Sharing Snippet: Behind The Kitchen Doors ~ Resort Life

My next memoir, Behind the Kitchen Doors ~ Resort Life, continues with my journey working for luxury hotels in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. I focus on how it is to work in a resort-like hotel during the winters, where the hours are less and I picked up shifts where I could, and a second job at a daycare where I ended up with chickenpox at the age of twenty-three. There was never a dull moment. Every experience was one step forward of the path of where I was going.

Christmas at the Lake

Christmas at the Lake was magical. It was a snow globe of a perfect winter wonderland. Snow-covered mountains, the glistening snow on top of the frozen lake, a section plowed off for skaters, and a cross-country ski trail to the end of the Lake. It also seemed that every tree outside around the property was wrapped in white Christmas lights. It was stunning.

Inside the hotel, it looked like Santa’s workshop from all the Christmas movies you can think of. Most recently I think of the Christmas Chronicles with Kirk Russel and Goldie Hawn meets White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney.

The Christmas trees in the lobby were gargantuan species of bright and dazzling yuletide ordainments. Each tree had an empty box decorated in shining holiday paper with oversized bows placed ever so perfectly around the base of the tree. There were Christmas trees everywhere you looked in the lobby, each dining room, and hallways throughout the hotel. It would be easy to play hide-and-go-seek and get lost in the trees.

***

When I was working on the holiday buffet, I watched people pile roasted turkey and slabs of prime rib on their plates, I would break up the monotonous of the buffet service by staring outside the floor-to-ceiling bay windows facing the glacier-fed Lake. The Christmas trees outside were beautifully decorated and with the falling snow on the branches of the trees, the magic of the holidays filled my heart.

            Sis: Excuse me do you have any horseradish?

            Marion Ann: What?

            Sis: That woman is pointing at an empty bowl.

            Marion Ann: Opps!

            Sis: Daydreamer.       

            Marion Ann: Yes. Yes, I am.

***

I didn’t talk to Michael a lot during the holidays. He was busy with school and I told him how busy the hotel was. I shared stories about the elaborated buffets the companies chose for their employees. I told him about the overpriced wine I pushed onto my tables to make extra money.

He would imply it was a good way to save money for when I was ready to move back to Nova Scotia. I would agree to avoid the conversation.

Marion Ann: I wasn’t ready to leave.

Sis: Either was I.

            Christmas Time for Employees

My first Christmas away from home was painless. I was working a lot to distract myself from the traditional events that I was missing in Nova Scotia.

At the Lake, on Christmas day I only had to work a small Christmas morning champagne breakfast for a family that booked a private room to celebrate together. It was the easiest hundred dollars I made, that as on top of the gratuity built into the private room and catering fee. The family felt bad for me that I had to work on Christmas day.

            Sis: Then hand over another hundred.

            Marion Ann: Exactly.

After I cleaned up my function, I made my way to my cousin, Debbie’s, house in Canmore for Christmas dinner. It was nice to spend time with family.

I didn’t mind working Christmas, it meant double time pay, and extra sympathy tips when I shared, I was away from family.

The one event I was looking forward to was the employee Christmas party. It was one of the elaborated buffets and the managers served the employees. The poured the first glasses of wine but then left the bottles on the tables for free pour service. It was a recipe for disaster.

The management was in charge of bussing tables and wine service. Dinner was an elaborate buffet by a culinary team from another sister property. Usually, Kananaskis sent a team to work the event, and then we would go there to help them with their Christmas party. Who wouldn’t want to work at another property, get paid to hang out and drink, because that’s what happened. The cooks prepared dinner, the servers and dishwashers did their jobs and then after dinner, they were offered to party with us, we all knew each other from staying at each other’s property with the staff discount, or transferring from one property to another, the mountain properties were one big happy family.

***

My debut memoir, Behind The Kitchen Doors ~ The Summers, shares my first three summers working for the Chateau Lake Louise, a beautiful hotel on top of a mountain. It may be far away from your home but you can’t hide from what you left behind. Click Here fore more details ~ Thank you.

Until Next Time, Keep on Typing…

Sharing Snippet: Behind The Kitchen Doors ~ Resort Life

I am trying to honor myself and the creative life by sharing more of my work in progress, my next hospitality memoire, Behind The Kitchen Doors ~ Resort Life, where I share my experiences working for luxury hotels in the Canadian Rockies. I pronounced at an early age I wanted to be a writer. Possibly at the age of 8 or even earlier. I always had a story in my head. I wanted to write (and still do) TV shows, movies, books and I thought I would write romance or maybe mystery, because I read a lot of romance and mystery books. I also loved watching, ‘Murder She Wrote’, and Romancing the Stone, who wouldn’t want to be Angela Lansbury or Joan Wilder?

Through serendipitous events I have been provided with life experiences that I am grateful for.

***

FAKE IT TIL YOU MAKE IT

            Standing in the kitchen by the entrance to the main dining room of Chateau Lake Louise, the Victoria dining room, meant I was either coming or going from the kitchen.

            Going into the dining room to get whatever appetizer, entrée or desert to place in front of a couple, table of four or the dreaded table of eight or ten tourists sitting together. Too many people to keep a track of at one table. Give me five tables of two (tables for two people) and I’m good. It’s easier to talk to a couple. Couples usually are on a special occasion, not wanting to talk to me. They want to gaze into one another’s eyes.

                        Sis: Honeymooners. Ugh.

                        Marion Ann: Low maintenance is good.

            Larger tables, for example eight or ten people, meant multiple couples or family traveling together. The beloved Taulk or Princess Tours guests tend to group together when they travel weeks together. Then they decide to have dinner together, which is fine, but for servers, it’s a lot of work. The people at the table like to talk to one another across the table about everything and anything. Sometimes it was too much information.

            Guest A: Lilian, did you hear about the woman on our tour with cancer?

            Lilian: What kind. What a shame.

            Guest A: I thought you knew.

            Guest C: Who?

            Guest A: You know, the single woman who sits by herself on the coach.

            Guest C: I know her, well I don’t know her but I know of her.

On and on it goes, until I stand up straight and I speak over their noise.

            “Good evening everyone. Can I start anyone with a cocktail while you review the menu?”

I look at each of the guests as I talk, they are nodding and smiling acknowledging me. Some of them look past me or right through me as if I’m not even standing there. They don’t care.

            Guest A: Gin martini, straight up, that’s without ice, with a lemon twist.

            Guest C: Chardonnay.

            Guest B: Water is fine, I have a heart condition.

            Guest C: Shame. They say a glass of red wine a day is good for the heart. Have a glass, it won’t hurt you.

            Guest B: Who says that?

            Guest C: Doctors.

            Gust A: It’s true. I heard it as well. Go ahead, have a glass.

                        Sis: Gezus! I’ll finish it if none of you finish it.

Ten minutes later I’m ringing in the drink orders at the bar. I see one new table being seated in my section. Normally this wouldn’t happen if the table of ten is seated. But nothing is certain in the dining room.

                        Marion Ann: Seriously!?

                        Sis: Here we go!

My friend is bartending and gives me a look of understanding. I roll my eyes as I place the glasses of wine and high balls on my serving tray. The bartender is placing the martinis on another tray to follow behind me. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Before I get back to the table of ten, I say hello to my new table, they are a young Asian couple, all smiles and taking pictures of the Lake. I see the little note by their drink menu to tell me they are a F.I.T table, (A tour Individual traveller, they are travelling on their own but their meals are like any of the larger tours, soup, salad, entrée and desert, easy Frisbee services). I ask if they would like a winero or a beero and they point to the white wine on my tray. I smile to acknowledge their request.

I walk towards my table of ten who are now talking about a grandson’s wedding.

            Guest C: They spent five thousand dollars on the dress.

            Guest A: Five thousand? I didn’t spend a hundred dollars on my dress.

            Guest B: What are these kids coming to?

                        Sis: Oh my gawd!

                        Marion Ann: Deep breath.

I place the drinks in front of the right people and they all pick up their glasses and toast one another. I let them know I will be right back to answer any questions and take their order.

            Guest B: Oh dear, we haven’t even looked at the menus. Give us another five minutes.

                        Marion Ann: Shit. I hate when they do this.

                        Sis: Self-entitlement.

                        Marion Ann: High maintenance equals no tip.

I nodded and confirmed I would be back in five minutes to take their orders. I walked towards the couple with their white wines. They thanked me several times and started taking pictures again. I headed to the kitchen with my bar tray to pick up their first course of miso soup.

I walked back in the kitchen where I could stop smiling and take a deep breath. I knew the table of ten was going to make for a long evening. I over heard them trying to figure out if they should share all the appetizers.

                        Sis: Sounds like fun.

                        Marion Ann: At least I could gather more personalities to use in a story.

                        Sis: That’s a girl. Focus on the writing.

There was a reason I returned to the Lake and wanted to stay for as long as I did. Creativity provided me with the perfect surroundings to write about. The other life stuff that happened was part of the deal. The table of ten ended up tipping me more than the regular fifteen percent. They told me they appreciated my attention to detail and privacy. I didn’t do anything differently that night. I did my job. I provided them quality service, food and an experience.

***

If you would like to read more about my first memoir, Behind The Kitchen Doors ~ The Summers, please click here. Thank you.

Until Next Time, Keep on Typing…

Back to the Basic’s ~ For the umteenth time

A few years ago I was a disciple of Steven Pressfield’s, The War of Art. There is so much to relate to, especially with Resistance. Now I am reading Mr. Pressfields, Turning Pro, Tap Your Inner Power and create your life’s work, and right from the start I am hit hard with the truth. Before I started reading the book, I flipped through the pages because there is a message for me right away.

Art and Addiction – bam! Let’s get into now, there is no time like the present.

From The War of Art, there is a theme about resistance which resonated with me. Resistance of getting to the page as often I as I use to. I was beating myself up because I use to write for hours at a time, the was when I had an entry level job, no responsibility, except to show up, do the job and leave and leave the job at the work place for the next day.

As I started to grow in my hotel life, the distractions, the displacement activities that Steven Pressfield’s, Turing Pro, talks about, started to show.

” When we’re living as amateurs, we’re running away from our calling – meaning our work, our destiny, the obligation to become our truest and highest selves. Addiction becomes a surrogate for our calling. We enact the addiction instead of embracing the calling. Why? Because to follow a calling requires work. It’s hard. It hurts. It demands entering the pain-zone of effort, risk, and exposure.” ~ Turning Pro

Read that again. Let it sink in. I am still floating around the truth of these words. I shared how I was more productive when I had little responsibility at the day job and had more space for creativity. I was happy to be diving into my destiny as a creative being. I look back and can see the moments where my writing started to suffer, where I stopped writing for hours and was happy to squeeze in a half hour each day. I started to take on more responsibility at the hotel life, then I became a manager and the level of responsibility took over and creativity was on the side lines waiting patiently for me. This sounds like an excuse, and maybe it is, but on some other level I was possibly self-sabotaging myself even though I knew I was born to tell stories, to write stories and share them with the world.

I gave myself a swift kick in the behind and finished my debut memoir, Behind the Kitchen Doors ~ The Summers, and with the help of a great friends, self published the book over two years ago. I found a balance, I told myself that creativity comes first, the day job needed to be treated like a day job where I left work at work, and the only thing I took home with me were the guests that provided me with character development. The ego and I broke up and I knew it would be back, but I thought I knew what it looked like to avoid it again when it showed up like a bad boyfriend. The sad thing is, I saw ego coming back and I fell into the old routine of giving more attention to the job then creativity. It seemed the distractions were greater than my will to write. I moved to a new province, started a new job with more responsibility then I expected and started a farm. Where was the room for writing? This is where my sassy alter ego says, “Hello, writing always comes first!” Exactly. Creativity has to be my number one priority and buying Steven Pressfield’s book is one of the many steps of my true self getting back on track.

I will be sharing more of my writing journey for the next few weeks. This is how I started this blog and I must stay true to creativity. “It is my responsibility to share my great work with the world.” ~ Gabby Berstein

Thank you for being here with me today. How is your creative life? What are you doing to keep on track? I love to hear from you.

Until Next Time, Keep on Typing…

On The Road Again…

It’s not what you think. We are not moving but I am moving on in the hotel life. I have given my resignation as the General Manager of the beautiful hotel I work for because I accepted a position at another hotel as their Director of Human Resources. It feels good to share this news. I am nervous and excited for the new adventure. How I stumbled upon this wonderful opportunity has to do with intention of my true self asking for what she wants and needs to maintain her creative life.

What you resist, persists

It’s been a trying year for all of us. We have been tested with the novel Covid-19 virus and maybe some of you have learned a little more about yourselves than expected. I have know a few things about myself that I need to deal with and the things that I have been resisting have persisted and showing up saying, “Hey, pay attention and deal with it!”

I was provided with a wonderful opportunity to be the General Manager of a beautiful hotel in Fredericton, New Brunswick. I have been in the hotel world for over twenty-five years, being of service is in my blood, but to my own fault, it can take over your life and in a blink of an eye. A year goes by and your true self is waiting to have her turn to speak up. She has been waiting patiently and I love her for her kindness while I have been struggling with the ego slipping in and out over the past year.

“I am grateful for this amazing opportunity that is being provided to maintain this beautiful creative life.” ~ This is my mantra I write over and over in my gratitude journal, morning pages and on top of mind, always. I am truly grateful for every opportunity that has been provided. Every experience has brought me to this very moment, here and now.

I have shared many times in my morning pages, with friends and family that I didn’t want any more responsibility in the hotel life, but I tend to take on more to help the hotel, the employees and my colleagues. My experiences have provided me to be offered positions that have provided life lessons and sometimes I have to go through the same experience to learn that life lesson to really learn it.

So, now, I have learned twice that I am not cut out to be a General Manager of a hotel, but then on the flip side, never say never. However, in this season of my life I have come to terms that I don’t want the level of responsibility that comes with being a General Manager of a hotel. My over-all well being depends on the quality of my habits. Being a GM is not easy task. I have excellent soft skills and that has helped me grow my human resources experiences. I have always been that person people come to and tell me their story. I enjoy sharing life experiences that may help someone in a similar situation to simply say, ‘you’re not alone’. The same things apply in the hotel world. Everyone starts somewhere and no one is alone in their experiences.

It wasn’t easy to tell my boss that I was leaving. I put my heart and soul into the hotel for the past year and half. I put the hotel, employees and owners a head of my own happiness. I didn’t see the repercussions of my choices until around December 2020. I wasn’t writing as much as I needed to be. I was not fully invested in either my creative life or the farm life. I was on auto pilot trying to live two separate lives, but it wasn’t working. It didn’t matter how many podcasts I listened to about leadership, setting boundaries, striving for the work-life balance that I use to preach about. I tried to reread writing reference books to get me back on track, but I was not fully invested. I was always worried and thinking about how the phone would ring on a Sunday afternoon from the hotel. I was not living my best life, how could I lead a team when I was in the ‘fake it till you make it’ mind frame for over a year. How could I be living my best life when I wasn’t happy with my choices. I simply asked the universe for some help, I remembered Julia Cameron’s commitment to creativity,

“Okay creative force, you take care of the quality, and I’ll take care of the quantity.”

I have asked creativity, once again, to help me so I am able to write the ideas that creativity is providing me. I asked, I stood back and now I am receiving with open arms the help and support that is being provided. Thank you.

I have a week off between jobs and I know I may be called by the hotel for assistance from time to time, but I am turning off my phone when I am writing because creativity deserves my time. I deserve time with creativity. I have to start practicing the quality of my habits that reflect the quality of my life. Honor myself to honor others.

Have you have a recent life change, a shift in your life plans? I would love to hear from you.

Thank you for being here with me today.

Until Next Time, Keep on Typing…

Story by Senses: Touch

I enjoy participating in Instagram writing challenges and recently I have started to follow the group #writerfriendschallenge. The first time I came across them I was intrigued by the themes, structure, and writing socials. This month there is a theme about telling stories by senses. This week was about touch. The host of the group shared her interpretation about the theme and shared fifty words to describe touch and I was instantly hit by inspiration. It was like a huge light bulb went off and I heard myself saying ‘Hello, here I am!’ Here are those words:

Arid, Abrasive
Bitter, Balmy
Course, Chunky
Damp, Dry
Etched, Even
Frigid, Fragile
Gritty, Gossamer
Hollow, Harsh
Inflated, Itchy
Jagged, Jaggy
Knotty, Knitted
Level, Loose
Mild, Metallic
Narrow, Neat
Ovenlike, Oily
Parched, Padded
Quick, Quiet
Rough, Rutted
Smooth, Scorching
Thorny, Tough
Uneven, Unbreakable
Violent, Vicious
Wiry, Wrinkled
Yielding, Youthful
Zippy, Zapped

Are they not great words to describe touch? I shared with the group after someone said that touch must be something important in my memoirs. I honestly never thought about it but at that moment I said, absolutely! The words were perfect for certain areas of my memoir, for example: The smooth and crisp table cloths we placed on the tables of the main dining room overlooking the glacier-fed lake for dinner service. The frigid temperature of the walk-in fridge always had the hairs on the back of my neck tingle to get the tiramisu for the chef to garnish to place the dessert in front of many thousands of guests served. Our uniforms could never be wrinkled or uneven, they were a reflection of the type of service provided at the prestigious hotel. I was a person who happened to be in that particular burgundy skirt, white frilly blouse, and burgundy vest that was worn by many people before me and would be worn by another young woman leaving home for the first time to work for a luxury hotel on top a mountain where she would find herself.

I am having fun with the words today! I love how one writing prompt can spark a flurry of words and inspiraiton. With that, I will head off to my work in progress and get back to the story.

Thank you for being here with me today. To find out how what working for a luxury hotel in the heart of the Canadian Rockies is like, my debut memoir, Behind the Kitchen Doors ~ The Summers, please click HERE. I share my expriences about my small world being cracked open to a new world of hospitality where rules are broken and no one to answer to for staying up late to spend time with a summer crush.

Until Next Time, Keep on Typing…

Writing & Farming ~ Can you do it all?

Life is an adventure. I am one who is not afraid to say yes to opportunities. I embrace change and the end possibilities to support this creative life. My focus up to two years ago has been my writing life. I will admit that I am my own worst critic where I placed judgment on myself for continuing to work more than full time in the hospitality world and try to self-publish my first memoir. But I did it. I stayed home when friends went out to socialize. I wrote after dinner when possible. My days off were spent in my writing room. I wouldn’t surface until I needed to move the body. I was, I am dedicated to creativity and my writing life.

It will be two years in August since we moved across the country to start our farm. My hubby is the sole visionary and I support him any way I can. I do 90% of the social media, started our Newsletter, and working on a website. I am the admin support and I love that. But, I also get my hands dirty. I love harvesting spinach and leafty greens. I am no stranger to farm life. My paternal family were farmers. I helped on my grandparents farm my memoires of picking strawberries to sell and shucking peas while sitting on the porch with my grandmother make me smile. I use to walk into the chicken pen with a bucket of feed, at first I was scared with hundreds of chicks flocking towards me, but as I learned to be still and quiet, the chicks only wanted the feed. I was just the person who happened to bring them the bucket of nourishment. Running through the cornfields and playing with bunnies fill my heart with joy. As a young girl I knew I would someday live on a farm. The intention was set. Now, here I am on our five-acre property staring out the window at our 96-foot greenhouse. Thank you universe.

The first year and a half has been focused on microgreens and we are so grateful for being welcomed into the community. We provide microgreens to a health food store, a local Co-op, and a handful of restaurants, and the biggest platform, the Fredericton Boyce Farmers Market. Now we have opened a farm stand at the farm on Saturday and Sundays. Now we are offering spinach, salad mixes, and rooted vegetables. We are growing to share our commitment and vision to provide fresh local produce to our community.

Where does writing fit into all of this? Very carefully. As I was committed before farm life, my writing is as important and a priority. My life is full. I recently shared this on my Instagram: I am a writer who happens to run an urban farm with my hubby and I am a manager of a hotel. This is my full and joyous life. This morning as we opened our farm stand I was also on a virtual writing session with some amazing women. I set up my laptop at the kitchen table and when someone stopped by to purchase some produce I left the writing sprint, did the farm thing and then back to the writing life. I am grateful for the understanding and support. After the writing session was over and the farm stand closed, the hotel life kicked in due to unforeseen circumstances. I jumped into action and when that moment was completed I started the laundry and opened the laptop again to get more writing done. It’s all a balance my friends. Some moments are easier and some are a struggle but it’s how you react to the situation and go with the flow. Today, i am reminded of how I can practice being in the moment more. For this, I am grateful.

There are days I don’t get to the writing life or the farm. I come home from the hotel life utterly exhausted from the level of responsibility I carry. The last thing I want to do is write, but I have to because it’s my true self. I can write my way into another life and to write my way out of the days events is the best way to honor the writing life. Last week I came home from the hotel life and went straight into the green house to harvest and bag spinach, it was relaxing and exactly what I needed to get my mind off the days events at the hotel. Please don’t get me wrong. I am truly grateful for the hotel life, it has provided me with endless opportuities that have and continue to provide me with what is needed to maintain and excel this creative life. Saying that there is room for all things I am passionate about. There is room for the writing and the farm life in-between the hotel life. It’s all how I approach it and go with the flow.

How do you juggle your days? Do you have a full-time job and a aside hustle or two? What’s your secret? I would love to hear from you.

Thank you for being here with me today.

Until Next Time, Keep on Typing…

My Covid-19 Update

It has been over a year since Covid-19 has taken over our lives. Does anyone feel that way? Not one day goes by when I don’t hear about the virus. I am feeling the Covid burnout. I may sound a little negative these days. I’m tired of hearing, hold on, we’ll get through this. I know this all will pass, but I am tired.  I wouldn’t be honoring my true self if I didn’t share that I am not always happy and the cheerleader that I share I am. This cheerleader’s pom-poms are dishevelled and ready to be tossed.

I have re-read my post from, March 30 2020, about my first dealings with Covid as a front-line worker, and how everyone was concerned about how quickly they would be getting their Covid relief money to maintain their every day life. It was a scary time for many people. Not knowing where there next pay-cheque was coming from. It’s scary. As a manager of a hotel, we are struggling to find people to work because they make more money staying on the unemployment package then working. I get it. Minimum wage for some positions is not worth working. The double edge sword is even better, the hotel and many other businesses that are hiring for both full time and part time employees because hospitality is still suffering due to the travel restrictions in New Brunswick and all over the world. It is hard to guarantee new hires full time hours because we don’t know what the occupancy will be in three weeks, let alone two months from now. Booking times have changed. The days of planning your vacations months out are gone. People are looking at booking for 2022 because maybe the virus will be behind us. However, there are no guarantees. How do you schedule for the unknown?

I wanted to share about my experiences dealing with Covid-19. They are no different than yours. We are all in this together. Some people are coping with the new normal better than others. But there are some people who are not doing okay. Mental wellness is on the rise. I thought I was doing okay until recently. I find myself a bit snappier. I haven’t left this province for months due to the Atlantic Canada borders being closed to one another. It’s difficult to go anywhere on our days off because our farm is growing, and that is amazing. We are so grateful for our farm and we doing what we said we wanted to, to provide fresh, local produce for the community. This is a positive – my cheerleader is waving her new pom-poms all around. Those who have started a farm, been in the game for a while, knows what it takes to maintain the smallest of urban farms to a full-blown farm. (Hundreds of acres of land to maintain) The one thing you can’t do is, walk away, when watering, weeding and maintenance are required on a daily basis. My husband is only one person and we moved back to the East Coast to start our own business. I am aware of this and my ego is in my face “thinking” I can do what I want and truth is, I can’t just say, let’s go away for the weekend during certain seasons. Winter will be our time to take time for ourselves. Spring through early Winter is our busy time. I am coming to terms with this. The Ego is not and I am aware. More meditation is required. More writing is definitely needed.

I started to write about my new job as a General Manager at the hotel I work for, but it started to sound like the ‘poor-me’ story. I am grateful for the amazing opportunity that is being provided to maintain this creative life. I can complain about certain aspects about the position, but really, there is not reason to complain. I have a job that provides what is needed and that is a blessing.

As I write, I see the Ego trying to bully its way into my thoughts and making me think I need to be stuck in the same story, when really, I am writing my way into another life. I am doing exactly what I need to be doing in this moment. Writing. It is amazing when you do something you love, everything negative washes away. Thank you, creativity.

Thank you for being here with me today. How are you coping with Covid-19? How do you deal with news, the overload of information, what are you doing to maintain your happiness? I would love to hear from you. Sharing helps us grow and stay connected. That is what we are here for, to support and connect.

Until Next Time, Keep on Typing…

Elements of a Memoir

There are times I need to go back to the basics and dive into the elements of memoir writing. One of the topics I recently reviewed a memoir video series has helped keep me on track with my writing. The recommendation:

Choose four elements of high emotion for your memoir. Write about these times and see where they fit in your work in progress. I listed more than four when I sat down to start this project. The time frame I am working on for my next memoir begins with my last year working at the Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta and then I move to Jasper Park Lodge, a sister hotel that was part of the hotel chain. The four main high emotion times that came to mind quickly:

1. Leaving the Lake where I was comfortable to move to another hotel with a guy who I believed loved me because he said he loved me.
2. During an employee end of summer party: Being confronted by a girl who tells you she’s been sleeping with my boyfriend for the entire summer season and he told her that he was leaving me to be with her.
3. The same night of the staff party – I find my boyfriend kissing another girl.
4. After months of work on healing our relationship, my boyfriend tells me he is being pursued by another hotel and will be moving to Atlanta.

It doesn’t seem real when I read these choices, but they all happened. I am sure a version of each situation listed has happened to others. I am here to share that we are not alone. We all go through “stuff” and I am here to say how I coped and survived and can tell the story now.

More Tips on Writing Memoir:

• Create a sensory experience: Use all your senses to recreate your experiences. What did you see? What smells can you associate with? What did you touch, how did it feel?
• Use fiction writing techniques: Memoirs must be as compelling as a best-selling novel. I found that using dialogue helps build suspense. “Show, don’t tell” by describing action rather than overloading with exposition. Using fiction techniques can help you move the story along.
• Don’t write your whole life story: Memoirs tend to be about sections of your life, for example: my first three summers working for a luxury hotel in the heart of the Canadian Rockies was my focus.  
• Knock their pants off: Create an emotional journey. Take your reader for a ride where they want to get to the next chapter. You need to create enough tension that draws the reader in. Invest the time and energy to share the truth and raw emotion.
• Write every day: This may sound like an obvious statement, but if you plan on writing any kind of book, the best way to do this is to write everyday. Develop a daily routine that works for you. Writing is like working out, you have to work at it to develop the muscles. You have to write everyday to get the words on the page.

These are a few reminders for myself as well. I haven’t been able to write everyday on my memoir only to my own excuse. I write morning pages every day and then three days out of the work week I will sit down for 15 minutes or so to work on my memoir. It’s 15 minutes more than if I didn’t write. I consider any times spent on writing a win.

Thank you for being here with me today. I hope you are doing well; I love to hear from you.

Until Next Time, Keep on Typing…

How Artist Dates Improve Your Writing

Writing can be a lonely way of life. Many people, non-writers ask if I am lonely. My response: I am alone but not lonely. The writing keeps me company.

Over ten years ago I was introduced to Julia Cameron’s, The Artist’s Way. Julia and other writers have helped me stay on my writing path. What Julia has given me are tools to keep my creative well full and one of these tools is the Artist Date.

What is an Artist Date? It is a block of time that is set aside to commit to nurturing your creative consciousness, your inner artist. The date is to be some type of excursion and only with yourself. No friends, spouses, or children. This date is to be with your inner artist, they need to be taken out, pampered and listened too. The date can be in the simplest forms, a walk along the beach, a trip to an antique or music store to look, maybe your artists want to try something different, the date is to have fun and connect with your inner artists. My favourite artists dates have been going to a cafe to write. First, I sit down and eavesdropping. I love to people watch as well, but it’s easier to be sitting at my laptop typing to over hear conversations that have sparked my imagination.

Commit to a weekly artists date and watch the self-doubter show up and try and get out of the date. Watch the fear of time spent on yourself. The ego is a sneaky old behavior that needs to be put on a permanent time-out. Listen to your inner artist and have fun.

Each date will help with gilling the creative well. When we sit down and write we are taking away from the pond, therefore we need to fill it back up. The artist date will help with this. I recently took my inner artist to a local cafe; one side is the cafe and the other side is a room with cats for adoption. It’s a great business. They book hour long time slots for people to sit in the room with the cats to enjoy their coffee and spend time with the cats. I go to the cafe to sit in the cafe side but next to the window of the cat room. I can watch the cats do their thing and when a family of four enters the room, I find myself smiling more as I watch the children get excited seeing the cats. This week there were two new kittens the children were so gentle with them. I could see mom and dad tell them to be gentle. (I assume this what they were saying because the room is enclosed, with a wall of glass to separate the rooms, you can’t hear too much from the room) As the children slowly walked up to the kittens to pet them then hug them. It was adorable. While I watching the playful events, I was intrigued by a near by conversation. There were two young women sitting at another table in the cafe. One girl was sharing some texts from who I assume is a boyfriend to the other woman. The woman was not talking softly, she seemed like she wanted the entire café to hear. To me it sounded like a nice conversation between the boy and the woman. Then the rest of the conversation was about how she wasn’t sure if she was ready to commit to one person. My depleted creative well was getting its full share of images to fill to the brim. Why? Because like a mystery, I am drawn in, leads me to ask ‘what’s next?’ or ‘what if?’ If I go down this road that I don’t normally go down, what will I see? It’s an exciting process for me and my inner artist.

After I left the cafe, I witnessed my imagination moving into overdrive. I couldn’t wait to get home and write, mostly bullet points to keep the theme of the conversation. One day I will use this moment in a story, for now it is hanging out in my pond with the other ideas swimming around gaining experience, backstory, theme, plotting and eventually into a story. Oh, how I love the creative process.

Do you take your inner artist on dates? How do you commit to your writing life? What helps you fill your creative well?

Thank you for being here with me today.

Until Next Time, Keep on Typing…

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

When it’s time to take a break from writing

Let’s not get too carried away here. I am not taking a break from writing entirely. I made a decision to take a break from this year’s Blogging from A to Z challenge. What is this writing challenge about? During the month of April, you are blogging through the alphabet starting with the letter A and ending with the letter Z. I recommend this writing adventure, it can kick start your daily practice of writing, but also preparing, planning, and plotting skills. I am a pantser, so this challenge helped me with plotting. I was able to develop these skills over the years to help me organize my writing life a little more. If you look at my writing desk today, that would not be the case. I have piles of sticky notes, journals, and books around me for quick references. But I still take the time to plot.

My first year in 2015, I joined the day before the challenge with no theme, no concepts, no planning. I needed to boost my word count and maintain the practice of writing every day. In my second year, I planned what I would write about but I wrote the blogs on the day. I was stressing myself out with the pressure of making sure I posted every day. For the last three years, I have been planning and writing the blogs in the month of March into the early weeks of April, and felt better about the process. This year I started to think about the challenge in February. What would my theme be and realized I didn’t have the passion to enter the challenge.

My life has changed a lot in the past two years with moving across the country to start a farm, start a new job at a new hotel, then Covid-19 really slapped a whole lot of fun on the situation. Last year I entered the contest to maintain my writing routine and to learn more about microgreens, the focus of our farm life. It was an easy fit. Years past I focused on hotel life which helped me focus on the manuscript of my debut memoir, Behind the Kitchen Doors ~ The Summers. I was toying with the idea of focsuing on the hotel life for this year’s challenge theme. I am aware I have to focus on finishing my second memoir. I know myself and it’s difficult at times to admit my isms. If I enter this challenge I will make it the excuse of why I didn’t focus on my work in progress. I have been sharing my personal affirmation lately to remind me that I don’t have to to everything to look like I am doing something.

Sometimes you have to let go, to grow.

Honesly, I feel anxious about this decions, but I have made the commitment to focus on my second book and that is not up for negoation. My true self is standing up and taking over. Will I enter the writing challenge again, yes, but for now my focus and passion in on my work in progress.

For everyone who will be participating in the 2021 A o Z blogging challenge. I wish you luck and I will be cheering you on from the sidelines.

Thank you for being here with me today.

Until Next Time, Keep on Typing…