%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |  Am I supposed to write? |
|
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Documenting the trials and tribulations of sharing my writing. I know it will be a grand adventure. I'm sure I'll get a sore butt from the bumps along the way, but they are just part of the ride. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| Every second of yesterday was busy. When I sat down to write, I didn’t have the energy. I made the choice to read and take a day off from the writing exercises. I picked up a magazine and curled up in bed. I was there for less than half hour before I had to get up. I couldn’t get comfortable knowing I had done absolutely, positively no writing. It wasn’t guilt that motivated me to get my ass out of bed; it was a sense of determination. I worked my ass off yesterday. I was awake particularly early and the day was full of activity. I didn’t want to go to bed without rewarding myself by doing something I wanted to do because I love it. I grabbed my fountain pen and a notebook and started to write. I had thought about trying to write before I settled in with my book but I didn’t have faith in myself. For some reason I was avoiding writing because I was afraid it wouldn’t be any good. I have no idea why I chose that particular moment to worry about the quality of the product of a freewrite. When I make a deliberate choice to freewrite, I don’t think about the quality of what I write, I enjoy the experience for what it is. It’s taken some time but I have learned to lock up the editor inside me. I am unencumbered when I freewrite and I have come to love this feeling. It was this feeling that got me out of my bed, the desire to feel good while doing something I enjoyed (Mind out of the gutter.  ) It seems that working regular writing exercises into my death has strengthened my passion for the craft. It wasn’t until I told myself I didn’t HAVE to write, that I realized how much I WANTED to write. Big difference.As we get older and are exposed to more and more adventures in our lives, information we learned so long ago gets forced into the recesses of our minds. For change in our lives, we don’t necessarily need to learn something new, we only need to be reminded of what we already know. I have always been aware I love to write but I had forgotten how wonderful I feel when I’m actually doing it. Keeping the promise to myself, to write everyday, has allowed me the opportunity to reintroduce this happiness into my life. I think it’s because I am now writing on a daily basis, I missed it so much when I crawled into bed with a magazine. Old habits told me to get to bed when the getting was good. Once I relaxed and let go of the stress of the day, I realized what I was doing by not writing was punishing myself. I had eliminated the one task that I enjoyed. Silly me. This new passion is what got me out of bed. My intention was to write for the usual 17 minutes. Once I got started, I couldn’t be stopped. The timer went when I was in the middle of a thought and I carried on. I’d been writing for 50 minutes when at last I pooped out. This time when I went to bed, I drifted off to a peaceful sleep immediately. |
| Once again, necessity is the mother of invention. I have very little free time on Thursdays but enjoy finding time to write. This little adventure lets me combine a daily writing practice with blogging. It has also done wonders for helping me overcome my fear of sharing my writing. If I can let people read this shit, I should be able to show off my good stuff. I’m not giving up on the writers on this site. I sincerely hope someone, somewhere, is doing this with me. I believe it was Nada   who mentioned something about a freewriting group so I’m sure she’s trying this today. That brat Anyea best be getting over herself and try freewriting soon too. I thought you folks were my peeps.  Timer set (17 minutes) READY SET TYPE I think people watching is underrated. As this is a ste for writers, I’m thinking I’m not alone. There is nothing better than spending a rainy afternoon at a bookstore, drinking a warm bevy and making p stories about the people surrounding you. I love. I will go by myself or with one of a few select friends. I will not go with someone who won’t make up stories with me or who tells me to be quiet. P-f-f-t-t-t I make many overvations ab out manking … crap I was doing so well and then the fingers started going faster than the mind. I make many observations about mankind while I people watch. Likeeee…. Have you noticed that when a man walks into a strange environment like a small coffee she’s never been to before, hs hands go into the pockets and he whisters. It was a babit of my dad’s and I noticed that he wasn’t the only one who did it. The next time your at a restaurant, sit near the door and observe. Another of my observations is w how we think that some of the things we do make us smarter when they are really self destructive. We seem to look for ways that will minimize the dmamge we are doing to ouvselves rather than change our destructive behaviours. Of course, we have to start with our craving for pills that will fix everything. Overweibght? Take a pill. High cholsterol? Take a pill. Can’t get it up? Take a pill. Can’t sleep? Take a pill. Hyper kids? Give them a bill. Give them a pill. This last one is a reall pet peeve of mine. It maaazes me the number of children on drugs for ADD. It’s stonighing. I think it’s becoe a catch all for So many kids are on something or other, should we not be asking ourselves if maybe we’ve made a mstake. Can that many children really be ADD or have we become too imparient? I recognize there ARE children with real conditions. Another downside of all the kids having ADD is that it takes away from the kids who do ned hel. ** practice focus and concentration ** Back to taking pills…. It’s funny how we laugh at the naturopaths among us. They are living a life nature intended for us. Rather than eat correctly and exercise frequently, we do what we want and take pills to deal with the effects. Not many us change the bad behaniour. This isn’t the only thing. We look at making proective gear so we can put our bodies through more rigourous abuse. We build safer cars so we can drive faster. We file suit against restaurants who serve hot coffee. P-f-f-f-ttt I DIDN’T like that intro …. And you all know exactly what incident I mean. Who does not expect dcoffee to be hot? Everything and everyong has to thinkg about how they can do things in an idiot proof style. What kind of world are we living in when waitstaff has to warn you the coffe is hot. No shit!! I also get wet when I wask in the rain. Some people’s kids. Some people’s kids…. Have you ever wondered where some of the more munday clichés or expressions originated. I know many of bastardizations of great quotes but some are just stupid yet they have suvived the test of time. For example… Don’t tase me BRO. You all have Canada to thank for that. Another things tor us crazy canucks to brag abnout. I hope they keep the tasers. Personally, much rather see security guards, not police, care tasers and not guns. The police can have guns. Nobody else needs one. Guns kill people. But that is a highly volatire subject that will not be discussed today. Other fun quotes…. Yogi Berra was the best for the crazy quotes. I don’t TIME!!! |
| Gallimaufry (gal-uh-maw-free) Did you have to look it up? I did. I didn’t believe it was a word. I asked a friend for a fun alternative to the word variety and this is what I got. I rather like the word and am repeating it over and over and over in my mind. Gallimaufry. It’s far more elegant than mishmash or hodgepodge but means the same thing. In case you haven’t figured it out, there is no theme to today’s post. It’s a variety of odds and ends.  There is a new addition to my port. It arrived this morning.
terryjroo sent it over. It’s a fun, yet simple, In and Out. Of course I’m going to suggest you mark it as a favourite but I know how it goes. It’s hard to find time for even the simple things. All I ask is you remember it, if you run out of blogs to read. I had a fabulous day today, in a large part due to the WDC community. Yes, I mean you. I have never had 16 comments on any entry! I feel so much closer to you all, knowing you have my back and that I can now say I do indeed have a holy shit! friend; more than one actually. I hope I stumble across something good to share with you. I suppose you already know that Elvis isn’t really dead; he’s sharing a beach house with Jimmy Hoffa on the Jersey shore. Rebecca Laffar-Smith  has launched her own site. For those of you who remember her and for those of you don’t but are curious… please click her link.And you all know our friend David McClain . I’m sure he wouldn’t mind some visitors at: http://davidmac73.blogspot.comBlogspot.com seems to be getting popular. Wren also blogs there. Check out the pics and become a dot on her map. While we’ve been blogging, bugzy is baaaccck!! went and wrote a book. Sorry… that’s an understatement. Bugzy’s book is available at Lulu.com. http://www.lulu.com/content/2005267 Is everybody else happy that Super Tuesday has come and gone? I’m not even American yet I’m still bombarded with campaign ads and all the other election crap. May I suggest a Texas Hold ‘em tournament? Put the remaining hopefuls of both parties at the card table. It’s a no limit game where the winner gets the White House. It should be a good match… we all know politicians can lie, an essential skill for poker. However, poker is also about money management and to say they suck at this, would be kind. Anyway, it would put a quick end to this whole campaign mess. Maybe the government could govern? A reminder tomorrow is Thursday. Yes, folks, time for another freewrite. I hope someone out there is also doing this. I don’t care if it’s in the privacy of your own home as long as you are trying. A warning to Anyea … It’s been a busy winter parade season and I’ve collected a helluva lot of elephant poop. I apologize to everyone else for the smell but blame the brat. Anyea, expect it when you least expect it. |
| Have you ever wondered to whom someone was referring when they say I’ll have my people call your people? I know I schedule my meetings and my lunch dates and all my other appointments; I clean my own house as well as do my own laundry. I know it’s disappointing but if you want to know anything about my life, you have to call me, nobody else. Initially, I was disheartened to know I don’t have people and probably never would. Then I thought about it. I’m not the type who easily welcomes others into her life and I don’t really want anyone sorting through my dirty undergarments. The people in my life are friends and family. While they don’t work for me or do my housework, they do provide love and support and companionship. While taking inventory of the many talents of those in my circle, I realized how fortunate I am to have individuals who have been at my side for many years; each one bringing a special something-something into my life. I will never have to do anything alone, unless it’s my choice to do so. It’s at this point of my personal retrospective I realized I did lack one person. Do you have a holy shit! friend? I don’t mean the one you call to get you out of jail or the one you go to for money. I’m not referring to whomever it is you call when you are sad or at the end of your rope. I don’t even mean the secret lover you use for late night booty calls. Who do you trust most? The person who would believe whatever you have to say, no matter how crazy it sounds. Who would you tell you were once abducted by aliens? Yes, it sounds like a peculiar question because it’s another extreme example to make a point. With whom would you share the unbelievable? Perhaps it is not so much about whom you trust, but rather, who believes in you? I’m been exercising my imagination lately in an attempt to escape the dull world of technical manuals and trade specific journals. While writing silly stories, I repeatedly encounter the same dilemma. Who does the hero turn to when she needs help? Who will believe her tale? I depend on my life experiences to give my writing direction but it ain’t working. I can’t think of a scenario in which I would find myself confessing anything nonsensical to anyone I know. I would deny, deny, deny. When I could deny no longer, I’d probably search out the alleged experts, persons I previously believed to be crackpots, and ask for their help. Not until I was confident of my sanity, would I mention anything to anyone I know. Even then I’d be reluctant to share. I don’t know if I’m more disturbed by the fact I don’t have a holy shit! friend or by my recognition of the need for one. This is the sort of crap I think about since trying to take my writing more seriously. |
| I have numerous opinions on politics and politicians. I don’t care to preach, I prefer debate. This is the primary reason I don’t blog about this particular topic. Today is going to be an exception. Asinine, idiotic, wasteful and irresponsible are words that jumped into my mind after seeing a U.S. Senator make a demand for an inquiry into alleged cheating by the New England Patriots. This was dubbed ”Spygate” three months ago when it was made public New England, an NFL team, was videotaping the coaches of its opponents. I hope you aren’t disappointing me and you are asking yourself “What’s the big deal?” One professional sports team bent a league rule too much and got caught. The NFL fined the team and the coaches and confiscated the ill-gotten goods. Controversy over. Not according to Sen. Arlen Specter (R), from Pennsylvania. On the morning of Superbowl Sunday, this jackass decides to make the rounds on the Sunday morning talk shows, demanding an inquiry into the activities of the Patriots. While it can be debated whether or not New England was actually cheating, it has been decided, by the appropriate bodies, they did break the rules. Disciplinary action was taken and football was played the following Sunday without incident. It’s immensely important to understand, at no time was the New England team accused of doing anything illegal. The Patriots handled the situation with an elegance not often seen in professional sports. There was no mudslinging. They accepted their punishment, prepared for the following week’s game and said nothing to the media. The press carried on for a bit longer, discussing how spying might be a more common practice than believed, but the topic faded quickly from the headlines. For reasons only known to the senile senator and his drunken advisors, he went on national television, the day of the big game, making ludicrous demands of the NFL and the U.S. government. * *Practice focus and concentration. ** Why? One simple question for the man. Why? If I were to travel to the great state of PA and speak with Specter’s constituents, I’m sure few would give a shit that one group of millionaires might be screwing another. I find no record of unemployment and homelessness being resolved in Pennsylvania. There is still crime in the cities and less than half the population has adequate health care insurance. On whose behalf is he making the request, if not the people who voted for him? If anybody knows anyone in Pennsylvania who might be struggling, tell them to make their way to Senator Specter’s office. Apparently he has nothing to do with his time. |
| It’s Thursday once again, a night to welcome insanity. For those return readers, have you tried it for yourself yet or are you coming to laugh at me. For those new to the Thursday experience, it’s the night I demonstrate the freewriting experience. No, not this part, silly. I do take the liberty to provide a disclaimer for what you are about to read. Freewriting is about writing, uncensored, no matter what. No fear! You write through writer’s block, even if it means you repeatedly write your name for the entire time. No stopping to think, no erasing what is already on paper or the screen. Anybody going to try it with me? My timer is set for 17 minutes. READY SET WRITE! Take deep breaths…. In and out, in and out. If fires, the niht I want to get home a bt early so I can plan a few points, for my last fee write of January and soe pain in the ass peope have to drag out the night wil sill questions. I’m so frikki’ frazzleedd thes first paragraph is barely legible. It is almost all redlines Breathe deep, breathe deep. Let’s start again. Yay Yay, it’s a freewrite night. The night Iet to bare my writing soul to anyne who stops by and reads my blog. U gh Freewriting is so much moredifficult when your mind ix veryy frizzed. O n the way home I started to think aboutrunning out of time. Tonight was nit the night I wante to post late. There is a reason I’m writing in blue. Wow, I can’t get it together. Tonight just migh be the first night I do type y name over and over and over again. UGH!!!!!!! In a world of instant solutions, we’ve come to expect instant everything. Obody wants to work for anything anymore. The convenience of pill makes everything easier. We must be the only species which, rather than stopping a destructive behaviour, looks for ways to mask the problems. Eat whatever you want, we’ll give you a pill for whatever we can. Do stupid sports, we’ll invent more durable protective gear. Ur arragance prevents us from stopping or behaviour so we looks for ways to rduce the damage Shame on us. Other creatures learn fromheir mistakes. Not us, we demanmd the rite to cotinue with out stupid behavours and worst of all, we look for someone else to blame. Damn these red lines. I must slow y syping speed donw in hope of having fewer errors. I know I’m not supposed to thnk about editing but those ines are just taunting me. It’s like they are sticking their tongues out at me going nah na nah na na. Ugh. Oh poop! I’d like to think ofsome other topics to type about but the errors are driving me nuts. On more times from the top. I shouldn’t worry. Did you know if you were to worry only five munites each and every day, after a year you have wasted a day of your tota time. Once again, large of law numbers ites me in the ass. Can I blame the stick keyboard again? Maybe it’s the sore arms. It gets tiring, walking miles and miles each day, scooping elephant dung. Ubt it pays the bills. Certain peopla, youknow who you are Anyea, hsouldn’t be worried about what I do but what I’m going to do withmy collection. Be careful where you go… And in other news…. As the writing mind fades away. It’s going to sleep with tired arms and aching legs. It’s not easy TIMEM!!!! |
| I can see February peeking around the corner. With a change of month comes a change of affirmations. I need to write my seven point pledge on the planner page dated February 1. Points one through five will go unchanged. 1. Don’t judge, I myself am not perfect. 2. Practice gratitude. I have more than most. 3. Laugh loudly, until my cheeks hurt and there are tears rolling down my face. 4. Practice patience. I will count to five BEFORE I open my mouth. 5. Focus and concentrate. Finish one thing before I start another. The next credo, I’m borrowing from my friend Steve King. 6. Read a lot. Write a lot. Read a lot. Write a lot. For anyone who claims to be a writer, this should be a given but sometimes life gets in the way. We all need a reminder of what it is important every now and then. There were several candidates for slot seven, many areas of my life need improvement are in need of change. In the month of February… 7. Save your outside voice for outside. Yes, I’m kind of loud. Even when I whisper, you can hear me 10 feet away. I’ve tried to be soft spoken but it’s not in my nature and I won’t be something I’m not. This doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try a bit harder to be aware of my volume, when indoors and surrounded by people who truly don’t give a shit about my opinions. I don’t want to hear what they have to say and therefore should not subject them, unwillingly, to my ramblings. This is called respect. The Golden Rule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, says the same thing but in a grander style. I’m a big fan of the sentiment; all 10 commandments rolled into one. Despite the noblest of intents, it still has a flaw. The things I enjoy, you might find vile. So much for turnaround being fairplay. My good intentions don’t matter when my actions impose my will on another (strong language, I know). We all know the sister or brother or friend that gives the gift they themselves most want to receive. That’s the golden rule gone very bad. Damn us for each being unique in our own ways. It makes life so friggin’ complicated and frustrating and beautiful and wonderful. After the not so hot stuff, we’ve got to learn to say shit happens. |
| Please, click the link and show Scarlett your support. Apparently, she doubts the importance of her contributions. I suppose you’ve all heard the news. That loudmouth Anyea is among us again. Just when things were nice and quiet. I’ll give her some credit this time; she’s raising shit about a worthy cause.Some of the more spiritual types may want to argue the number, but the rational minds among us agree there are five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. If you believe you have the sixth one, please e-mail me the lottery numbers. I mention the five senses because apparently I have been neglecting them. Not only am I to pen words for my eyes to read, the story must appeal to all the senses. That’s a lot to expect from a bunch of letters plucked from my mind. Do you try and appeal to your senses when you write? I have taped a narrow piece of paper across the top of my monitor, with the five senses printed on it. I’ve been told that if I keep these things in mind when I write, I will see an improvement in my writing. If an author appeals to all the senses, it makes for a more pleasurable reading experience for the reader. This would be friggin’ hard to do in a blog. Although, now that I’ve said that, there will be some smart ass (Yes, I mean you Anyea ) who is going to prove me wrong.I know when I write, I try to get the reader involved on an emotional level but I never thought about the power of suggestion to get the senses involved. Certain scenes, yes, but as a general rule, I never gave it any thought. It’s amazing what I’ve learned since I admitted I don’t know everything. |
| To title this the Sounds of Silence would have been more appropriate but too cliché. Besides, some of Simon & Garfunkel’s people might see it and then they would shut me down and there would be lawsuits and judges. It was easier to change the entry title. I have read, in more than one source, a technique to relax is to close your eyes and focus on the sounds surrounding you. The first time I read this, I ignored it. After reading this tip over and over, I thought I should try it before I dismissed it so quickly. My first attempt was rather funny. I couldn’t silence all the little voices in my head so that I could hear other things. I struggled to focus; even to sit still with my eyes closed. My list of sounds involved all noises made me during my attempt to be quiet. It was three minutes of fidgeting. I tried again a few days later. There was minimal laughter this time and I think I listed a few general sounds, but no details. Every time I practiced this nifty little exercise, I was able to keep my eyes closed for longer periods of time; my lists of sounds not only grew longer but also started to be more specific. On my mind’s list, on the second attempt, I know I listed outdoor noise. Now, I can easily describe the vibrations from the trucks on the nearby expressway. I can name the species of bird, which is singing outside the window. I hear the bass of the radio, from one of the souped tuner cars, racing down the cross streets. And the sounds my house makes!?! Ticks and creaks and noises yet to be identified. The true test of losing myself in sound was when I went away with a couple friends. Miss V snores and does it loudly. Rather than bitching about the sound, I focused on it. I tried to find the rhythm and identify patterns in her nasal symphony. Sometime during the scrutiny, I fell asleep. This little game is my favourite survival tip. It has helped me survive long flights and waits at doctor’s offices. And at the end of the day, once I’ve crawled into my bed in search of sleep, I focus on those noises that previously kept up at night. Now, they are the beat to a nightly lullaby. I think I hear it playing now. |
The past week has been challenging. In addition to making blogging part of my daily writing life, I also entered "The Writer's Cramp"  , six of the seven past days. And it earned me a merit badge. ![Merit Badge in Birthday
[Click For More Info]
Congratulations and thank you for entering six of seven of our [Link To Item #cramp] Birthday Week prompts! Your participation helped make for a successful and fun birthday week! *^*Bigsmile*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Birthday-210.gif) Every MB I have received is special but this one signifies a week of hard work. I fought through adversity and pounded out a variety of crap pieces. I ventured far outside my comfort zone and penned a poem. Please note, I am not bragging about the quality, but the fact I wrote one piece, every day, six of the last seven days.
My personal favourite is "Invalid Item" . No pressure to click the link and I’m not particularly looking for reviews but every writer loves to know someone read their work. These were written for the purpose of earning the MB. As I didn’t win a single thing, you can feel free to leave mocking comments. I do wish I could put a MB next to a folder, like you can an awardicon. I should suggest that to SM.The whole adventure was fun. For a week of my life, my free time was centered around writing. And because I was so focused on the exercise, I developed a new sense of awareness about my writing. You must understand, I’m a slow thinker. I usually have to ponder a subject a good couple of days before I start to actually write. Participating in the contest this week, forced me to push my boundaries. The deadline was a huge obstacle for me to overcome, but I did it. I wrote my first poem since grade 5; it blows fish chunks, but I did it. All the prompts required me to use my imagination. This is hard for someone who is used to delivering the facts and only the facts. I must do more of this. In order to improve, I must practice. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
