Thinking of SOLSC

Sitting on a passenger seat, reading a book on a two-hour trip from home to Tartu, safe from the cold rain, heading to watch my oldest daughter compete at Estonian championship in ten dances, a thought hit me brutally. It would be absolutely insane to participate in March SOLSC writing challenge. I closed the book, lifted my glasses on top of my head, and took out my iPad to write down the revelation.

The understanding that writing every single day during a busy month of March would be crazy arrived when I was reading Neil Gaiman’s ‘View from the Cheap Seats.” On page 255 he spoke about trusting one’s obsessions. I wouldn’t say that SOLSC is an obsession, but it certainly has me hooked. Writing in March is my choice. I like this slightly insane side of me in my otherwise sensible, responsible, ordinary life. It’s a bit of spark, a diversion from the everyday, an escape to an alternative world. 

I am in denial. It’s clearly an obsession. This is my ninth time to participate.

Years ago I started out trembling with fear, worrying what other’s might think about me, hiding my identity. I have learned that this writing is about me being me, figuring out who I am, and sometimes creating myself in new ways. I have learned to take slicing as a playful adventure, being on a writing journey, exploring the varied landscapes of texts, weaving words together, arranging and rearranging sentences, discovering what I can do. I have learned to dare, and above all to trust myself and the writing process. 

I kept opening the book, reading a bit and then reaching for iPad again because my thoughts intervened. This is the hope in my slicing too, that as I write my text and sort out my life and thoughts, the readers, when reading my words, get a nudge to think about their life, emotions, understanding and rearrange their ideas in a new format. 

Sometimes my thoughts and words take me nowhere and this is ok. Perhaps later, much later, the thoughts and words reappear in a different form and start making sense. Sometimes the words start a game of their own and outplay me, leaving me at loss and confusion. Being a good loser, I smile and congratulate the words for having the wit and spirit. This is what I recommend the beginner writers to aim for too, for the play, for the fun, for the juggling and acrobatics. You can do it. Small and short at first, totally tumbling and falling at times, and then, with some practice, performing longer and more eloquently.

Another piece of advice for the people starting out I’d like to share is advice my husband gave to me as I was learning to drive. I once said that I was worried what the other drivers thought, and he said, “Don’t spend the energy on thinking about other drivers, focus on your own driving.” The same truth applies for writing here, think what others may, focus on your writing. What you’ll discover is that the people in this community are super supportive and often shed light on your writing and you in ways you never knew or noticed yourself.

As insane as the prospect of writing in March may seem, I’m still in. Not insane. Or maybe a little insane.