Category: Writing

10 Things I Learned in 2012

~ K ~ Leave a comment

Looking back on previous blog posts, I’ve learned 10 things about myself and other things in 2012.

  1. Jesus prayed, and God said “no.”
  2. There are at least six ways to be considerate of childless couples.
  3. America is a culture of judgment.
  4. I loathe Downton Abbey.
  5. I have with chronic mononucleosis.
  6. I struggle with shame.
  7. Francine Pascal was the author who encouraged me to write stories of my own.
  8. I am a soft Democrat.
  9. The library is not what it used to be when I was a kid.
  10. Help, Thanks, and Wow sum up prayer pretty well.

Stealing from Other Writers

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It’s okay to steal from other writers as long as you do not lift their words exactly as they’ve been written.

What do I mean?

I mean that I intend to look at other blogs and lift my writing topics from them. I also intend to incorporate Anne Lamott’s writing style into my own. Although I don’t know if that’s possible because she’s got a way with words and descriptions that I can only hope to remotely broach. Anne Lamott says in Bird by Bird:

Try looking at your mind as a wayward puppy that you are trying to paper train. You don’t drop-kick a puppy into the neighbor’s yard every time it piddles on the floor. You just keep bringing it back to the newspaper. So I keep trying gently to bring my mind back to what is really there to be seen, maybe to be seen and noted with a kind of reverence. Because if I don’t learn to do this, I think I’ll keep getting things wrong.

I love that imagery of drop-kicking a puppy. (I like the imagery, not the actual idea of doing it.) That is Anne Lamott style.

I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep coming up with different writing topics. There are an infinite number of topics in the world, and the brain is exhaustive. I can only reiterate and spew the same things over and over before even I get sick of my own words.

But I’ll try.

I’m not a how-to person. I’m not one who is a natural instructor. But I’ll see if I can’t come up with at least three lessons learned out of life. I’ll also be borrowing heavily from Michael Hyatt’s website, a prolific blogger whom I admire. While I don’t have any lessons to offer on leadership, I’m sure there’s something I can offer lessons on. Perhaps I need to continue blogging to discover what that is.

One-Novel Wonder

~ K ~ 7 Comments

I feel all washed up as a writer. (I’m trying to stick to my 300 words a day minimum imposed by Anne Lamott from Bird by Bird, so I may ramble a bit.)

Why do I think I’m all washed up? Because I wrote one novel, and I can’t seem to write any others except for this effed-up teen series I’ve been working on for the past couple of years. Sure, I can almost always pump out 50,000 words every November, but that’s only when the story has to do with my teen novels or characters in some way. And trust me, they are poop in the same way that Fifty Shades of Grey is.

Hmm… maybe that means it’ll sell at least.

I’d like to write something original like my first finished novel (revised and edited). My finished novel has been in the works for the past five years. And if that won’t sell, but an agent likes my writing style, I have nothing of serious consequence to offer other than total garbage.

I have ideas—tons of them—that I just can’t seem to capitalize upon. A drama about budget cuts in the library (boring), four wealthy women whose lives radically change (book club material), an interracial couple that falls in love during the 1960s (historical romance). I read a ton of books so I should be pregnant with ideas, right? But somehow, I am barren in the brain and the womb.

I don’t mean to sound defeatist… well, in fact, I do. I feel defeated. I feel about as hopeless about giving birth to a new novel as I do about giving birth to a child. I am currently infertile in more ways than one.

Francine Pascal is my inspiration for writing, if that tells you anything. Perhaps it would do me some good to reread some Sweet Valley and remind myself why I liked the series so much. (Or why I find it to be a poor excuse for literature in retrospect.)

 

The Writer’s Voice

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What is a writer’s voice? Each writer has a distinct voice, one that immediately envelops you like a soft blanket, that is, if you like it.

One of the definitions Merriam-Webster provides is “the faculty of utterance.” In other words, the ability to say something. Ernest Hemingway had a voice, James Patterson has a voice, and Anne Lamott has her own voice. I don’t know what my voice is. I wouldn’t know if it were good, bad, interesting, or unusual. Perhaps that’s why I need to continue writing and keep practicing. Keep writing ’til I find my voice.

And oh! The things I can utter!

Do you remember your favorite book from childhood?

~ K ~ 3 Comments

My favorite series of books were the Sweet Valley Twins/High series. To be honest, I liked the Twins (middle grade) series better than the High series. I think I maybe touched one SVU book and didn’t find it particularly intriguing.

List three jobs you’d consider pursuing if money didn’t matter.

~ K ~ 1 Comment

Librarian

Image from beretandboina.blogspot.com

Full-time freelance editor and writer

Image from professionalnoveleditors.com

Professional organizer

Image from apartmenttherapy.com

What historical event would you attend if you were able to time travel?

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Wish if I were white: The Beatles playing at Shea Stadium on August 15, 1965

Wish in general: August 28, 1963 – watching Dr. Martin Luther King deliver his “I Have a Dream” speech

In what ways do you stand out?

~ K ~ 2 Comments

I like to think I stand out in particularly bad ways, but that’s only because I’m a pessimist.

1. I rock an afro among a predominantly white community.

2. I don’t always say things that make sense. (I know everyone does this, but I seem to accomplish this feat during moments that prove to be most embarrassing.)

3. I don’t speak like a “typical” black person. (In fact, if I try, I am laughed at by whites and blacks alike.) I have been told I am articulate.

29 Thought-Provoking Life Questions You Should Constantly Ask Yourself

~ K ~ 2 Comments

Andy at My Story to You… posted 30 Thought-Provoking Life Questions You Should Constantly Ask Yourself. (I deleted the last one because it was a repeat of #25.) I don’t know if I’d constantly ask myself these questions, but it’s a good one-shot post. 🙂

1) What great thing would you attempt if you knew you couldn’t fail?

I’d begin an editing business. First, I’d solely take on editing projects by myself to establish a reputation. If more requests came in and I could afford to pay another editor to take on a project, I’d hire someone else. I would like this editing business to grow so that the editing business becomes a network of freelance editors.

2) What would you do if you were 10 times bolder in your relationships, work, family, and spiritual life?

If I were 10 times bolder in relationships including family, I’d be completely honest about my struggles. In work, I would do things and risk suffering the consequences of my actions later. In my spiritual life, I’d believe in God boldly and His ability to do amazing things in my life and the lives of those I know.

3) What would you be doing if you had all the money in the world?

Honestly? Spending it on myself selfishly lol. I’d get voice lessons for fun. I’d spend some on missionaries and charitable organizations my husband and I support. I’d also put it toward my editing business to make that dream come true sooner that I hoped! I’d buy things for friends and be less stingy with gift-giving.

4) If you could teach something, what would you want to teach?

English or History.

5) If you left this life tomorrow, what message would you leave behind for the next seven generations?

Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless. So fear God, eat, drink, and be merry! Continue reading “29 Thought-Provoking Life Questions You Should Constantly Ask Yourself” →