I thought I’d take a break from the Chemin du Puy posts (am I still writing about that adventure??) with some updates on… other stuff.
The creative stuff.
The blog is part of it, so I’ll start there. Hi, blog readers! I’m still here, and I think some of you are, as well. Ever since I made the migration to a self-hosted site back in January, I’ve had some minor issues. I still need to iron those out, and most of the time I just kind of ignore them and hope that my posts are making their way out to all of you.
And yes, I’m still writing about my pilgrimage through France but I only have a couple of posts left (well, I have four days left to write about but I think I’m going to combine three days into one post, for the sake of just getting the writing done already!). And after that, I’ll keep blogging and it will probably be a mix of stuff, until I can head out on another walk. I want to revisit some of my past adventures, and do some roundups and maybe mini guide-like posts (sort of like the one I did for the Camino de San Salvador).
So while it may seem like the blog has gone a bit quiet, this is my assurance that I have no intention of stopping this thing.
But I’m working on some other things too and sometimes it feels like I want to do everything. I want to do it all. I want to write a book and I want to publish essays and wouldn’t it be cool if, somewhere, somehow, I could have a regular column where I write all about my walking adventures? I want to write e-books and I want to run an e-course and I want to do more with photography. I want to buy a nice camera and a nice lens and lug it around everywhere and take photos.
Right now it feels like there is so much I want to do, and I have this notebook where I’m collecting ideas and it seems as though the list just gets longer and longer.
So I have ideas, but I also have a start on a couple things. Small starts, but here are updates on some of the things I’ve been working on.
The Book
The Book seems to be the project of all projects, the one that feels the biggest, the one that feels like it will still take years and years before I have something that feels even close to ‘finished’. It’s the memoir I’ve been working on, the one about my first Camino. I have a very (very) rough draft written, more or less. I like that I have this start, but it feels like just the very beginning. There are pieces missing, the pieces that pull it all together, and I’m still wondering which story, exactly, I want to be telling.
This is a big thing to need to figure out, and I feel a little stalled. Or maybe it just feels really hard right now, so I’ve put that project on the back burner for a little while. It’s not going anywhere, and I know I’ll get back to it. Two years ago I was convinced that I needed to write as much as I could and as fast as I could so that I could get a book published right away, but now I realize that I need this time. Time to write and then time to let it sit and time to figure out how to share this big story.
The E-Book
But in the meantime, in the spring, I wrote most of the content for a small e-book that I’m hoping to publish soon. In the last month I’ve been editing and arranging and pulling it all together, and it makes me smile. It’s called After the Camino, and it’s something of a guide for pilgrims who have walked a Camino, returned home, and find themselves feeling a little lost. Or for the pilgrims who find themselves really, really missing the Camino (so… that’s basically all of us, right??).
The book was fun to write: the chapters aren’t long and each feels like it could be a blog post. The chapters focus on different aspects- food, memories, community, simplicity, etc. I talk a little about my own experiences, and I talk about ways to continue walking your Camino at home. There are ideas and tips, and some general thoughts and musings.
What do you guys think of this? I know I have blog readers who haven’t walked a Camino, so this probably won’t be of much interest to you; but for the rest, for those of you who have walked a Camino, would you be interested in reading something like this? It’s going to be free, so once I get it “out there”, I want you all to download a copy and give me some feedback! Because it ties into my next idea, which is…
The E-Course
This is still very much in development, and is mostly in the ‘idea phase’. But as I worked on the e-book, I knew that there were areas that I could really delve into, and topics that I could spend more time on. I like the idea of developing a course where I could guide people as they worked on taking the things they learned on the Camino and then applying them into their lives at home. Identifying the themes and lessons of their pilgrimage, and then taking those lessons and making changes/adjustments back home. Or figuring out their next steps.
I’m still figuring all of this out, but I know that I want to be a guide, and I want to create some kind of community within the course, the kind of community that mirrors what is often found on the Camino. Stay tuned.
“Nadine Walks” Instagram
Earlier this year I created an Instagram account for Nadine Walks, and I’ve been trying to post a photo every day. I have to say… I love it. I’m just going through all of my walks and posting my favorite photos and sometimes writing little captions and it’s just so much fun to revisit my travels. And it’s fun to pick out the photos and, bit by bit, form a collection, a picture book of my years as a pilgrim, as a walker.
I’m not sure if you have to have an Instagram account to see the photos (click on the link above and see if it works); but if you are on Instagram, then follow along! There will surely be photos that have already been featured on this blog, but there will be others that you probably haven’t seen, too.
“Nadine Walks” Facebook
I’m now on Facebook too, but unlike Instagram, I’m not quite as enthusiastic. I think I’m still figuring out how I want to use this space (or if I want to, ultimately, use it at all). Oh, social media. I have mixed feelings about it all, and sometimes the idea of being ‘present’ on all of these different sites can make my skin start to crawl. But I try to focus on my overall goal, and that is to find my audience. I’ve always wanted to share photos and stories with people who would appreciate them, or smile at them, or take something away from them… and those are the people I want to find. And since I’m living in an age where we can all connect in so many different ways, I figure that now is the time to try it all out.
So if you’re on Facebook, you’re welcome to follow me or like me or whatever it is we do these days. I haven’t been updating the page frequently, but I’m hoping to come up with a plan for how I want to use Facebook and what I want to share there. More photos, links to my blog posts, but also some other stuff: thoughts, articles, resources.
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But, you know, you could ignore all the rest of it and just keep coming back here. I’m still so happy to be writing, and for all of you to be reading whatever it is that I’m writing. I’m still so happy to be taking photos wherever I go, and it delights me to share my very favorites. There is so much beauty all around us, and I love sharing what I see.
As I finish this post I’m taking the last sips of a glass of wine, and listening to Bon Iver, and my porch door is open and it’s warm in my living room. It’s October but it feels like summer is still trying for it’s last grasp. It’s a peaceful evening, and I hope it’s peaceful where you are, too. We’re down to our last months of the year, and I feel it strongly. It’s time to do the things that we’ve been wanting to do for the last 9 months. It’s one last big push, before we think about what comes next.
Happy October days to all of you, thanks for being here.
Brava Nadine and good luck with all your enterprises. I’ve signed up to follow your Instagram; a couple of years ago I did a ‘365 Project’ and took a photo (nearly) every day which I published on my blog, Facebook and Twitter. I originally did it as I wanted an excuse to write a daily mini-essay to go with the picture but in the end it became all about the photographs. It’s a good discipline and was originally a novelty, then became a nuisance and when the year was over I missed it like mad! So be warned and keep a few stock pictures up you sleeve for emergencies. Mostly, though, have fun.
Thanks for the advice about Instagram and posting every day- I’ve already gone through and planned out several photos so that I wouldn’t have to think too hard about what to post. 🙂
Love it, Nadine. I salute your commitment and self-discipline, and I love reading everything you write so I salute your honesty and humanity too. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you Geraldine! I love reading your blog as well, and am so happy that you still come by to read what I have to say. (And as far as self-discipline, well, some days I have it and some days I don’t, mostly I’m just trying to plug away at it all…)
Go for it! I look forward to your e-book when it comes to fruition. I too have a facebook page but don’t keep it up to date like I do with my instagram. Keep it up!!
I love your Instagram! Somehow it feels easier to use than Facebook, doesn’t it? Thanks for the encouragement (and I’m looking forward to reading more of your recap from your most recent Camino!).
Thank you Nadine. I appreciate that. I’m nearing the end of the recap. Ps. Next May I return and walk from A Guarda on the Portuguese. You may have seen that on my blog however 🙂
I love all your ideas and look forward to reading the e-book and actual book. I, too, have a lot of ideas, and I wish I had your discipline and drive to make them happen 🙂
It feels like the discipline comes and goes, and honestly, I’ve had some of these ideas for years, and I wonder why it takes me so long to get around to doing things. But then I keep saying “step by step”, just like the Camino. I’m moving so slowly, but eventually I think I’ll get somewhere. You will, too (and I know it because you’ve been more disciplined in regularly posting to your blog than almost anyone else I follow! That takes incredible commitment, and you have it).
I understand you all too well. In Valencia and Catalán they have a really good saying “Xino Xano” that means slowly but surely or step by step. (X:Ch sound here) We’re both moving xino xano. I wish I were as disciplined for my novels as I am my blog 🙂 I look forward to whatever you have in store for us.
Xino Xano, I really love that.
Me too!
Hi Nadine, loving your blog. We are going through some of your same challenges with all the social media stuff. I just added your Instagram to both my personal and our blog accounts and look forward to checking out more of your photos. Glad to see you are still plugging away and look forward to seeing some of your new endeavours like the ebook. Cheers!
It’s so nice to see that you’re still reading and following along, and I’m so happy to now be connected with you on Instagram too! A few days ago I spent awhile looking through your photos there, and they’re just so beautiful. 🙂
Thank you.
Love the idea of an “after the Camino” ebook. So many of us write about the experience of being there (cough, cough, guilty), but there’s a whole aspect of “I did this thing; now what???”
Keep plugging away. I’m happy to find you (and David) on Instagram, since I’m brand new there, and will stalk your progress on all fronts. And someday, maybe I’ll start regularly blogging again…
I love that you’re now on Instagram too! I’ve really loved it… and it’s nice to connect with my blogger friends in a different way. 🙂 And haha, yes, please keep stalking my progress!! It’s knowing that there are at least a few people out there who may be looking forward to my projects that keeps me going when it all feels rather daunting (and on that note… I can’t WAIT for your book!!!)