Bus, Boat, and Train

Just a quick post for today. I’m writing en route south to Italy by bus, boat, and train. Saturday our friends drove us to the bus stop. I’m writing this post now on the boat from the north bank of the Sognefjord headed towards Bergen. A few minutes ago, I was up on deck, and my hat blew off into the sea.

*Friday evening, a bit after 10:00pm, a last walk before setting out. Just a bit more than a week past the solstice, the days are still long.*

I’m continuing to take part in the nature writing workshop with Granta that I wrote about two weeks ago. I am learning a lot. The course has me writing a number of very short pieces, some fiction, some nonfiction, and some something of a hybrid between the two.

*Last week, my husband picked some lupins and foxgloves for a bouquet.*

One of the things I am recognizing in this process is that, if one commits to a prompt or writing task, there can be material and a story perhaps nearly anywhere. That is, I often rake over my knowledge and experiences for a story. I discard many potential starting places, seeking the perfect story to be telling. I wonder, where should I be investing my time?

In this writing course, by contrast, the instructor sets a prompt, and I have to fill it with something. And what I find is, when I sit with the prompt, I find I can have something to say. It gives me the confidence that there will be something worth saying at the end of it. Some of these little pieces may go on to be flash fiction or short essays, or perhaps I will expand some of them into larger work. We’ll see.

*A beautiful moth I was able to photograph last week on a hike. I wasn’t able to identify its species.*

I’m sad about losing my hat. It’s one I bought just before a canoeing trip to the Boundary Waters with my dad, husband, and father-in-law a couple of years ago. It was my first time having an “outdoor hat,” with a cord to go under my chin, a good rim for the sun, and since that canoe trip I’ve worn it nearly every week when I go out for a walk or hike. It has gotten a lot of use the last couple of years. I connect it with the growing interest I’ve had the last few years in spending time outdoors. But, that’s alright. I guess the hat is with the fishes now.

Hopefully by the time this posts on Sunday midday, I’ll be on trains on my way through Denmark. Best wishes for the first half of July, and happy writing,
Jimmy