SO, YOU THINK YOU CAN WRITE?

TO ERR IS HUMAN; TO WRITE IS A CRIME

Perhaps the greatest thing missing from too many writers lives is SUPPORT.  "So, you think you can write?"  Whether this cruel question is asked, writers are often told, you cannot write.  You will never be a writer, author, poet, etc.  The cruelest form of this comes in two varieties, family and experts.

YOUR WRITING IS PATHETIC

No, I did not mean to say prophetic.  That would be too nice.  Family can be your worst writing enemy.  They know where to stick the knife, so you feel the maximum pain.  They know what part of you, to bury the hatchet in.  Cruelest of all, they can be this way with the best of intentions.  Whether it's authors, film stars, musicians, or business people, some people have lived with the torment of family seeing them as a failure in everything they do, especially what the person does BEST.  I'm talking very famous and successful people.  So, if you lack family support in your writing or other goals in your life, you are not alone.  UNDERSTAND THIS, detach yourself from this cruelty, then use it in a positive way. 

I would be shocked if family ever decided I can write, but that's fine.  It is sincere the way they feel and they mean no harm.  In that sense I am lucky.  This allows me to look at their criticism, then realize something very important to know as a writer:  THERE IS A LOT OF REJECTION.  I won't say this is not hard on a person, but I have set a goal to accept REJECTION for what it is, a momentary thing, which can't happen, if you don't act to get published.  Just like ACCEPTANCE can never happen, if you don't act to get published.  So, your worst critics should be brushed aside, as a temporary impediment, to getting to where you are going, which is getting your writing published.

I AM THE EXPERT!  MY OPINION COUNTS!

True, the expert's opinion counts.  Whether an agent, editor, reviewer, critique group made up of professional writers, or any of the other writing experts you encounter on the road to publication; you should listen to their opinions, but remember, it IS opinion.  A piece of trash for one expert may be a classic to another.  You especially want to disown in your mind, any expert who attacks you or your work, personally.  Like the turtle or the snail, you must plod along on your journey to where you are going.  What is worthless in today's market, may be gold in tomorrow's market.  You are a writer / author as long as you do not stop.  Search out the experts who believe in what you write.  Assume the rest don't know what they are talking about, despite being experts.  The good thing is most of the experts have a vested interest in seeing you succeed.  It's called MONEY.  Agents, editors, and publishers can starve as much as writers, if they fail to support publishable work.  Unlike family, they need to live off what you do, so keep writing.  Still, I admit, experts can be very destructive to a writer, if they are a sick human being.  Smile and keep moving along.  In the end, you will achieve VICTORY.  (Understand, most experts do their best to HELP YOU.)

ENCOURAGED, I HOPE

I hope I have encouraged you to keep writing, not worry about critics, use the negatives for positive results, and love what you do.  There is plenty of discouragement, mountains of frustration, toil, and heartache in writing.  You are working toward that moment of JOY that comes one day.  Don't forget that.  By the way, when you find yourself published?  If it's a book, send me an autographed copy.  I WOULD LOVE TO READ IT!



THE TALES I TELL

TO A BETTER UNDERSTANDING

To better understand who I am as a writer, you need to know the tales I tell.  By nature, I am a short story writer; a fan of Edgar Allan Poe, O. Henry, and Mark Twain, among others.  Twain, famous for his books, was an excellent short story writer.  These are authors I aspire to write like.  Poe taught me to look into the human mind; where there is a fine-line between sanity and insanity.  He taught me people cross back and forth between the two, never realizing this.  All three taught me irony, which can be humorous, jolting, or twisted.  This offers many possibilities to a writer.  O. Henry was a master at using irony. 

If anything, Mark Twain taught me, I am not a natural story-teller.  He is one of the greatest story-tellers of all time.  Aside from revealing my writing faults, he taught me humor is a great thing!  Humor enhances a story and makes life less dull for the reader.  ANYONE, of any consequence in my life, has taught me, laughing at life keeps you sane and alive.  Humor is one reason I want to be a writer.  Humor, is needed to survive blog bugs too.

ON PUBLICATIONS



I have and haven't been published.  As a kid, I wrote short stories for my Junior High School newspaper, achieved a co-byline for a story once, and worst of all, I gathered school gossip that was sometimes published.  Almost forgot song dedications, which was more fun.  Yes, I was a school reporter.  This must alarm Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olson--some of my favorite fictional reporters. 

My next published work was in HEARTBEAT, the singer / entertainer Peter Noone's newsletter.  (For those too young, he is the famous lead singer in the Sixties band Herman's Hermits.  He remains internationally popular.)  My 2006 review of a concert he did in my area was published in his fan club newsletter.  A couple of minor writings were also published in the newsletter.  Speaking of irony, my review in the HEARTBEAT fan club newsletter, may have had a larger and wider audience, than any fiction writing I may ever see published. 

For a year, I wrote a column appearing in the newsletter where I once worked.  This was from early 2006 through a time in 2007, when the newsletter ceased publication.  (Died for budget reasons, not my writing; in case you are wondering.)  My first article in the newsletter was an e-mail interview with an occasional radio personality.  I consider this interview a key moment in my writing life. 

Otherwise, I have never been "published" in a literary magazine or in any sense you think of as "published."  Hope I achieve that too!

BLOGGING

Blogging affords me the opportunity to find a reading public, so I may acquire a writing platform, as publishers call it.  I began Blogging with Yahoo in December of 2005, ending when they closed their Blogging platform in 2010.  I have been Blogging with Blogger since some time in 2009.  Building my interview skills, I have interviewed 6 people for two blogs.  Three writers, one unpublished; three musical entertainers, with two being famous stars of the Sixties.  Through Blogging, my writing life has taken the interesting turn of interviewing people.  This leaves me half scared to death and half delighted. Interviewing is a strange animal emotionally, until you get used to it.  You do get used to it, don't you?  Moving along!

SHORT STORIES

I prefer to publish fictional short stories.  My readings tell me this leads to the poorhouse, plus obscurity.  Books sell---if any writing sells---if you want to eat and live.  So...I have my work cut out for me, which I admit, is depressing at times.  Then too, there is all the wonderful writing platforms open to me today, if only I understood them all; even some of them!  (Like, self-publishing, e-books, etc.)  Writing is not for the faint of heart.  IT'S FOR THE TOTALLY INSANE, like me. 

On my old Yahoo Blog I posted a few of my writings, thinking that was okay.  Then I read, no publisher wants anything that's been online.  They say it's published, therefore virtually unpublishable.  Well, except for all the people who have succeeded in doing just that!   Dare not, believe publishers are more sane than writers!  I may...just may...with that insanity in mind, revive a few Yahoo short stories here.  People do need to see I write.  Even how bad I write; thus, encourage you to write.

POETRY

:-) I have such a lousy understanding of poetry, I took up writing poetry.  I hope to learn poetry by writing poetry.  Also, some of my short stories have poetry-like rhyming.  This baffles me, but I like it.  I may share a few of my old Yahoo blog poems.  Afterall, it's virtually impossible for my poetry to qualify as publishable.  Too many truly excellent poets out there, going unpublished, to believe I am in their league.  However, I do write poetry, with this nagging Walter Mitty hope, it's better than it really is.  As I said above, humor is important in life.

CONFUSED YET?

Hope I have not confused you.  Writing is my final major goal in life to achieve success.  I will always write.  I am that strange person, who set very high goals in life; unachievable goals, it turns out.  Odds are against me in this goal too.  That's putting it mildly.  Yet, each of my 3 major goals in life taught me things.  If I stopped writing today, I accomplished totally unexpected things in my writing pursuit, which I am proud of.  There you have it!  A small understanding that I will never ask too much of you.  Read a little; join me in writing, if you like; maybe a comment, when you have something to say.  The tales I tell are the humble tales of a poor boy born with stories in his head.  Thank you for joining me.

FAMOUS FICTIONAL PEOPLE

NOW APPEARING...!

Today's thoughts have nothing to do with writing and everything to do with writing.  The topic is famous fictional people.  Although it is not possible to name all my favorites, permit me to name a few.  Each is worth a deeper study for creative writers.  However, this is about being a fan.  I am writing this for fun.

WALTER MITTY

You can't read James Thurber's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, without realizing he is a fictional person; a fictional dreamer.  He is an everyman, for those of us, who  live undistinguished lives.  Somehow, Walter Mitty is certain he should be more than he is, except fate set him on a different path in life.  One thing Walter Mitty does not lack, is a vivid imagination.  The one thing he can't escape, is he is a henpecked husband, regularly brought back to reality, by his over-bearing wife.  She is also partly responsible for him living, as much as possible, in the imaginary world he creates.  Walter Mitty might have made a great writer, were he a real person.  He has come to be a part of American Culture, even making his way into some dictionaries.  Best of all, the story is a fun read and Walter Mitty is a fascinating person.  Destined to always be undistinguished, in literary form, he has become an American legend in the real world. 

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Sherlock Holmes, is possibly, the most famous fictional person and detective in the English-speaking world.  In fact, Sherlock Holmes is so famous, some people think he is a real person.  There have been attempts by people to visit him at 221B Baker Street, London, England, his fictional apartment address.  Sherlock Holmes first appeared in print in 1887, with the original tales covering the 1880 to 1914 period, according to Wikipedia.  In The Final Problem, the Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle, not only formerly introduces Holmes archenemy Professor Moriarty, he attempts to kill off both characters, intending to put an end to the great detective stories.  Naturally, he eventually resurrected Holmes from the dead.  In part, this was due to his popularity, but also, because of the author's financial needs.

Sherlock Holmes stories tend to be filled with logical reasoning, scientific methods, and pure genius.  Holmes at his best is a problem solver.  That some of the scientific ideas introduced in Holmes stories went on to become a part of Scotland Yard's actual detective methods, may play a strong role in why many people believe Sherlock Holmes is a real person.  Until the method later proved faulty, the old method of using plaster-of-paris to create a mold of a footprint at a crime scene, originally introduced in a Sherlock Holmes story, was used by Scotland Yard detectives and police forces around the world, to capture, then convict criminals.  Despite all this, Sherlock Holmes remains no more than a famous fictional person.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Like a good cliffhanger movie or story, this project is to be continued in the future.  This allows me to express my thoughts freely, while trying to hold the writing to a readable word limit for you, the reader.  For any writer to create a memorable character, with the staying power of a Walter Mitty or a Sherlock Holmes, is a dream come true.  This is as close as a writer comes to achieving immortality.  For readers, it gives readers a ficitional person to pass down to future generations of readers.  Someone everyone knows and everyone can discuss.  Most of all, someone everyone can enjoy.  I hope you have a few famous fictional people in your life.  I leave you now to return to my imaginary world..."The Siren Song of Cyren is the tale of...

THREE STORY IDEAS JUST FOR YOU

WELCOME TO MY IMAGINATION

Welcome to my imagination.  I have three story ideas just for you.  Ah, but there's a catch!  You knew there would be, didn't you?  You will select your own story idea.  My goal is to put you in surroundings you relate to and understand.  No writer's block here.  Let's get started.

STORY IDEA ONE

You were a child once.  Pick a childhood memory, then write about that memory.  Write your thoughts, impressions, and actions.  Choose two or three memories to write about, if you like.  Select the best one to be your story, later.  Also, you may combine the memories into one story.  It will be your choice.   After you write your thoughts, impressions, and actions, you have a rough draft.  You have a beginning, a middle, and an end.  What you do next is link the three parts with creative ideas, true or untrue, turning it into a story that fits everything together.  Think of your creative ideas as creative glue to hold the story together.  Once done, rewrite the story so your story becomes interesting to readers.  Don't be surprised, if in polishing your story over and over, your childhood memory turns into a completely different tale from your original idea.  Stories, like people, have lives.  They grow, they change, they become unrecognizable.  Once humble and immature, they mature into storyhood..  (If you are a child reading this, pick a memory from a year or two ago.  Good luck!)



STORY IDEA TWO

You have learned many things in your life.  Pick something you learned, then tell what it was and how you learned it.  Explaining something you have learned on the job, in the classroom, or through trial and error, can be a challenge.  You may relive the struggle in the process of getting this idea on paper.  Feel free to include your frustrations and emotions, from then and now.  Be kind to yourself.  This idea may take longer to write.  You may have to put it down when finished, then return to it a few days later.  A great thing to do, once your emotions and frustrations subside, is find the humor in the situation.  Example:  If you hammered nails with the handle of the hammer, until the light went on in your head, telling you the "metal head" really works better for hammering nails; you might want to interject this bit of humor into your tale.  (Was I listening to the hammering sound of Heavy Metal music when I came up with this thought?  No, I wasn't, but I like the idea.  Thank you!)  Repeat the process of idea one; polish, rewrite, polish, rewrite, and create!

STORY IDEA THREE

You got it over with, whatever it was.  Pick a time in your life you had to do something you couldn't get out of.  All of us get stuck in situations we have little or no control over.  Write about this.  Maybe you had to fix dinner for an army of people and you're an eat-out person.  You know what it was!  Write it down from start to finish.  Complain and growl where you complained and growled then, even if only on the inside.  Include anything that was humorous at the time or humorous in retrospect.  You can exaggerate, but keep events within reality.  Same as others, polish, rewrite, polish, rewrite, and best of luck in getting it over with!

ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE

There!  You have three story ideas.  Best of luck to you.  Get those creative juices flowing.  If the exercise leads to other, better ideas, the exercise will have done its job.  Every day of life is a gift of hidden gems, waiting to be discovered.  You need to dig to find the "acres of diamonds" hidden in your life.  Dave Nightingale, famous for Lead The Field and other motivational works, coined the phrase in italics.  In writing or life, focus on awareness, so your own diamonds in life appear to you.

TEN FAVORITE BOOKS

INTRODUCTION

I love to read, so here are a few favorite books, with brief reviews.  I hope you enjoy this post.

THE BIBLE

The Bible, since my background is Christian, bears mentioning, although not as a part of this list.  I include The Bible here, so the religious and non-religious, understand it plays a role in my life.  The Bible is a rich source of history, philosophy, morality, guidance, and wisdom.  Since we do not all share the same religious background, I will not expound further on its meaning to me.  The rest of this post addresses 10 favorite books I have read.   Some of these books bring me back to my religious roots, thus the need to mention the Bible and my Christian background..  I list the books in no particular order.

EINSTEIN:  THE LIFE AND TIMES

Einstein:  The Life and Times by Ronald W. Clark.  In my humble opinion, this is the best Einstein biography you can read.  Reported discoveries of documents in recent years, may mean there are better modern biographies of Einstein, but I once collected Einstein biographies and found this one the best and most humanizing Einstein biography.  I bought the paperback version around 1972.  I refer back to it to this day.  I highly recommend this biography to those who wish to know Einstein the man and scientist.

INSIDE THE THIRD REICH

Inside the Third Reich:  Memoirs by Albert Speer.  I hated required book reading in school, but this book should be required reading for every high school student.  This memoir tells how a non-political college graduate, and regular person, became so tied into an allegiance to Hitler,  then Nazi Germany, he turned against his own moral values, without realizing it, until too late.  I have addressed this book in an earlier blogpost.  It is hard to explain the importance of this book.  Forget the size of this book--huge--read it!

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer  This is an excellent historical book on Hitler and the history of Nazi Germany by a reporter and human being, who knew pre-Nazi, and for a time Nazi Germany, in person.  You can find many excellent pro and con reviews of this book on the internet.  Although a large work by the standards of most readers, it is a valuable read.  I find these 3 books offer insight from different perspectives on a significant era in German and World History.  This time in world history is almost impossible to fully describe.  At times, all 3 books send me back to my Bible. 

FLATLAND

Flatland by E.A. Abbott.   Turning to a subject on the lighter side, Flatland appears a children's book, but written before Relativity Theory, it's proven itself to be a good children's book and a good primer on basic features of Relativity Theory.  It is a small book, about 100 pages; easy to read; may make you laugh; but is quite educational..  You need an elementary school education to read this book.   If you are a geometry student, either proficient or troubled by geometry, this book offers insight into geometry as a subject.  You will see the 3 dimensions of this world and how they work.  Not only do internet reviews exist, but the actual story is online!.  Click here.  Read this book!   You will be glad you did.   Sorry, I do not mean to sound bossy.  Please think of it like a celebration after a great sports play. 

(Further note:  This book is excellent for teaching social tolerance, due to being written as a satirical work.  I have rarely, if ever, seen a book that has such varied educational and social classroom applications.)

ARCHY AND MEHITABEL

archy and mehitabel by don marquis.  A hilarious fictional book of short stories, connecting the two subjects and the author.  HINT:  There is a reason why the title and author are in lower case letters  You need to read the book to know why.  My copy is a paperback by Anchor Books.  The characters were introduced by the author in his newspaper column in 1916.  If you think something this old can't possibly be funny, then checkout this book at your local public library, read it, then leave me a comment.  I was introduced to this author in a college literature class.  I read the book's most memorable story.  Years later, by chance, I ordered the book through a mailorder book catalog.  It is just under 200 paperback pages, including artist drawings by the author. 

(This book's humor includes a disrespected reincarnated bard / writer, Cleopatra, and a manual typewriter.  Some of you may need to look up that last term.  Not saying how old I am.) 

A NOTE TO READERS

*Some books I mention may be available only in the United States.  Some have different publishers and titles in other languages.  My apologies, if you are unable to obtain one of these book(s) due to lack of international publication, due to being out-of-print, or unavailable from a library.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS (TRILOGY)

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.   Yes, the book trilogy, not the DVDs, which I have not seen.  I consider this trilogy one of the greatest literary fiction works I have ever read.  I may believe in Ents, talking trees, if memory serves me right.  This book has faded from memory, because I read it in the late 1970's or early 1980's.  However, it remains one of the best books I have ever read.  Since I am sure you can find much about this trilogy on the internet, including online groups dedicated to it, I only add, READ THIS TRILOGY!

A TREASUREY OF SHERLOCK HOLMES

A Treasury of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle with editor Adrian Conan Doyle.  I should first point out, this is a Doubleday published collection of Holmes stories as selected by Adrian Conan Doyle, son of the author, with his own introduction to the book.  He is not listed as editor, but I think this might be a useful term to describe him.  There are many fine Holmes collections out there to be read, maybe a better collection than this one, but it is the one I own.  I ordered the book when I was 11 or 12, which is a fine age to introduce boys, perhaps girls too, to this author and famous fictional character.  Holmes is both educational and enjoyable fiction.  No doubt Holmes is a rare fictional character, an enlightened person should get to know.  His name is part of English-speaking culture.  It is rare for a fictional character to have a place in history, yet Holmes is such a person, I mean, character.

MARK TWAIN'S MOST BELOVED BOOKS

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.  These two books are by the most famous author born in the United States of America.  There is a lot to be found on the internet on these classic books and their author.  I very much enjoyed both books.  The form of American speech used in these books is lost to many modern ears.  Even Americans complain they can not read and fully understand the language of these books today, which is a pity.  The books are fun to read or worthy of indepth study.  I wish all readers could have the benefit I had, of "hearing" the books read to me, as a child, before the classroom forced upon me, the dissection of these books, as literary works.  I recall, Twain was not fond of dissection either, but did enjoy a good laugh.

THOUGHTS ON AUTHORING

A scholar has rewritten Huck Finn in modern English, eliminating what many regard as racist language used in the text.  Given the growing language barrier mentioned, for modern readers, to understand the books, the rewrite is not entirely a bad idea.  Ideally, it would be nice to have the original text on the opposite page, so the original text never gets lost, nor the understanding of the powerful influence the books had for readers over time.  Since I write, I am opposed to changing the author's original language usage, for a multitude of reasons; the most important being, if you change a work a bit too much, it ceases to be the author's work.  It is an interesting topic for debate!

EDGAR ALLAN POE'S WORKS

The Works of Edgar Allan Poe or The Annotated Tales of Edgar Allan Poe.  The first seems to have no editor I can find; the second book has an editor, Stephen Peithman. Both are published by Avenel Books.  Edgar Allan Poe is considered the first great American author.  (Not to offend Cooper and others.)  He is said to have invented the American Detective story and perhaps the American Mystery story, as well.  My historical knowledge of Poe has faded with time, but not my love for his delving into the human mind.  For those from other lands, who may not have heard of Poe; Poe was a writer of short story fiction and poetry.  The Raven, a long poem, is his best known work and a challenge without a dictionary.  Poe loved words!   He did not always use them correctly!  The poem is easily understood as a tale of sadness and mourning.  Poe and much about him is on the internet, including The Raven and some of his short stories too.  Enough said for today.  He is a major inspiration to me, because he explored the human mind.

MEDITATIONS

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.  I add this book because it is a book of philosophy written as a private diary by a Roman Caesar, who persecuted Christians at times, either by a desire to or as political policy, during his rule; yet Marcus Aurelius seemed quite close to Christian beliefs in much of his own thinking.   Was he aware of this?  We will never know.  His meditations, ponderings, or thoughts are worth reading and thinking about.  I am not sure what the real man was like, but I find his words interesting.  I thought one good work of Philosophy belonged here and this one is relatively short, unlike Plato, Confuscius, and others.

CLOSING THANKS

Thank you for reading.  Had I time to go through my entire collection, I might have deleted some and replaced them with others.  Almost all of them delve into deeper thought; they educate.  However, I do like a good laugh, so included works, which make me laugh.  Thinking does not have to be dull and dry.  I hope I have given you something new to read, although most of these works are well known.  That does it for now.

BUG-DEMONS

TRY AN IDEA:

Last May, due to blog platform issues, I saved a blank post.  This is that post.  Call it the curious post, for I want to try an idea.  I plan to see if this posts in May 2011 or January 2012.  All blog platforms are plagued by bugs; highly frustrating bugs.  What starts as a 20 or 30 minute post, can run into hours, depending on how well the blog platform is working.  This is akin to being down to one pen, which writes when it feels like it, at an hour when all stores are closed, should you, in your anger, choose to run out to buy a new pen.  Well, you know what I mean.  You end up wondering if Cuneiform writing had these issues also.  Have writers always been plagued by bug-demons?  Maybe I should call this post Bug-Demons.  Okay, I will.  No longer is it The Curious Post.  There, I did it!

GRATITUDE:

Stopping to think about this whole internet blogging adventure, will make one realize, the bug demons, must be worth the trouble.  Here I sit typing on one side of the country, while this whole posting affair, is governed by events on the opposite side of the country---the USA, for the curious.  It's something of a modern miracle this can happen at all.  More wonderful is people all over the world can see MY WORDS!  Folks from all over the USA, Canada, the UK, Germany, other parts of Western Europe, along with Eastern Europe (Ukraine, Russia, Norway, etc), Iran, China, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, simply more countries than I can name, visit my two blogs.  The numbers are not huge, but I have not worked hard to build the numbers, yet.  I am grateful this is possible.  I am grateful for each reader who comes to my blogs.  I LOVE TO WRITE!  So, gratitude, I have a ton of gratitude about being able to communicate my thoughts to the whole world.  My readers are very much appreciated.

BLOGGING:

I began Blogging in December 2005.  At that time, I was a Yahoo Blogger like millions of other Yahoo Bloggers.  It was wonderful, despite bug infestations, which were rarely fixed.  Although I did not end my Yahoo Blogging, until Yahoo forced an end to their blog platform, my last post there was late March 2011.  By the end of March 2009, I had become so frustrated with Yahoo's Blogging platform, I moved to my present platform, here.  It was then, I chose to take Blogging advice I found all over the internet.  That advice was to choose a niche topic to Blog on.  I chose two; two of my favorite topics: 1.) Writing and 2.) Music.  I also chose to attempt to interview people; something I mainly did in 2009, since 2010 and much of 2011 I had computer problems, limiting my ability to post, to my then 4 Blogs, in 2009.  I am down to two Blogs.  I lost my job in late 2008, so I am lucky to be on a computer today.  I still haven't found a job as I post this in mid January of 2012.  Good thing I love to write.  Thank you for reading.  From time to time, I hope to stop what I am doing, to share some of myself with you. 

ONE MORE THING:

A tragi-comic final thought.  Due to Blog related problems, Bug Demons, I have been unable to Monetize either of my Blogs, nor resolve this issue.  For now, Amazon linkage is what I would prefer most to accomplish, given this blog is about books and writing and my other blog is about music.  I would love for writers and music people to see their works selling through my posts, through their willingness to be interviewed by me, and it would amuse me to see a little income from something I love to do, write.  I've always believed I can write.  Not to foreclose the idea that I have much room for improvement.  I have had small successes in writing.  One day I will mention those, just for fun.  Maybe it will inspire someone who will win a Pulitzer Prize or a Nobel Prize someday.  Time to stop procrastinating and find out what date this will post.  Either I have, in 2012, spoke into the past, or the past, has become the present.  Take care people.  I SHALL RETURN!

OUTDOORS DISCOVERIES WHILE THINKING

FROM A CITY PARK TO SHIMMERING WATERWAYS:


Observing people and nature, from park benches, has long been a tradition for those who love to people watch. You watch people move about, play, relax on blankets, have picnics, and dogs walk their owners.  There are birds, squirrels, butterflies, and other insects in summer; a great cosmic cross section between Nature and City.  If your Critique group can not afford to travel to a state park or wooded area, city parks are ideal places to fill your notebooks with observations of people and nature in action.  Perhaps, what you will find best about this kind of note-taking, is park visitors range in age from birth to people living their last days.  Energy levels vary from frenetic children to fully relaxed families to those confined to observing, due to physical or age-related reasons.  All this is enbeded within a world of nature.  I am reminded of poets as I write this. 

Shift your Critique group to a shimmering lake, a river, an ocean, a boat, a ship, or people swimming on a beach.  Here you will fill your notebooks with action, relaxation, a bit of humor maybe, and so much more.  On water you are in a different world.  Sun, sky, clouds, the shore, a distant view and naturally watery things dominate.  The water may shimmer, rock you from side to side and up and down.  Water birds may fly high above you, dive into the water to capture food, or hover nearby, calling to you and each other.  What may have looked quiet from the shore, turns into a noise-filled place.  An irony is solitude may also introduce itself.  You better bring water-proof notebooks to this watery exploration.  Depending on the body of water you choose, you may meet water creatures who are curious about you.  Maybe they have their own mental notebooks covering you waterless, airy-world creatures.  Think of tales from the point of view of a fish or other water-dweller; such as whales, turtles, a water-moccasin, water-lillies, a dragonfly, etc.  What must they think of us!

HIKING OR BIKING THROUGH PARKS:

Hiking or biking through mountains or a valley will offer you a different perspective. Visiting city, state, or federal parks with varied landscapes, and people shaped by their landscape, will fill a notebook.  A regular reader made this observation:  "I think the same techniques could be applied to the natural world. What do you see from the top of a tree, from the ground or from under a log?"  The Ann Finkelstein quote is from a comment on my previous post, but her words fit so well, I thankfully include her perfect thought.  If you can't hike, bike, or afford to travel, then considere interviewing a Forest Ranger; a person who definitely sees a different world than we do?  Also consider talking to bird watchers, avid campers, hikers, and biking enthusiasts, with notebook in hand.  Is there an astronomy club in your area?  Don't forget the nightsky, nor the night.  Notice also your feelings in all these different settings I mention.  Outdoors life has its own feel, its own set of emotions, so be aware of this while taking notes.  Sometimes you can find these people living in your own neighborhood, if you need to talk to or interview outdoors people.

THINKING ON THINKING:

Some closing thoughts.  There is overlap in these posts by necessity.  You and I need to be in the moment, as Marilyn vos Savant, once suggested in something I read in Parade Magazine.  Whether with a Critique group, a few friends, or by yourself, you will find being in the moment contains volumes of information, which no one or no group can fully record.  The better we get as writers, the better we get at distilling all this into as few words as possible, while exciting our readers interest, by keeping them in the moment in their minds and hearts.  Writing is a never-ending learning process.  Best wishes to those of you, who like the late Martin Luther King, proclaim in your writings, "I HAVE A DREAM!"



(When thinking how hard it is to write, let us consider Martin Luther King, whose birthday we are about to celebrate.  He was not quite through the third month of his 39th. year of life when he was killed.  In writing his sermons and speeches he labored over his words as we do.  He was a writer.  I will never know how he accomplished so much in 39 short years of life, even limiting his life to his writings, only.  However, that word "DREAM" is the key.  It's our key too.  Don't stop your dream, whatever your age.  Hard is not impossible.  Martin Luther King showed every writer that truth.)