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 |  The fertilizer, water, and soil used to work in the garden of dreams and ideas. |
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Every gardener needs many items and much advice to plant and cultivate a successful garden. These are some of the ideas and advice I am finding to become a better gardener. |
| Every one says write every day. Well, I have been for the most part. I started this journal to keep up with and discuss what I am doing to get some of my work published, but it has been evolving into more than that. This journal makes it too easy to to get thing that pop into my head out making room to learn and think about something else. I feel like Dumbledore with his wand pulling memories out of his head and placing them in a pensive for safe keeping. |
| Well, today I am very sad all of a sudden. I finished Alpha class a couple of weeks ago and now I have completed Fundamentals of Poetry and Poetic Patterns. I have had so much fun and have been learning so much in my poetry classes and I just got my final grade in both of them. I guess I am what some people call the professional student. You know the one that always keeps changing their major just so that they can stay in school. I missed a lot when it came to school. I missed my senior year by graduating a year early. Many long complicated reasons for graduating early and I'll save that for some other time. Then there was my first year of college. Dumb little country girl had never been away from home for more than a week or two, wanted to be a lawyer or an archeologist. I loved and still do love many aspects of both professions, but no those schools were two far away and cost too much money. Good thing they did because my first semester I got so sick that they put me in the hospital, and that was the end of my college days for then. I was and art major and loved it. However, since I could not be trusted not to get sick again, my parents decided not to let me go back the next semester. It was better that I stayed at home and went to cosmetology school in Greenville and drive back and fort. Well if that had let me come home more than ever few week I probably would have never gotten sick in the first place. See my insides were shutting down because of the stress of homesickness. That’s all it was, and to think my mother wanted me to join the Air force. That would have never worked nor would it. So I came home and went to cosmetology school, I was good at it. I had done hair for years growing up for my aunt and her friends. I hated it, so when I graduated I moved to Ruston, Louisiana and got a teaching certificate in it. Taught there for seven years, and then opened up a ceramic shop. I was finally starting to be happy again. Doing my art. Until one day, my magna com laude electrical engineer of a husband who I had to teach why there was free flowing electrical current zapping him ever time he touched the light switch. Winter, cheep carpet and a metal screw on the cover panel will do it every time. Decided we need to move to Houston, Texas. Oh joy, it was bad enough that I could only go home ever two week because of the two and a half hour drive, but now there would be and eleven-hour drive. Just see how often you get home then. Nevertheless, not to be deterred we moved, and I became the director of education for four cosmetology schools. One on each side of Houston, driving from one to the other was madness. The first winter there, it sleeted just a tad bit, and cars started piling up on the interstate before it could even stick good. I stayed home for a week and wrote lesson plans to get them through their national accreditation, told them I will come out when the madness has stopped these folks can’t even drive in the rain much less a little ice. That job got me and all expense trip to Miami, Florida to work on their accreditation. With in three months of coming home found out that they were enrolling illegal aliens under false social security numbers and the financial officer and I bother quit. The federal government closed down the schools with in a couple of months. Most of Texas cosmetology schools at that time were located inside the public schools or the colleges, and it was not wise to work for the privately owned ones. To teach in one of the public schools a Texas teacher certificate was required same as teaching English. So what was I to do? Go back to school and do something that I really hated. No, my very intelligent engineer husband said, “You love art and computers, combine the two and do computer aided drafting.” So, I did. I started working at Wal-mart to pay for my classes and went back to school. That was 1990 and I took all the classes they would let me take each semester. I landed a job redesigning conventional Architectural home to steel homes. The first home made the front page of the business section of the Houston Chronicle. However, even that was not to last, husband decided mid stream he no longer wanted the responsibility of a wife and home. But, yet again, that’s a whole other story. Needless to say, the working two jobs continued, but school soon ended. Five more years past before, I moved back home to Mississippi, an empty house, and no place to go to school. The city near by that I work in doing my auto cad built a college a few years ago as a joint effort of three of the surrounding colleges. It still has not added any classes that I have not taken or that would fit my interest. Finally got a decent internet connection out here in the country and I found Writing.com with all its wonderful classes and challenging people. But alas my sad day is drawing to a close and I still have to find something to fill the void left by my two poetry classes. |
| I have been having the most marvelous time catching up in my class that I had to come over here and take a few notes. So please pardon my mess: 1. Got to find this book: the 2007 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market? 2. Check out the web sites Fancy listed from this: barefootbooks.com bloomingtreepress.com boydsmillspress.com charlesbridge.com chroniclekids.com tricyclepress.com 3. Check out this website for dummy books: http://www.yellapalooza.com/tutorials/dummies.html 4: Get this: Childrens Writers Word Book 392 pgs. 4.5 stars out of 5 on amazon ($10.70) 5:Try to find this book: The Little Lost Unicorn by Michael J. Pellowski and Tammy Starner-Altop. 6: A lis of "To Buy/Check Out" books. from Fancy 1.... The Elements of Style, 4th edition - Strunk Jr. 2.... You Can Write Children's Books - Dils 3.... You Can Write Children's Books WORKBOOK - Dils 4.... The Invisible Child (On Reading and Writing) - Paterson 5.... Writer's Guide to Crafting Stories for Children (Write for Kids Library) - Lamb 6.... The Everything Guide to Writing Children's Books: From Cultivating an Idea to Finding the Right Publisher All You Need to Launch a Successful Career (Everything Series) - Bolton 7.... Writing Children's Books for Dummies - Buccieri 8.... The Business of Writing for Children: An Award-Winning Author's Tips on Writing Children's Books and Publishing Them, or How to Write, Publish, and Promote a Book for Kids Shepard 9.... On Writing - King 10.... Creating Characters Kids Will Love - Alphin 11.... Childrens Writers Word Book - Mogilner 7: read Sheri Lynn news letter: http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1241119 8: Explore: http://www.aaronshep.com/kidwriter/index.html |
| Yesterday, in a conversation with Judy, I remembered the five books of poetry I had written in school. I have toted them around for over twenty-five years, guarded them as if they were the most precious stone. Always afraid that I would loose them or that they would be destroyed as so many of my things have in either fire or flood. They were in those boxes I mentioned yesterday. I was so proud of them, the old hardware store here in town had five of the old Acme filler pad with the ink blotter cover. If you are not over forty or fifty you probably have never seen this type of book, my parents used this type of notebooks for writing with quill pens that could smudge easily. When I wrote a poem no matter what it was originally on I would transfer it filling up each book and starting the nest one. Like most young people, I used different types of pens and different inks, never knowing about archival quality anything. The ink has faded, a few discolored pages, and a couple of water stains, but for the most part, they are still in good condition for their age. Before I became active on WDC I started typing them into my computer to preserve them but also to correct the spelling. There was no such thing as a spell checker back then, and I was an even worse speller. My brain gets ahead of my hands and is on the next sentence before the hands can catch up. To preserve these memories, I am thinking very strongly about opening another book like the 21-day challenge and placing my old poems in it. I would really like some feedback on them since the only other person that ever really read them was my junior high English teacher, as I would write them in her classes instead of paying attention. "I’ll Stand My Ground"  and "The Man in the Sky" are actually from one of those books. After "As She Felt the Masters Call" had been in my port all alone I wanted to place something else in my port so I choose these. Some are sappy and sad to me now, but I may be able to use some of the old ideas to springboard some new ones. The more I sit here and ponder this idea the more I believe it is a good one. The ideas of youth shy, scared, hurting, trusting, and innocent. Do you think this is a good Idea? God Bless Dejaa |
| The same years that I had writers block so to speak, I had a total creativity block. My life situation was so bleak that I rendered myself incapable of any creativity. I tried many different arts and crafts, but could not stick with any for long. I even owned a ceramic shop for a while in Ruston, Louisiana for a few years that allowed some of me to creep out. Until I was dragged to Houston, Texas and had not been allowed to bring my shop, by a now x-husband. He did not like all my stuff. The first few years in Houston, I thought God had forgotten about that place. I never saw a rainbow or fireflies (lightning bugs) until I had been there for over four years. Well Houston is another story. Now that I am home, I have started back enjoying my life. I started drawing before I turned 4 years old. My father kept my very first drawing and dated it. I have it now. He would pull it out and tell every one, how I set my Raggedy Ann doll on the dinning, table got one of my sister’s test papers, and his pen, and had never even been shown how to hold a pen and drew my doll sitting right at the table. Surprisingly it does look like a rag doll. Consequently, while I was growing up any form of art and craft I wanted to try they would supply me. He built me an eighteen by fourth foot studio to replace the six by six foot dollhouse when I was a child. I had all of my art supplies easel etc. setup there as I grew older my love of music also grew. Started singing with the radio and could remember all the word as a very small child. My parents bought me a piano and it went in the studio along with a pool table for my father. As I grew older, when friends came over the studio was where we would congregate. The stereo, piano, couches and all my arts and crafts where there along with a refrigerator. It was better to have everyone in mama’s back yard than to wonder where I was. My father was a very smart man, although he built the studio he did not put a bathroom in it; therefore, at least all the girls had to come in the main house every now and then to use the restroom. The boys would just go around back. I live in the country. The studio burned down when I was in junior high and I lost most every thing I had including all my art supplies and what painting my mother had not given to one person or another that saw them and just loved them. This however, did not stop my creativity. My father rebuilt the studio bought me new records and stereo, and my brother-in-law in Nashville sent an eighteen wheeler down here with a huge box full of paints, canvases, drawing pad almost every thing I would need to restart my studio. My parents supplied the rest, and I was off again. My cat was the only thing that could not be replaced; although, my uncle who lived with us tried. As I sit here and reminisce, out the window sits my studio full of junk, boxes that have traveled with me through three states and back again twice along with my husbands stuff, but there also sits inside it memories and treasures waiting to be opened and found again. This spring and summer, I intend to do just that. The youth at church have become quite fond of my karaoke machine and all my CDs, so its time to reopen the house to the local youth and give them a place to congregate and have some good clean fun where their parents can know where they are at. There are also those that want to paint and draw and I want to encourage them like my parents encouraged me. Right now, my art studio is stet up next door in my grandparent’s house that I also own. Each room I use for something different the living room the workout room, the bedroom a sewing room, the kitchen is where I paint, scrapbook and work on genealogy. |
| Check out my new Port Map "Invalid Item" . While cruising through Isa's port I really liked her Port Map, so I have followed her example and started one of my own. I have been working diligently today to get a good start on how I want it to sound and look. Let me know what you think! I still need to make more time to read more ports. I read a port yesterday that gave me a wonderful Idea  Titled: What I want to be when I grow up. Over the last few years I have met people that my childhood dreams have influenced and this article gave me a great way to share it. Project coming soon! I have been really energized today. This past two weeks has been really rotten. DH has messed up mightily! and my stress level should be through the roof, but being able to write has really helped to take the edge off. Many years ago a neighbor reminded me that some times God will do for us what we won't do ourselves. I have been caught between that proverbial rock and hard place lately. Torn between what I should do and what is best for every one else. Yesterday that weight was lifted, God literally took the decision out of my hands, and the tremendous burden is gone. I woke up this morning with energy and drive, finishing up projects and starting new ones. This weekend will find me working on my homework for the different classes on here and working more on the Port Map. God Bless Dejaa |
| As I sit here at 12:02 am rum dumb from several nights lack of sleep, with Dekotaha, my Australian shepherd, faithfully waiting me to say bedtime, and Coal, my black cat, curled upon the desk as I type, pondering where I am going as a writer, what am I doing with my writing, and what are my goals. I as yet have not uncovered the answers to where I am going. I have some ideas, dreams. These I will consider my goals. Writing for the sake of writing and unleashing, the creative side of myself has been my primary goal to this point. Writing stories for children a long time dream. In preparing for a family, I sat many hours drawing pictures to hang on a child’s wall of storybook characters with each one envisioning reading those stories to them. Always frustrated when I could see the story so vividly in my mind and when I would go to write what was in my head the story would vanish. Not being able to make it to a piece of paper before it evaporated. Those days are history. The stories are still muddy and out of focus, but parts are now making it to the paper. This is starting to bring the delusion of ever being published to a more plausible aspiration. The writing experiences here at Writing.com, contest, prompts, and reviews have brought a newfound anticipation to my desires. I have been able to take several class here. Just finished Alpha class and am taking Poetic Patters, Fundamental of Poetry (messing up pretty good in these sometimes, but still learning), Dynamic Non Fiction, and Writing for Children just started, so excited. The bulk of my portfolio consist of Christian poetry at the moment, so I went on line the other night and actually starting looking for a magazine, journal, or something to start submitting some works to. Sent out one email to a new magazine, but I will have to look up the information again to be able to post it here. Well looks like the sandman may actually visit tonight, better go let him in. God Bless |
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