protagonist in my book, as a character (or any of her family), it does have so many of the characters I feature in the book.
It was excellent. If you get a chance to go, I’d highly recommend it. And I can’t wait to go back!!! Here is one of the songs from the musical that the cast performed at the Tony’s.
One of the things I was fascinated by is how Shaina Taub handled moving through the seven year timeline in the medium of music. Just like she did, I had to think about where to slow things down and where to speed them up. It was fascinating to think about it in another work. The musical also did a perfect job of capturing so many of the emotions I imagined and felt while writing the book. I promise it will fire you up!
I also spent some time in bookstores while in NYC. I promise to report on that next week.
Haiku of the Week
sunshiny faces
bit frayed around the edges—
last day of school
Photo Taken: May 12, 2024, Shenandoah National Park
Haiku Written: June 12, 2024 (actual last day of school)
Poem as Picture Book
by Dianne White
Illustrated by Daniel Wiseman
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018
This is a 142-word poem as picture book about leaving our old ways behind and being brave enough to start something new.
Poetry Connections
- Rhyming couplets
- Consonance
- Alliteration
Links
Grow
I’m stretching myself this week by reading genres I don’t normally read. Lately, I’ve read some adult books that have some unique features that might inform my writing at some point. If not, they were still interesting to read because they are outside of my normal reading repertoire.
29 Comments
Rose Cappelli
What a wonderful experience, Marcie! As always, your energy is amazing. Now I’m intrigued with the productive meditation – definitely going to look into it.
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
It is hard to get used to but worth doing!
Tabatha
High five for walking all those miles and doing all that brainstorming! 🙌 Congrats on getting to see Suffs, and I ❤️ your last day of school haiku.
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Thank you, Tabatha! It’s been such a great start to summer!
Susan T.
Nice, Marcie. I’d like to see Suffs! I gave my second-grade friends little note pads and pens for their end-of-year gifts, and I hope they’re taking notes and writing as they go about their summer. Maybe next year some Field Notes for them! You’ve given me an idea. 🙂
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
It would pricey to buy for a whole class, but I do love them! Yes to Suffs! I hope you get to go. I’d love to go back.
Denise Krebs
Marcie, wow. What a great post. Congratulations on your 52 Miles to Creativity! That was an accomplishment. I hope you have a wonderful summer, full of exercise and productivity. I bet after writing One Step Forward, it was all the better to see Suffs. I’m so glad you did it!
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
I felt like I got so much more out of it because I knew the history and the sources of some of the materials.
Ramona
I well remember that frayed around the edges feel in June. I used to call it crawling over the finish line! 52 miles of productive meditation at the end of the school year. What a challenge and you did it! My husband loves Field Notes and has even given them to the grands. They write stories in them and record their potions in them.
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Crawling over the finish line is right! Yay for Field Notes!
Kathryn Apel
Wow. What a fascinating post. I love a tramp across paddocks to wrangle a problem and get thoughts flowing. Just the difference between a walk on the track and the tramp on uneven ground draws from a different level of creativity, I find.
Intriguing snippets and insights about your book. And giggle! That photo and poetry moment. Love the humour!
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Thank you so much! Also, I just love the phrase “tramp across paddocks to wrangle a problem.” 🙂
Kathryn Apel
Wow. What a fascinating post. I love a tramp across paddocks to wrangle a problem and get thoughts flowing. Just the difference between a walk on the track and the tramp on uneven ground draws from a different level of creativity, I find.
Intriguing snippets and insights about your book. And giggle! That photo and poetry moment. Love the humour!
Jone MacCulloch
I am encourage by this post to do more walking and mediiating. How wonderfult o see Suffs,. I am looking forward to reading your book when it comes out.
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Thank you so much, Jone. As the weather gets steamier it’s less desirable to do the walking I need to do. I need to change up my schedule a bit to walk in the cooler air.
Linda Baie
I watched the Tonys & would love seeing Suffs, also love reading more about your book, Marcie! It looks & sounds great! (Thanks for the song!) And, your haiku, for all those ending the year, perfect! Happy Summer!
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
I hope you get to see Suffs. I can’t wait to go back!
Mary Lee Hahn
I imagine with all your background knowledge, seeing SUFFS was a completely different experience for you than it was for most of the rest of the audience! Your “60 Miles to Creativity” is inspiring! I need to get some field notes books to take along on my walks!
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
100% I definitely got more out of that musical because I knew so much background.
Laura Purdie Salas
Wow–52 miles of focused walking meditation is amazing, Marcie! Congratulations! When I walk-write outside (no specific regimen, and I do this on and off), I usually “write” in voice-to-text notes to myself. It keeps me from having to stop and scribble, which I get irritable about. Anyway, hooray for that and your adventures on Broadway. And HUGE congrats on your verse novel. I look forward to reading it!
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Voice-to-text is so smart! As part of the class (where I made the goal) we were supposed to try to use our phones less for the duration of the class, but they are a great tool!
Karen Edmisten
Marcie, 52 miles of focused meditation is marvelous! What a wonderful idea. Everything about this post is wonderful, from your upcoming book, to Suffs, to those frayed edges. Thanks for sharing about all of it!
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Thank you! It’s felt like such a great kickoff to summer.
PATRICIA J FRANZ
Such a great husband to cook for 2 weeks!!!
I don’t think I’d be great at walking and trying to take notes on big-problems, but boy would it be smart — since I do my best thinking when my mind is free (hiking my dog in the mornings through the forest; biking miles and miles)…I just tend to forget all the great solutions! Actually, I have begun voice-recording things into my phone -if I remember to bring it with me on my walks. Thanks for this great peek into process. — And I’m hoping to get to NYC next May (to do the boroughs bike ride — and see some shows)!
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Yes, it sounds like voice-to-text is the way to go! I hope you get to go to NYC in May. Hit me up for bookstore recommendations! I’ve got plenty! 🙂 Besides Suffs (which would be my #1 pick), I also adored Hadestown on Broadway. It was awesome!
Margaret Simon
I saw that you attended Suffs. My daughter saw it a few weeks ago and loved it. How great that you got to go! I walk daily but I don’t have the discipline you have. Some of my walks are with a neighbor or friend, so we just visit. This is good for me, too, I feel, but I do enjoy time to mull things around.
I hope you and Linda have a productive week at Highlights. I’m trying to be happy for you (and not jealous).
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
I’m so glad your daughter got to see Suffs. I’m currently obsessed with it. Visiting while walking is also great. I have a friend who I chat with (on the phone) who is also a writer. We call those sessions “walk and talks” and we work out all kinds of writing dilemmas.
Michelle Kogan
Thanks for this dynamic post Marcie, and for sharing your challenges, they are steep as our the challenges women are facing with the November Election! The song from Suffs was invigorating–how special you were able to see it, I look forward to your forthcoming book! Thanks too for your “sunshiny” haiky!
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Steep challenges is right! And it’s really sad to realize how long women have been fighting. The musical really did a nice job of bringing that out.