Christa Avampato's Blog, page 66

A Year of Yes: Grad school is the gift I gave to myself this holiday season

This is adulting at its finest: what opportunities we don’t see in the world we must make for ourselves. Grad school round 2 starts in less than a month – this time getting a Masters of Science in Biomimicry. In the past week, I’ve registered for classes, ordered my books for those classes, and applied for scholarships (waiting to hear back). Honestly, this gift to myself is what I’ve wanted for many years and is only now possible with this new program at ASU and my clear-eyed view of the next chapter of my career to combine my work in product development, business, storytelling, invention, history, and sustainability with my passion for science and endless sense of curiosity. Like all the best gifts, it’s one that gets better with time.

A Year of Yes: How I solve plot line problems when writing a book

When people ask me if I have a writing partner, I say yes. And its name is sleep. They laugh even though I’m very serious.

When writing books, you must plant seeds early in the story that won’t take root until much later. Like a thoroughly knotted necklace chain, these seeds and how they come to life can be incredibly gnarly problems to untangle. Some seem completely impossible.

Whenever I hit a snag, I try to write my way through it or I make lists of solutions. Most of the time neither of these two actions work.

Then I’ll try research. That doesn’t usually provide a solution to my plot challenge at-hand either though it often leads me to interesting discoveries that I use elsewhere in the book.

You know what really helps? Going to sleep and not thinking about the problem. I go to sleep imagining myself in one of three scenarios: diving off a cliff in the Grand Canyon and flying instead of falling, swimming up to a whale in the deep sea (for years this whale has shown up in my dreams whenever I’m feeling particularly in need of comfort), or scuba diving through a kelp forest meeting all kinds of friendly sea creatures.

This happened to me last night (and it was the kelp forest for the win!) I’ve had a looming problem in my second Emerson Page book that I just couldn’t solve. It’s actually THE looming problem: the explanation of the key action that drives Emerson’s entire journey in the second book which leads to the basis for the third, and final, book in the series. It’s been a frustrating problem to solve because none of the resolutions I wrote felt right nor good enough because honestly, they were all terrible.

I woke up much too early this morning. Looking at the ceiling, there was the answer seated comfortably in my mind as if it had been there the whole time just waiting for me to see it. It was so much simpler than I realized. I wrote it down in three short paragraphs in the early light of morning just now.

The relief I feel this morning is immense, like dropping a heavy weight that’s been on my shoulders for years. It’s like solving a terrible problem in a relationship that’s prevented the relationship from moving forward. Finally lifted when I least expected it, I can just get back to the joy of living in this world I made and writing my way through it.

A Year of Yes: My December newsletter is out

My December newsletter is out and full of positivity, hope, and resources for you to inspire your creativity. Check it out by clicking here and sign up for January’s newsletter by clicking here.

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A Year of Yes: NYC’s Secrets and Lies is Thursday, December 6th at 7pm

It’s the week of the NYC’s Secrets & Lies show. Thursday, December 6th at 7pm at Caveat! I can’t wait for you to hear these stories – Christmas traditions in NYC and their dark backstories, alien objects finding their way to Earth and choosing NYC as their final destination, and secrets of some of our most-storied cultural institutions. Plus, art as activism in the face of controversial government policies. Whew! That’s a lot. So we’re prepping prizes for you. A lot of prizes. And candy. See you there! Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/new-york-citys-secrets-and-lies-tickets-52038003068?aff=erelexpmlt

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A Year of Yes: I got into the Biomimicry Program at Arizona State University

I am beyond ecstatic to share the news that I was accepted into the Masters of Science in Biomimicry at Arizona State University. And the circumstances in which I learned the news have given me so much hope.

Friday was a difficult day for me. As I sat in my meditation trying to restore some peace in my heart, the phrase “send some magic” kept coming into my mind. I finished my meditation and did some work on my monthly newsletter. Then I logged into my email, and saw that magic had found me in the form of my acceptance letter to ASU. I have been touching base with ASU for the past few months, and learned a few weeks ago that they received an overwhelming number of applications. Because of that, I had been preparing myself to not get into the program.

Friends, after years and years of wishing, I’m going to be a scientist. I’m going to learn from nature how to build a better world for all of us, one that is sustainable and values all beings. I can’t wait to get started on January 7th. The program is entirely online so I can stay right here in my beloved New York City. It’s also purposely designed for working professionals and must be done part-time so I’ll keep my job as well.

Curious about biomimicry? Check out Biomimcry 3.8 to read some inspiring case studies of nature at work.

 

A Year of Yes: Reflecting on a painful anniversary

Every year I expect December 1st to get easier, and it doesn’t. Today is the 26th anniversary of my father’s passing. Over this many years I have released a lot of the anger, and have found a way to wish him the peace he couldn’t seem to find here, wherever he resides now. There’s some grace in that forgiveness, some healing.

This day will never be painless. It will ache, sometimes uncontrollably, and I must make room for that. It will always be unresolved and unfinished. It will always be hard. And maybe it should be. Maybe it needs to be. Like it or not, it’s an annual reminder to me that we are not infinite on this plane and in this form. Our time is precious, irreplaceable, and so it is to be treasured and valued by us and by those we welcome into our lives. Our time is a gift we give and receive constantly. It will be used no matter what, and so our job is to make sure it’s put to use in the best way possible.

I hope today and every day that your hours are filled with the people and things you love.

A Year of Yes: Update from Wind Dancer Films about my Emerson Page book

I have heard back from Wind Dancer Films about the possible film production of my book, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters. They chose not to option it at this time but with solid feedback that they love the story and have logged it in their system for future consideration.

While I of course was hoping for more, I’m also extremely encouraged that they would even read the book, enjoy it, and log it in their system for future consideration all without me having an agent. I’m extremely grateful to Readers’ Favorite and the Miami Book Fair for making this possible, and of course to my publisher, Possibilities Publishing and their imprint, Thumbkin Prints. This is my first novel and is part of a series, so as the other two books are finished and published “some day” could become “one day” for me and Wind Dancer. In the words of Hamilton, maybe it’s only a matter of time.

Also, I will continue to submit to other production companies because maybe this is the right book at the right time for someone else. As always, my focus remains on the readers who need Emerson’s story of resilience and courage to face our deepest fears, just like I did many years ago. She changed my life the day she entered my imagination and I’m honored to be the person sharing her story.

As an artist of any kind, you have to keep at it. Your drive has to be stronger than the sting of any rejections. It’s part of the work. Speaking of which…I better get back to writing Emerson’s second book.

A Year of Yes: Trailer for NYC’s Secrets and Lies on December 6th at 7pm

It’s impossible to articulate how excited I am about our holiday edition of NYC’s Secrets & Lies at Caveat on Thursday, December 6th at 7pm so I made a trailer to show you what our storytelling show about secret NYC history is all about! This month’s cast includes all-star storytellers Vicki Eastus, Dustin Growick, Jackie Peters, and Nate Charles with Brooklyn street artist Blanco as our special guest. If you can guess the lie correctly, we have prizes from Untapped Cities, Kaitery_NYC, and a secret one from me. Grab your tickets and I’ll see you there: New York City’s Secrets and Lies on Eventbrite.

A Year of Yes: Fan mail from a young reader filled my heart

Today my heart’s so full it’s going to burst. I just got this fan letter and art from 10-yr-old Evie, 1 of my young readers. She addressed it to Emerson Page, my book’s heroine. I’m cry-smiling so much my face hurts.

She said the book “was very well written, with good use of figurative language and action packed. Thank you for your memoir of adventure, friendship, and around every corner was a surprise.” I am overjoyed because Evie is exactly the reader I wrote this book for.

I met her dad thanks to the Ologies Podcast FB group. He said that he believes in providing books with strong female characters for Evie to read so how could we not be immediate pals?!

This is the stuff of my dreams as a writer. You better believe I’m saving this letter, framing this art, and replying to this enthusiastic young woman who is articulate, and by the way, has gorgeous hand-writing and mad art skills.

A Year of Yes: Writing a book is mostly re-writing

What no one says often enough is that writing a book is more re-writing than it is anything else. It’s a continuous act of tearing down and dismantling what we’ve built. We ruthlessly eliminate the unnecessary so the necessary can speak.

It hurts to let go of words we worked hard to put onto a page. There’s no way around it. We have to do it.

My protagonist, Emerson Page, deserves the best, truest, and most honest version of her story that I can tell. That takes time, and my first instincts in her story are almost always wrong. And I’m not alone.

Any writer who tells you that the book just poured out of them like silk off a spool is kidding themselves. Writing and re-writing is a massive labor of love. If it were easy, everyone would write books all the time. We don’t do it because it’s easy. We do it because we must, because a story is so urgent and eager to be told that we must keep at it until it’s done, until it’s as good as we can possibly make it.

My role now, at this point in writing Emerson’s second book, is to be the chief deconstructionist, to literally pull back the sheen and write truly and deeply about what hurts, and then to heal that hurt with love and bravery and grace. To make every single word count.