Write Well Me

Words of the Day

Sometimes I find that the same words keep appearing in my life over the course of a few days.  Here are my words for today:

• weary
• quiet
• savor

What are your words of your day?

Write Well University Informational Call

I'm holding an informational call tonight (7:00 p.m. eastern) for people who want to learn more about Write Well U and our programs.

If you're interested, email me at dawn@writewellu.com for the bridge line, or, heck, even just to say hi!

Hope to talk to you tonight!

Random Thoughts on a Tuesday

In the 2020s, will radio stations refer to their music as the "music of the '20s"?

Will there be radio stations?

Apple isn't so big a company that "playlist" has made it into the online dictionaries.  It still comes up misspelled.

I bet computer graphics took a big leap when someone got fed up with the micro details of claymation.  Can you imagine the tedium of moving things a millimeter and then shooting a frame, moving things a millimeter and shooting a frame.  It must take days to shoot a 30-second claymation bit.

I'm not the only one who's bugged by this

Back in May, I posted about a sign with unnecessary quotation marks.  Thinking I'm the only grammar dork who really cares about such things, I posted and forgot about it.

Lo and behold, a couple of weeks ago I stumbled across an entire blog devoted to the misuse of quotation marks!  The posts are short, consisting of a picture of the punctuation transgression and a humorous explanation.  It's worth subscribing to!

P.S.  The "blog" of "unnecessary" quotation marks posted my sign.  Now even more people can make fun of it!

Words with Meaning - Then and Now

In that journal I found were several quotations, bits of this and that from poetry, prose, and just words in general.  As I looked them over, some resonated with me still, others not so much.  If I had a journal like this today, these words might find their way into this one too.

"In the glazed greenery of hedge,
and ivy,
and inedible strawberries
the lilies are white; remote; extreme.
Would they were our guardians.
They are barbarians."
    - Stan Rice, "Greek Fragments"

I'm not sure what drew me to that quotation ten years ago, but today I love the word "barbarians."  It's for that word alone I included this as something that still has impact for me.

"I life mine eyes unto the mountains, from whence cometh My help."
    - Old Testament

Since I've been drawn to mountains, it's not surprising that this quotation, reminding me of something out there bigger than I, speaks to me.

"What lies behind us, and what lies before us, are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us."
    - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I love the idea behind this sentiment.  I so want... what do I want?  Something there is that's inside me and that's vast.

Again, I'm not sure what it was about these words that drew me originally, but there's something about them still.

Old Journal Uncovered

The other day I found an old journal of mine.  This journal is nothing like any journal I've kept recently.  This one reminds me of the notebooks I kept as a child, a collection of thoughts, quotations, things I wanted to remember.

Some pages have cut-out pictures from magazines (a precursor to my life maps, maybe?); notes I want to remember, like the china pattern for my high school friend; and words that have an impact on me (another precursor, this one for Power Words).

It's that last that really spoke to me, this bit from a ten-year-old journal.  "Beware" was written on a page on a line by itself.  It was hard to miss.  Another was "Serenity."  While they didn't show up on my Power Words list last year, they're both still words that have impact for me.

Now that I've enjoyed looking through it (and catching a glimpse of the person I was then), I'm not sure what to do with this journal.  Only a few pages were filled; many are blank.  This kind of journal doesn't fit with what I write or do now.  I'm not the type of person to just pick up on the next blank page and do something different.  My journals have purposes.  Sometimes that purpose is general, like with the journal I recently filled - a record of my growth and journey.  But that's still a theme, and it doesn't fit in just any journal.

The theme of this old journal is something different from anything I do now.  Maybe it will just be a record of who I was those many years ago, unfinished and incomplete.  That seems fairly accurate, yes?  Aren't we all unfinished and incomplete?  If I take that thought further, then what does it mean that I finished a journal?  It still is just a record of a point in time; it's not an epigraph; I'm not finished.

Ramblings on a Wednesday

Just a smattering of thoughts.

1. My friend Tammy's birthday was last week, and I gave her a Willow Tree set of figurines, Sisters by Heart.  I received Tammy's thank-you card, and here's what she said about my gift:  "I love the 'Sisters at Heart' angels.  The special place in my heart now has a special place in my home."  I just love how she put that together.
2. I'm reading Snow White, Blood Red, and I just finished the second story, "The Moon is Drowning While I Sleep."  I'm not familiar with the fairy tale it's based on, "The Dead Moon," but I'm just dumbfounded by the creativity in this story.  I adore it, and I wish I had written this story.  As many books as I love, there are few of them that I wish I had written.  This is one of those few.  I think I'll look up the original and read it; maybe someday I'll be the famous fantasy author who reworks it in yet another way.
3. I was reading an article in Writer's Digest on endings.  Basically, the thrust of the article was how to end your piece when you don't know how to end it.  When I read this, I cheered.  I know how my novel is going to end!  I don't have any problems in that area.  Now, maybe I don't have the whole ending detailed out, but I have the gist of it.  One less thing for me to worry about.
4. This last one is a rambling on my rambling.  Everything that's impacting me right now has to do with words.  That's not too surprising, I guess, given what I'm doing in the world, yet it still surprises me.  Explain that one to me.

Writing Day - No Need for Ritual Yet

Today was writing day.  I wrote and didn't have the feelings of uncenteredness that I've had before.  Now, I haven't done my Tuesday writing in a few weeks due to work overload, mini vacations, and being sick.  I admit that I was a little hesitant to write today, probably because I wasn't sure how I'd feel when it was over.  Would I find a ritual that would work?  (Top of my ritual list was belly dancing.) :-)

I actually didn't need it. 

Now, while that's fine, it leaves me a little confused.  Since my two last writing days left me feeling less than stellar, I was sure that it had to do with the writing, the fact that I was writing in general or maybe even what I was writing. 

That didn't change today.  If it's writing in general, well, I wrote!  If it's what I was writing, well, I'm still writing the same story.  Nothing different there.

After-writing was a completely different experience.

Now there were a few differences in my writing day:

• I wrote first thing in the morning.  I didn't work first; I didn't procrastinate.  I wrote.
• I had an outing planned.  I was meeting someone at a tea shop at 3:00 this afternoon, so I had something to look forward to.  (It turns out that I got the week wrong, and it's really scheduled for next week.  So, if that's the magic answer, I'll get to test it next Tuesday!)
• When I finished writing for the day, I knew where the story would go next.  The past couple of times I've been writing, I'd get to the end of the scene and stop.  I had no idea where I'd be going next.  Today I ended because I'd been writing for two hours (and I had that supposed appointment).  I finished the scene and wrote some notes for the next one.

It will be interesting to see if one or all had an impact on how I felt afterward.  I'll see next week.

What Dawn Is Reading Today - 8/17/07

If you're new to Write Well Me, read this to understand why I tell you what I'm reading.  :-)

I've been a little defunct in recording my current reading selections.  I did go back and read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I raced through it again, although admittedly in more than the twenty-five hours total it took me the first time (including sleeping time). I really enjoyed reading #6 and #7 again. I'm not sure, however, if it really helped my sadness over finishing the series.

Then I got sick. I was trying to take it easy, which is why there were no blog posts earlier in the week, and I read when I couldn't sleep. This selection was another Martha Grimes book, Dust. It goes to show how sick I was (and how little I could sleep) that I finished the book before I ever made it to the computer to write about it.

This week's healthy reading selection is a collection of short stories called Snow White, Blood Red, a reworking of fairy tales by modern fantasy authors. I'm still reading the introduction, which I'm thoroughly enjoying. (Am I the only anal-retentive reader who feels she must read every word, from the dedication to the typesetting notes?) Datlow and Windling talk about the history of fairy tales from the very old oral tradition to the Disneyfication and dumbed-downess of today's fairy tales. I've always known the fairy tales we're familiar with are radically different versions from the originals. This compilation is a reworking of those original versions. I'm looking forward to them, despite the fact that they're short. Maybe I won't have the same aversion to short stories since I already know fairy tales are short. And then there's the added bonus of being healthy!

What Does It Mean?

I pass this car several times a week on my around town.  The first time, I thought the "SHO" sign on the windshield was coincidental.  After weeks of the car being parked in the front yard, with the for-sale sign, and with the SHO sign on the windshield, I decided it wasn't a coincidence.

I have no idea what the SHO stands for.  Something "Sale ____ Owner" I'm guessing, but I can't, for the life of me, figure out what the "H" stands for in that scenario.  Anyway, isn't it obvious that it's for sale by the owner?  It is parked in someone's front yard.  Not exactly a used-car lot.  So maybe "Sale ____ Owner" isn't even right.

I suppose I could call the number on the for-sale sign, but how dorky is that?  "Hello.  I'm not interested in buying your car, but I did want to know what the letters SHO stand for?"

Uh, no, not happening.

So, I'm relying on you.  Any guesses?

(Author's note:  the SHO didn't show up in the original picture I took with my cell phone, so I had to manually add the letters in.  That's about how it looks, with the exception of each letter is on its own sign - posterboard maybe.)

Writing with a Wow Factor

In my quest to help people write well, I've created some fabulous programs at Write Well U (if I do say so myself - I guess I did just say so!).  These programs are fee-based as there's quite a bit of value you get no matter which program you're interested in.

I know that some people may not be ready to commit to a program that lasts for weeks.  Yet people still need to write well, and one thing that often gets in their way is the lack of opportunity to practice writing.

That's where the WOW! (Writing On a Whim) series comes in.  Here's how it works:  you sign up for the series (it's free!), and once a week you'll get a writing prompt.  The prompt can be anything from a thought, quotation, word, or phrase to get you thinking and, hence, get you writing.  All you have to do is sign up and commit to spending fifteen or so minutes a week writing.  How hard is that?

I haven't yet made it public on the Write Well U website (that's coming on Wednesday), but I'm giving you, my beloved readers and people who love me (because you read my blog, right?!), the inside scoop on WOW!  Take a peek and sign up if you dare.

May we all write well!

Falling or Fallen. Which Is Preferable?

As I was driving back from my creative weekend in Shenandoah, I noticed the signs about rocks placed at various intervals along the 100-mile roadway.

I thought the difference was interesting.  Which sign do you prefer?   Which situation would you rather find yourself in?  :)

   

Living the Dream - Sort Of

Over a week ago, I found myself in Shenandoah National Park, in a cabin, writing.  If you've been keeping up with me for a few months, you know that my dream is to have a cabin in the mountains where I can go and write my novels. 

At the end of April, my What's Next group individually holed up in hotel or house (or, in my case, cabin) to spend the weekend working on their What's Next projects.  I had (and still do, truth be told - just different stuff) a ton of things to do for Write Well U, and a whole weekend to bang out stuff seemed like a good idea.

To top it all off, since I know I want the cabin-in-the-mountains thing, I figured I'd try it out and see if it was really for me.

The verdict?  Yes and no.

The second I drove into the park, I was in love.  :)  Shenandoah has many overlooks, and I wanted to stop at each one.  I did actually have to stop as the What's Next group had our first call-in to share what our goals were.  I wasn't at the cabin yet, and I wasn't sure how my cell phone reception was going to be, so when I found the perfect overlook and had several bars on my cell phone, I stopped.  Here was my view a couple of thousand feet up. 

Not bad, huh?

The call ended, and it was time to check-in and find my cabin.  The cabin wasn't nearly as magnificent as the views.  First, it reminded me of my dorm room in college with the sink right there in the main room.  Rustic, but okay.  I brought my stuff in and went down to dinner at the Lodge, one of the many things I was looking forward to (say it with me, "Blackberry cobbler").  After dinner, back to the cabin to truly unpack.

Hmmm.  Not a three-pronged outlet to save my life, so plugging in my laptop wasn't going to happen.  I also had cords for my cell phone and iPod speakers (the truly important things).  There was only one outlet that fit those, and it was by the aforesaid sink.

I trotted myself back to reservations and asked for another room.  I told them I was there to hike and write, and while I didn't see a problem with my ability to hike, I was going to have problems writing if my laptop ran out of batteries.  They were filled up, so there was no chance of me moving to another cabin. Additionally, they told me that if I had been able to plug in my laptop, it might blow a fuse as the wiring in these original cabins were old.  However, they did offer to charge the laptop behind their desk for me.

It wasn't ideal, but it would work.  I moved in, and set up some things to make the space cozier.  In retrospect, this was the smartest thing I did.  I had brought my cabin life map with me, as well as my Oggz Egg, Zena Moon's creative fire candle, a candle that came with my Joyful Business Guide, and a dragon.  The resulting space was colorful and cozy, and I had a constant reminder of the life I was creating.

So I had my creative space, and I was fairly happy.  The next two days I spent hiking and creating.  I didn't get as much work done as some of my fellow What's Nexters, but plugging along for hours on end wasn't my original plan.  I knew I wanted the whole shebang - the environment, the view, the cabin, the creative fire, the writing, the inspiration, the hiking. 

For the most part, I got all I wanted.  The only thing is that my eventual cabin will be a little more essentially equipped.  You know, with things like outlet and enough electricity to power my laptop.

Here's to the dream coming true - soon!

Feeling Uncentered - Part II

Remember the troubles I had with publishing the original "Feeling Uncentered" post?  Well, here I am, more than a week later posting in TypePad, and I notice I have two "Feeling Uncentered" posts.  Sigh.  So, I transfer the updated post text from the one post that has no categories to the other that does have the proper categories.  No problem.  I then delete the category-less post. 

All's fine.

Then, I remember that Lily had commented on my post, and I had added a comment based on hers.

Guess what's not there anymore.

Grrrr.

Since I found her suggestions helpful, and thought they might inspire ideas for others, I tried to recreate those comments here.  Plus, I wanted a record for myself!  Lily suggested that I create a playlist on my iPod to blast and listen to when I'm done writing.  She also suggested drinking some favorite tea, but she thought that might interfere with my own creative tea time.  Her ideas were good ones and sparked these additional thoughts for after-writing rituals for me.

If I do create an after-writing playlist,  I think it would need to be a loud, happy, raucous one.  :)  Any good suggestions for absolutely mind-numbing, brain-cell-shattering music out there?  Or, really, does any Led Zeppelin song do?

I could also put in my belly dancing tapes, and do some wild belly dancing!  That would get me moving (a good thing) and might help purge some of those weird feelings.

The tea thing isn't a bad idea either.  It doesn't really conflict with going to my favorite café.  I usually just do that to create (like Write Well U stuff), not to write in my novel.

Now I can't wait to write again and see what ritual I create!

Tumble Dry Low. Remove Promptly.

My ten-year-old daughter Kathryn does her own laundry.  (Yeah, I'm up for Mom of the Year award.)  She brings it down from her room to the laundry room, empties it into the washing machine (along with a few hangers and Barbie shoes), later transfers it to the dryer, and finally folds it.

Good for her (and for me for instilling this responsibility into a young child - I AM up for the Mom of the Year award, remember?).

Tonight, though, she started her laundry just before bed.  That meant that she would be sleeping by the time the washing machine was done and the clothes needed to be transferred to the dryer.  I can't fault her too much - she initiated Laundry Chore without a word or hint from me.

So it fell to me to do the dryer transfer duties.  (Did I mention that I'm up for Mom of the Year award?)  Part of this process involves hanging the wet items that really shouldn't be placed in the dryer.  Since I'm not intimately familiar with the ins and outs of Kathryn's Laundry That Must Be Hung, I spent a bit of time reviewing clothing tags.

I hung what needed to be hung and silently rejoiced at the tags that allowed me to throw the item of clothing in the dryer.  Lovely words, those:  "Tumble dry low."  Aaaaahh.

Then it hit me.  Tumble dry low.  Really?  I have yet to see the tag that gives me permission to "Tumble dry at hotter than hell temperature." 

Then - "Remove promptly."  What?  You mean I don't have permission to leave the dry laundry in the dryer for hours, maybe even days?  What is this?  A conspiracy to force me to be at the ready, right outside the laundry room, strung tight and poised to spring at the sound of the dryer buzzer?

Well, conspirators be damned.  I may be up for Mom of the Year award, but I'm nowhere near being nominated for Housewife of the Year.

Tags for Goldberg clothes should read, "Tumble dry at whatever setting the dryer is currently set.  Remove when you can.  We'll understand if you don't fold us right away."