Bend Your Mind, Stretch Your Imagination by Nevada McPherson

Let’s welcome back monthly columnist Nevada McPherson as she shares with us “Bend Your Mind, Stretch Your Imagination!” Enjoy!

***

I started practicing yoga a few years ago and enjoy it very much.

If I don’t do yoga for a few days, I tend to get a bit creaky and cranky. I find yoga to be very calming and though not it’s not always easy, I can tell it’s very good for me.

Sometimes it takes months to be able to do a particularly difficult pose, but once learned it becomes a part of my practice and I find that putting in the time and patience to hold a pose such as Tree or Headstand especially rewarding.

It occurred to me the other day that yoga can be much like writing. I enjoy it when it’s going well and if I don’t work at my writing in some way, shape or form for a few days I get cranky and my creative muscles get creaky.

It’s definitely not easy, but sticking with a project all the way to completion is rewarding and builds my confidence, so that I can tackle the next project.

I’m in the midst of a rather difficult project now, as you may recall from my last post.

I’m adapting one of my screenplays into a play.

Trying to adapt a story into a different medium can be quite challenging at times.

As much as I love dramatic writing, I find that I’m working different creative muscles more than I had anticipated. Though it isn’t making me sore physically, it’s still a change and is sometimes a slow-go.

I believe, however, that if I stick with it, it will ultimately be lots of fun and extremely rewarding.

For one thing, I look forward to participating in the collaborative experience of theatre and working with others to bring characters to life.

Again, like with yoga, writing can be a very solitary pursuit, and a home practice can provide much needed reflective time and facilitate turning inward.

Oftentimes, however, taking a yoga class with a knowledgeable, helpful teacher and other yogis who are working at their practice is a very helpful and a welcome thing that rejuvenates me and improves my home practice.

Perhaps all of us can be literary yogis when it comes to stretching our minds and creative efforts.

I certainly can’t say that my adaptation project is easy. At times it’s downright hard, but the joy and spontaneity that it promises with the opportunity of working with others and seeing it up on its feet makes it all worth it.

If you’re working on a project that’s stretching you to the limit, creatively and emotionally, my advice is to stick with it until it’s finished.

You’ll be stronger for it, and so will your writing!

Happy writing!

***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nevada McPherson lives with her husband Bill and rescue Chihuahua, Mitzi in Milledgeville, Georgia, where she is a professor of Humanities at Georgia Military College. Nevada received a BA in English/ Creative Writing and an MFA in Screenwriting from Louisiana State University- Baton Rouge. She’s written over a dozen feature-length screenplays, plays, short stories and the graphic novels, Uptowners and Piano Lessons. Queensgate, sequel to Uptowners, is her third graphic novel. For more information, visit www.nevada-mcpherson.com.