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My daily personal blog based on prompts from Blog City. |
This began as my first blog for WDC . Now, after a few weeks of being on this great site and learning my way around, I'm able to give voice to this blog. Please be kind as you read through my first attempts at making myself heard.
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| Prompt: Which emotions fade away the most easily for you and which ones have a way of lingering? Alternate Prompt: When you are writing, do you ever find yourself influenced by what you’re reading at the time? I'm a realist. I try to hide my emotions as much as possible. I'm also introverted, so I tend to hold things in. If I find myself getting emotional, I just get up and leave. Having said all of that, once I've gotten angry with or at someone, I tend to hold onto it forever. I keep score. I don't really do anything about it, I just don'e let it go. Unfortunately, I seem to be one of those who is in a perpetual blue funk. I never really get extremely happy or excited about anything. I keep to myself and think slowly and deeply about things. Quiet resolution is more my style. I've been reading a book called Quiet (I can't think of the author). Her point is that America is designed for extroverts; our culture prizes the personality who is outgoing more than the quiet thinking person. This does bother me somewhat. I feel that our country has lost a sense of character in that we tend to idolize those who are the flashiest and the loudest among us. I find that my writing (my imagination) is influenced by what I read and what I enjoy watching on television. I was writing fan fiction long before there was such a thing. I remember once asking my mom if I could name my novel after another novel (Across Five Aprils). Of course, she told me that I had to come up with an original title for my novel. Well, I never wrote that novel, but it would have been fan fiction if I would have. |
| What genre is my life? Well, it's got to be a self-help book. A self-help book for women. A motivational book to help women overcome that pervading sense of sadness that develops because she believes that she's responsible for the whole world's happiness. If not the world's, then at least her family's. Many women feel that they are responsible for everyone's happiness; that is really a very self-centered way to believe. We are not that important. Women have been programmed to believe this feeling from an early age, especially wives and mothers. They must learn to let it go. They need to lift that burden from their shoulders and shrug it off. Think of Atlas shrugging~is it really going to send the world spinning off its axis? No. The world is not going to spin off into chaos just because women don't worry about others more than themselves. Invalid Photo #1040137 |
| Here in the American South, the humidity is unbelievable. The temperature might be only eighty five, but the humidity makes it unbearable sometimes. The older I get, the less I enjoy the summers. I prefer autumn when there is less humidity and lower temperatures. Because of the subtropical temps, we have quite a few insects. Mosquitoes are the worst. When I was younger woman, I loved the summers as I loved to lay out in it to get a suntan. I just don't enjoy that much anymore. I only go out in the early mornings or late evenings nowadays. Those were the days when I could drink a pitcher of margaritas and still function. Oh, we used to do that several days a week. I do love summers because I'm off for two months straight, which I love. I do wish that our long holiday was in the fall. That is really the best time for a holiday. When the children were little people, we visited the ocean for several weeks at a time. We have not done that in ages. It seems as if no one can ever take the time off anymore. Many times nowadays, everyone takes their own time away. I suppose that is the way that everything is supposed to work in life. |
| Do I have any superstitions about writing? I don't have any superstitions about writing because I don't believe in that~like I don't believe in luck. What I do believe in is unfinished business. I don't think that anyone should show his hand too early. It is easy to brag and say, "I'm working on a novel." People begin to ask you about it. I'm also afraid that people will still my idea. I've learned the hard way that a writer has to be careful or someone will take his idea and try to make it his own. We need to sit on our ideas and germinate them. I suppose that this all sounds pessimistic, but I'm a realist if nothing else. I think that everyone is ultimately out for him or herself and we must be careful with our ideas and writing. Look at all of the musicians who sue other musicians because they say that someone stole a three-chord melody. Using the card metaphor again, we must play our cards close to our chest. We've got to have two sides to our personalities~the public side and the private (business) side. Let's face it, as much as we enjoy all of this, it really is a business. We want to make money at it. |
| Daily Pages~June 11, 2015 1950s France~It was the time of post-war reconstruction. It was the time of the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan was also known as the European Recovery Program. The goal of the Marshall Plan was to give American Economic aid to war-torn countries. Some of the reforms included removing trade barriers, modernizing industries, making Europe prosperous again, and preventing the spread of communism. The popular French film of 1950 was “Beauty and the Devil.” The movie is about a young pharmacist who makes a deal with the devil in order to stay forever young. In 1951, it won best film at the British Academy of Film Awards. Also, the early murmurs of the Vietnam War began when two Vietcong battalions attacked a French base in Vietnam. Later that year, the French were defeated by the Vietcong in the Battle of Dong Khe. This was a major battle in the communists taking control of trade routes from China. You can only imagine the atmosphere in France at this time as the country was just coming out of a world war that devastated the country, and now bases were being attacked in Indochina. The communist party was trying to take a stronghold in France during this time with two major protests in Paris that year. Until the 1950s, French fashion was made-to-order for an individual customer using expensive fabric and intensive attention to detail. Most of the women in France during this time were still wearing homemade fabrics and clothing from the pre-war era. The idea of French haute couture didn’t come into play in the French culture until after 1950. French wine was not in the forefront either until after 1950. Wine was still a drink that was primarily drunk in Europe and only in those regions that grew their own grapes and produced their own wind. One of the most popular wines at this time was Priorat~a Catalan wine produced in Catalonia. The organization that created the wine appellations did not form until 1954, so wine was not a big deal like it is now. France 1950 and France of today are not similar in what we consider French culture. If I were to time travel to France in the 50s, it would be a time of great upheaval and change in the country. |
Women who behave never make history. I have a hat that has this saying written on it. I bought the hat several years ago in Ocracoke, North Carolina. Do I agree? Yes, look at the suffragettes. They did not take the status quo. They would not allow the country to continue to not allow them to vote or to control their own bodies. They knew that in order to make something happen, to make real changes that could benefit everyone, they had to misbehave. It is not in a woman's nature to misbehave, no matter what anyone says or does. We want to please. We naturally feel like we have to be in control of the world's happiness. We must always put our needs and wants behind those of others. Or maybe it's just women of my generation and older. I can't say that my twenty-year-old daughter will ever feel this way. At least, I hope that she doesn't. While today has been a very productive day in the writing department, I'm feeling blue~a bit melancholy. I can't quite put my finger on it. There is nothing particular that is bothering me. I just feel out of sorts. I've managed to write for every site today and begin work on my new webpage, but I can't seem to get it right today. I don't know what I'm looking for. Everything seems so elusive...so out of reach. So, should I behave? I always do. I don't know how to be otherwise. Am I bored? I don't know why. I do like writing... But I feel like I need to do something else. Maybe I would feel better if I went and cleaned something. Ha, that phrase sounds like something out of an old sitcom television show...like Leave it to Beaver. Does anyone know what that is anymore? I could do some laundry or clean something upstairs. What about supper? Hot dogs from Sonic. This is just a rambling hot mess...where did it come from? I need to work on something else to write. Or at least read and review. |
| History is always changing as new primary sources are found and mulled over by those who read them. What sources do historians use to write and revise the stories of the past? Prehistory is especially intriguing as there are so few primary sources. We, the general public, rely on archaeologists to discover the hidden treasures, then to study them. Sometimes, in order to pay for the excavations and the research, countries must show the treasures in museums. Sometimes, the bodies--remains--of those found are also placed on exhibition. Once a person is dead, he doesn't know what is happening to his earthly remains. It really makes no difference as it's just an empty shell. It is not that person. Would I want my remains shown to museum audiences? I don't care one way or the other. If it would help historians, then I think it is a good thing. I'm nothing if not practical. Heinrich Schliemann was the archaeologist who discovered the ancient city of Troy in Turkey. He was always interested in Greek history. Schliemann has been called the father of ancient Greek archeology. |
| Prompt: From a book description: “In the belief of the Gond tribe [in India], the lives of humans and trees are closely entwined. Trees contain the cosmos; when night falls, the spirits they nurture glimmer into life.” Have you ever watched the trees at night, and can you imagine if they have a night life and which secrets they are hiding? I can't say that I've ever felt an affinity with trees, but I have read The Song of the Trees by Mildred Taylor. In the story, the female protagonist attempts to stop lumbermen from cutting down the tree on her dad's farm. Her reasoning is that the trees sing to her and protect her. It's a lovely family story about the weak triumphing over bigotry and greed. It's been required reading for quite sometime in middle school. If you believe that all living things have a spirit~like Native Americans do~then this prompt would definitely be a useful one. I can't say that I believe that anything has a spirit or a soul, let alone trees. I think the sentiment is wonderful though and I appreciate the belief and faith that one has to believe that all living things are connected. I do love the phrase, "nurture glimmer into life." Wouldn't it be wonderful if we all had glimmer that was being nurtured into our lives. It reminds me of voice and sparkle that we put into our writing. It is that quality of writing that makes our writing sing~like the trees in the novel. I also love the idea of "nurture." It is so calming and loving. One gets a distinct impression of the tribe in India that believe this. It is comforting to believe that trees can nurture us. |
| Troubles, I have seen a few, but some bring to mind that adage, "No good deed goes unpunished." In the course of nearly thirty years of being a teacher, most of my troubles have developed as a result of leniency on my part. There is a reason why teachers are so strict. If we are not strict, kids just won't work as hard. They won't meet my expectations. Teachers have to have high expectations with the understanding that only a few will meet those expectations. If teachers give in just once, students view it as a chink in your armor and will exploit it as much as possible to their advantage. The key to avoiding troubles is to not lower your standards. |
| Good morning. There seems to be no blog prompt this morning,so I'm going to blog from the heart...not that I don't usually. Do you keep a writing routine? I've read several memoirs, autobiographies, biographies, and articles that extol the virtues of keeping a writing routine. I've read several articles that give the details of different successful writer's and business people's routines~especially morning routines. Well, I do have a routine for my days when I don't teach. I like to have all intitial blogs written by noon each day. That way, I have the afternoon to research and read and plan blogs for the next day. Stephen King eats breakfast with his wife each morning, then settles into writing by nine a.m. each morning. He makes himself a pot of strong tea to keep himself motivated and focused. I also eat before I settle down to write as I don't want to be distracted by hunger pains. I like to "be ready" when I sit down to get my muse on. Do you know about Daily Pages? Some folks call them morning pages as they're meant to help you get your creative muse going before you actually sit down to work on your pieces that you want to publish. I make daily pages a part of my morning writing routine. I set a kitchen timer for thirty minutes; I get a good cup of coffee; I put on music for meditation, and write. I just let it go because I know that these daily pages are just for me. I can use this time to air my concerns or anxieties about my craft. Once, I've done these things, then I feel like I'm ready to sit down at the computer to write and publish. I also have very specific goals for each day. I'll write about those another day. |
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