A Case for Hiatus, Morphology Maps and WRITING-MOTHERS to TOUGHEN US UP

I have been on HIATUS.

The word hiatus originates from the Latin noun hiātus, meaning "an opening, gap, or rupture." This Latin noun is derived from the verb hiāre, meaning "to gape, stand open, or yawn."

Morphology is the study of word roots and parts. Etymology is the history and origin of the word. Both are foundational components of teaching and learning vocabulary, which has the highest correlation to reading comprehension. Both also offer an incredible treasure of information when you feel “hit” or especially moved by a certain word.

How many words do we use every day, without knowing their etymology, origins, or their morphology roots?

How many little morphology maps are nestled secretly in our unconscious word choices?

I have been in HIATUS.

I have been in an opening—a gap—a rupture.

What this opening, gap, and rupture is teaching me is that I need more SLOW TIME—more WIDE OPEN SPACE. THIS IS WHAT IS REQUIRED TO ENVISION A NEW LIFE.

I recently wrote and taught yoga and embodied writing practices to writers at Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. Casa Paloma, the exceptionally beautiful retreat center owned and operated by the infamous writer, Joyce Maynard, is a place of opening.

Joyce is an opener.

She is a writing-mother I have collected in my life.

I found myself one afternoon while I was there, being opened by the belly of the mother Lake Atitlan. As I sat there, right at the water’s edge, I opened. (Joyce would hate this sentence—she would say, “Can you draw that? Then don’t write it.” )

Okay, dammit. What do I mean— I opened?

My mind moved more slowly—my thoughts whirled almost to a stop, and such a powerful feeling of freedom came to my chest that my eyes brightened and opened, as I moved my palms to reach towards the volcano in front of me.

I have spent the last six years learning from her, and this year, Joyce’s strict adherence to an economy of words had some HIATUS lessons that I needed to (re)learn:

Keep it short.

ONE STORY AT A TIME.

CUT THE OBVIOUS.

Sentence by sentence, analyze it with a Joyce-level of toughness.

Joyce and Kelly on the last morning of Write By the Lake at Casa Paloma

Hiatus — an opening, gap, or rupture provides the sort of SPACE and FREEDOM that a writer needs to:

CUT THE OBVIOUS;

KEEP IT SHORT;

And to dial down into such a level of micro-awareness, that telling ONE STORY AT A TIME becomes quite possible.

When there is NO OPENING or SPACE or GAP—I pile it all on. I hustle and layer and overbook and double-book and keep going and on and on and on.

The hiatus space is helping me CUT THE OBVIOUS.

The quiet is teaching me to KEEP IT SHORT.

I am meeting my fear of change with the Joyce-level of toughness that is needed for a time such as this.