Morrigan Harker
Writer, Musician, Everyday Magic Seeker
Things that I need on my writing desk
Welcome back, everyone! It has been far too long!
If you follow me on Instagram, you may know that I was gifted a new writing desk a few months ago, and I wanted to write about what I need to be in creative flow. I do the vast majority of work on my laptop, but aside from my computer, these are what I need on my desk:
- Notebook and pen. I get into creative flow more easily on pen and paper rather than with a word processing software, so I always have a notebook handy. I tend to stockpile pretty notebooks, so I’ve tried to use what I already have rather than buying new notebooks. I’m also very particular about what pens I use so I have a lot of them in a jar on my desk so they’re all in one place.
- Earbuds. I have really sensitive hearing; sometimes just the tapping of the keys on my laptop keyboard can drive me mad, even if I use a light hand. As a result, I use earbuds to block out noise, listen to YouTube, or have an ambient audio track playing in the background.
- Reference books. While my worldbuilding resource books (e.g., folklore collections, fiction books, etc.) are on my bookshelves, my writing reference books are on the shelves of my desk.
- Sticky notes. If I’m in creative flow, I get so hyperfocused that I can even forget to eat or drink, so I put up sticky notes with affirmations or reminders of what I need to get done that day. I love leaf-shaped sticky notes—it goes so well with the ivy strands that I used to decorate the back of the desk.
- Highlighters. I’m currently balancing my day job, self-care, class work, and creative endeavors, so I use color-coded highlighters in my bullet journal so I can see at a glance what I need to prioritize for that day. I keep them in a jar on my desk, and the rest of my colored pencils, markers, and pens are in a pouch on the shelves.
- iPad. For sketching, reading on my Kindle, or analyzing photos with a closer eye, I use my iPad more often than I have in the past.
What do you need on your desk? Let me know in the comments section below!
Thank you so much for stopping by! Until next time, stay magical, everyone!
A Maiden Fair (Poetry)
I linger at the hawthorn tree
and beg you not to follow;
I know who may be waiting
under the enchanted canopy.
I long for their rescue
from this dark, wicked world
and for the whispers in the earth
to beckon me home,
where I will finally belong.
Creativity in the face of COVID-19
These past few months have been chaotic with news of the coronavirus COVID-19, and I hope everyone is staying safe and self-quarantining for their safety and the safety of others around them. So far, I’m okay, I’m self-quarantining, and since one of my day jobs is already online and the second job is going to be remote also, so far, it’s been business as usual. Meanwhile, I’ve seen a lot of posts on my Facebook and Instagram about people making things during their isolation, and honestly, as much as I want (and have tried) to join in, I’ve felt such a creative block during this time.
To be fair, there are people saying that there’s no pressure to be productive, and I’ve heard and appreciated those voices. It’s not surprising to me that some people are having a lot of anxiety about this, and it’s important to validate those feelings; I’ve never seen a global health crisis like this in my lifetime, so I understand fear of the unknown is a thing. On top of that, spring is always a chaotic time for my headspace (I’m convinced that if I were a member of the Faerie Courts, I’d be one of the Autumn or Winter Court because spring and summer are a nightmare for me), and creating while running on nervous energy doesn’t allow for results that I’m satisfied with. Even though I personally want to keep making things so I can have some structure to my schedule, I don’t want to pressure myself into being creative when anxiety is taking up my mental bandwidth.
In case you need to hear it, regardless of whether you want to create or don’t want to create, it’s okay. This is a trying time for all of us, and it’s okay to need a break from creating. Stay safe, stay informed, stay calm, and until next time, stay magical, everyone.
The Entertainer (Poetry)
The numbers are cold,
The musical notes still warm
With the sensuous scarlet
That also decorates the dotted line
Of the contract I just signed
In my own blood—
I sold my soul
So I could let others
Commune with their own.
What Happened at the Antique Shop (Poetry)
The heaviness of the piece
Is more than its weight,
Memories in my hands
Flashing in my mind
In veiled shards of
What history it had witnessed,
The feelings welling up in my heart
And taking form into pictures
As familiar as words
I may have heard in a dream
Until I wonder if these memories
Are actually my own,
Since forgotten
Until now
Ice Cream (Poetry)
Sweet nostalgia
Now forgotten,
Melted with
The burning suns
Of time—
What happened
To those days
Where the price for a wish
Was a dandelion seed,
And we were encouraged
To believe
In fairytales?
Firepower (Poetry)
Held in
For so long
A roiling spiral
Until the emotions
No longer have a name
Nor have a fuse left
Merely the tiniest spark
And then—
The Monster I Fear (Poetry)
I fear no monster
Of fang and claw,
Wings of bat and fur of wolf;
Of scales and fins,
Spines or gills;
I fear no monster
That lurks unseen,
Spectral hands and haunting voice;
Of heaven and hell,
Sunlight or sulfur;
It is the monster
Of empty smiles and lofty promises—
Predator, trickster,
Opportunist, scavenger—
That I fear the most.
Morrigan Harker
Hobby or Hustle: A Response to Molly Conway
Disclaimer: All magic has a price, so this article contains affiliate links. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, so if you make a purchase with my link, I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!
Well met, everyone, and welcome back to the blog! Today, I want to introduce my point with a bit of a story. Earlier this month, I opened my new tarot deck (Amazon) and did a spread to allow the deck to introduce itself (I’m aware of how woo-woo that sounds when I write it out, but humor me please). The first card I drew with the deck was the reversed Ace of Pentacles, which I interpreted as “be careful about new business opportunities”. I had done some Oracle card readings before, and I admittedly wanted to start doing Tarot and psychic readings as a “side hustle” particularly with this deck, so I took this card as a warning that it possibly wouldn’t go as well as I hope (or at all). I also had to think about why I thought it would be necessary for me to make money from Tarot readings—why not just do it because I enjoy it?
Fast forward to yesterday, when I read an article by Molly Conway called “The Modern Trap of Turning Hobbies Into Hustles”. Conway explains her opinions on how our generation is pressured to be busy all the time and how we’re encouraged to monetize our hobbies as part of our “hustle culture”. I caught myself saying “yassss” whenever I agreed with something Conway says, and I thought back to when I pulled the reversed Ace of Pentacles, and how we don’t have to turn all of our hobbies into a side job.
In particular, the story that Conway tells about a fellow wedding guest being repeatedly asked if she has an Etsy shop for her handmade clothes resonated with me quite a bit. As an aspiring musician as well as a writer, I’ve often been told things along the lines of, “You’re so good at singing—you should perform at open mics!” or “Your songwriting is so good! You should release an album!” When I hear people say that, I imagine a lot of them mean that as a form of encouragement—more like “if you wanted to become a famous musician, I’d support it” rather than “if you don’t become a famous musician, it’d be such a waste of talent that could make you really, really successful”. Regardless, our cultural mentality of “rise and grind” and “do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life” allows for a mindset of “if I’m not making money from this, then it’s not worth doing it”. Don’t even get me started on how many people have asked me, “Have you ever thought of selling your knitting on Etsy?”
I also want to elaborate on a similar experience. I’ve noticed a pattern that if ones likes a hobby or activity, one is expected to be really good at it, and I’ve experienced a lot of anxiety from that in my hobbies, even when I don’t have any intentions of making them into a career. For example, I love and appreciate historical costuming and handmade textile goods. I love to sit with my computer and a cup of Russian Caravan tea (Amazon), and binge watch Bernadette Banner’s YouTube videos. However, in case you haven’t seen my Instagram and Twitter when I have an inevitable meltdown in front of my sewing machine, I myself am not very good at sewing, and the pressure to be better at it gets to me in the moment (and that’s not even taking comparing oneself to others into consideration). Similarly, I love drawing and appreciate great art, but I have to choose to be okay with my stick-figure drawing because I don’t need my hobbies to add to my anxiety and my feelings of “not being good enough”. (Before anyone says “just practice and you’ll get better”, that’s not the point here. While it’s true there’s no way around practicing if you want to get better at anything, I also feel appreciating your progress and not putting yourself down for your present skill level needs to be emphasized just as much.) Just like it’s valid to be merely a casual fan of something like Star Wars or The Elder Scrolls, I also feel like doing what you love, even if you’re not that good at it, is also valid.
People talk a lot about self-care on Pinterest and Facebook, and I feel like we need hobbies that let us just do, with no expectation of success in some way, to let us decompress as a form of self-care. Hustling all the time can lead to burnout, and that makes self-care even harder. Have you experienced this mentality before? Let’s keep talking about it, and let me know in the comments what you think!
Thank you so much for stopping by! Until next time, stay magical, everyone!
