It is said that a person must experience life in order to be able to write about it.
That said, my life has suddenly exploded with experiences. I just got back from a cruise! It was amazing. I am also now engaged! My fiance proposed in a little chapel at the tallest point of the ship.
Over the next few months I will be moving and helping my sister move. Also, my brother who is in the navy who I haven't seen in two years is coming to visit in July. And of course, I need to plan my wedding - tentative date: March 19, 2010.
I foresee lots of exciting experiences ahead - which I will hopefully be able to incorporate into new writing material when I have some down time again. So until you hear from me again, happy writing!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Don't Judge a Day or a Book or a Person By the Cover
When I woke up today - actually I didn't want to wake up. I was short on sleep and wanted to keep sleeping. But I had too much to do this weekend. It was the morning of the poetry group I joined. I usually find them inspirational and like attending. The hardest part is waking up early on a weekend.
Anyway, back to my story. I didn't want to get out of bed, but did because I had so much to do. I attended the poetry meeting and it went well, but it wasn't especially inspirational this time. The meeting ended a little early and since I was meeting my boyfriend for lunch at noon, I decided to browse a book sale at the library.
There were thousands of used books for sale. In my opinion most of the books were pretty boring. But there were hundreds of people flocking all over the place and every shelf had at least a few interested browsers. There are certain things writers hear over and over again. One of them was emphasized by this book sale. All sorts of awful, boring books were for sale (along with some interesting ones). But my own writing was definitely and significantly better than some of these books that had found publishers and been printed. If they can do it, I definitely can! Apparently there is a market for pretty much anything and no matter what type of writing you do, there will be someone somewhere who likes it.
After leaving the book sale, I went to wait for my boyfriend but he was caught up with work and would be taking his lunch break a little later. I waited around and he eventually arrived. We wandered through the RiverMarket and finally had lunch at the 3rd place we considered. It took a while to get there from when I left my poetry group meeting. But had the timing been different, the next couple of things probably would not have happened.
When we arrived at the pizza place, we sat down at the table opposite an intimidating-looking man in his late 30's or early 40's who was alone at his table. We went about our business, and apparently arrived just in time to watch part of a St Patrick's Day Parade. I knew there was a parade but thought it was later in the day. Ironically, it was the first parade I have ever seen in person. Then when we were leaving, we learned that the man beside us had paid for our pizza. But he had already left and we didn't even get his name.
It's kind of funny how some days life can throw you inspiration in the strangest ways. I wonder if the man was a writer, too and overheard part of our conversation about my writing meeting. I have heard a couple of reclusive writers live in the city and I wouldn't have a clue what they look like. Or perhaps he was people-watching and was glad someone didn't avoid him - all the other tables around him were empty. I guess I'll never know for sure.
So the lesson for the day is definitely never judge a day or a book or a person by the cover. A bad day can turn good in the blink of an eye. A published book might not necessarily be quality writing just because it is published (and if they can do it, so can I)! And people can be anyone or anything - they are always doing things you might not expect!
Happy Weekend and Happy Writing!
Anyway, back to my story. I didn't want to get out of bed, but did because I had so much to do. I attended the poetry meeting and it went well, but it wasn't especially inspirational this time. The meeting ended a little early and since I was meeting my boyfriend for lunch at noon, I decided to browse a book sale at the library.
There were thousands of used books for sale. In my opinion most of the books were pretty boring. But there were hundreds of people flocking all over the place and every shelf had at least a few interested browsers. There are certain things writers hear over and over again. One of them was emphasized by this book sale. All sorts of awful, boring books were for sale (along with some interesting ones). But my own writing was definitely and significantly better than some of these books that had found publishers and been printed. If they can do it, I definitely can! Apparently there is a market for pretty much anything and no matter what type of writing you do, there will be someone somewhere who likes it.
After leaving the book sale, I went to wait for my boyfriend but he was caught up with work and would be taking his lunch break a little later. I waited around and he eventually arrived. We wandered through the RiverMarket and finally had lunch at the 3rd place we considered. It took a while to get there from when I left my poetry group meeting. But had the timing been different, the next couple of things probably would not have happened.
When we arrived at the pizza place, we sat down at the table opposite an intimidating-looking man in his late 30's or early 40's who was alone at his table. We went about our business, and apparently arrived just in time to watch part of a St Patrick's Day Parade. I knew there was a parade but thought it was later in the day. Ironically, it was the first parade I have ever seen in person. Then when we were leaving, we learned that the man beside us had paid for our pizza. But he had already left and we didn't even get his name.
It's kind of funny how some days life can throw you inspiration in the strangest ways. I wonder if the man was a writer, too and overheard part of our conversation about my writing meeting. I have heard a couple of reclusive writers live in the city and I wouldn't have a clue what they look like. Or perhaps he was people-watching and was glad someone didn't avoid him - all the other tables around him were empty. I guess I'll never know for sure.
So the lesson for the day is definitely never judge a day or a book or a person by the cover. A bad day can turn good in the blink of an eye. A published book might not necessarily be quality writing just because it is published (and if they can do it, so can I)! And people can be anyone or anything - they are always doing things you might not expect!
Happy Weekend and Happy Writing!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Be Your Own Cheerleader!
As a writer, we must set aside time to write. While everyone else is enjoying leisure activities or doing chores, we squeeze in a few words here and a few words there... Or do we?
It can be so tempting to do disappear in other activities - or even clean the entire house to avoid writing! One way to accomplish your writing goals when the world seems bent on stealing your time is to be your own cheerleader and reward yourself when you accomplish your daily (or weekly) goal. Often aspiring writers will have no one else to cheer them on, so we must find ways to motivate ourselves.
How do you motivate yourself to write?
It can be so tempting to do disappear in other activities - or even clean the entire house to avoid writing! One way to accomplish your writing goals when the world seems bent on stealing your time is to be your own cheerleader and reward yourself when you accomplish your daily (or weekly) goal. Often aspiring writers will have no one else to cheer them on, so we must find ways to motivate ourselves.
How do you motivate yourself to write?
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Poetry, Earthquake in Haiti and Relief Efforts
The news has been abuzz today with follow-up stories on the earthquake in Haiti. I wrote a Twitter poem about the earthquake:
Fragile ships
on waves of land.
Houses folded.
Fairy tales
fallen off the walls
& only we
can put Haiti
back together again.
~
You can view photos of the aftermath of the earthquake here and here.
For the latest updates on the Haitian earthquake relief efforts, visit the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies at http://www.ifrc.org/ or follow the Red Cross on Twitter at @RedCross.
In the US, to donate $10 to the Red Cross for the Haitian relief effort, text "HAITI" to 90999 . Or make a donation in the amount of your choice via the Red Cross website: http://american.redcross.org/haiti
It could have been any of us in a natural disaster. What if that was your home shattered and your family injured? If we don't help, who will?
Fragile ships
on waves of land.
Houses folded.
Fairy tales
fallen off the walls
& only we
can put Haiti
back together again.
~
You can view photos of the aftermath of the earthquake here and here.
For the latest updates on the Haitian earthquake relief efforts, visit the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies at http://www.ifrc.org/ or follow the Red Cross on Twitter at @RedCross.
In the US, to donate $10 to the Red Cross for the Haitian relief effort, text "HAITI" to 90999 . Or make a donation in the amount of your choice via the Red Cross website: http://american.redcross.org/haiti
It could have been any of us in a natural disaster. What if that was your home shattered and your family injured? If we don't help, who will?
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
a.k.a. Microscopic Stories
I decided I wanted to write books when I was in the third grade. My class was assigned the task of writing a one-page story using our spelling words. That's when I first realized that I could create these wondrous story-things that I enjoyed so much and share that joy with others.
I was in high school before I started dabbling in poetry. I had always thought poetry was mysterious and confusing, but in the 9th grade, I realized not all poetry was incomprehensible. Some poems were like little microscopic stories, and if I could write pages and pages of stories, I could write a tiny little poem!
So far this year, my poetry seems to have taken on a new life in the form of even smaller poems - Twitter poems. Updates on Twitter are limited to 140 characters, so I only have a few words to say everything in the poem. There is also a fairly active poetry community developing on Twitter. Followers of the Writers Digest Poetic Asides blog chime in on "Poetry Tuesdays" using the hastag #poettues and poets post their Twitter poems using #poetweet. You can find me on Twitter @anahbird. Here are a few of my twitter poems for those of you who do not use Twitter:
(1)
Red sun.
Pink clouds.
Purple sky.
Golden star.
Twilight
stamped with memory
like a fading aurora.
(2)
Ohmm -like a monk.
Words tumble from image.
You shroud yourself
in peace amidst shattering chaos.
But photos don't tell lies.
(3)
Funny little man.
Tongue tied in knots.
Loud, proud and arrogant.
Defeated by silence.
(4)
Heavy.
Like black iron fog.
Tiptoeing upon you.
Stealing the new-found sun.
The gravity of mortality.
I was in high school before I started dabbling in poetry. I had always thought poetry was mysterious and confusing, but in the 9th grade, I realized not all poetry was incomprehensible. Some poems were like little microscopic stories, and if I could write pages and pages of stories, I could write a tiny little poem!
So far this year, my poetry seems to have taken on a new life in the form of even smaller poems - Twitter poems. Updates on Twitter are limited to 140 characters, so I only have a few words to say everything in the poem. There is also a fairly active poetry community developing on Twitter. Followers of the Writers Digest Poetic Asides blog chime in on "Poetry Tuesdays" using the hastag #poettues and poets post their Twitter poems using #poetweet. You can find me on Twitter @anahbird. Here are a few of my twitter poems for those of you who do not use Twitter:
(1)
Red sun.
Pink clouds.
Purple sky.
Golden star.
Twilight
stamped with memory
like a fading aurora.
(2)
Ohmm -like a monk.
Words tumble from image.
You shroud yourself
in peace amidst shattering chaos.
But photos don't tell lies.
(3)
Funny little man.
Tongue tied in knots.
Loud, proud and arrogant.
Defeated by silence.
(4)
Heavy.
Like black iron fog.
Tiptoeing upon you.
Stealing the new-found sun.
The gravity of mortality.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Whirlwind of Everything But Snow...
December has whirled in with a mountain of work that piled up during NaNo, endless Christmas cards to write, perfect gifts to find, holiday recipes to perfect, seasonal guests to accommodate, and holiday traveling to be done. And so far no fluffy snowflakes...Work on my novel has been put on hold this month because of all of these activities. I plan to catch up on my poetry submissions before the end of the month so I can say I met my submission goal for the year. I also received good news on the poetry front.
On the same day this month, I received another poetry rejection and a letter accepting one of my poems for publication in a small online journal this upcoming March! It is my first poem to be published in a paying market! I am really excited!
I hope everyone has a happy holiday season and I wish everyone a good year for writing in 2010! Have a happy new year!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Excerpt - Kaylee meets the plant-girl
Here is an excerpt from the novel I am currently writing. I hope you enjoy it!
Kaylee's mouth fell open and she couldn't help but stare in disbelief at the plant-girl's words. Islen wouldn't take her to the Fortress because she didn't want to have anything to do with the outside world?!
Islen brushed a couple of small hair-like vines off of her face and shrugged.
"Why would you ever want to spend your life hidden away in some pretend-world like this when you live in a world that is full of so many wondrous things?!" Kaylee said."Since I've been here, I've seen a dragon, a flying ship, and even a horse with a unicorn's horn and a pegasus's wings; not to mention the hundreds of other things. The world is full of amazing and wonderful things if you just take the time and effort to find them."
"The real world is a scary place," Islen said. Kaylee could tell she spoke from personal experience. She wondered what had happened to Islen to make her this way. Was it the reason she rarely left the Wild Lands?
"Pretending will not change things," Kaylee said. "You can pretend things forever, but nothing will ever be real in the pretend-world. But if you work hard in the real world, all of your dreams can become real. Though things rarely happen in exactly the way you thought they would-"
Islen sighed. "You're going to bother me until I agree to be your guide to the Fortress, aren't you?"
Kaylee grinned. "Yep! You've got that right."
Kaylee's mouth fell open and she couldn't help but stare in disbelief at the plant-girl's words. Islen wouldn't take her to the Fortress because she didn't want to have anything to do with the outside world?!
Islen brushed a couple of small hair-like vines off of her face and shrugged.
"Why would you ever want to spend your life hidden away in some pretend-world like this when you live in a world that is full of so many wondrous things?!" Kaylee said."Since I've been here, I've seen a dragon, a flying ship, and even a horse with a unicorn's horn and a pegasus's wings; not to mention the hundreds of other things. The world is full of amazing and wonderful things if you just take the time and effort to find them."
"The real world is a scary place," Islen said. Kaylee could tell she spoke from personal experience. She wondered what had happened to Islen to make her this way. Was it the reason she rarely left the Wild Lands?
"Pretending will not change things," Kaylee said. "You can pretend things forever, but nothing will ever be real in the pretend-world. But if you work hard in the real world, all of your dreams can become real. Though things rarely happen in exactly the way you thought they would-"
Islen sighed. "You're going to bother me until I agree to be your guide to the Fortress, aren't you?"
Kaylee grinned. "Yep! You've got that right."
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Alcott, Shut-In's and NaNoWriMo
When I was growing up, I read a book about the life of Louisa May Alcott (author of Little Women). The book told how she would lock herself away in her room for days at a time and write frantically on her novel.I feel a little like that while writing for NaNo this month. I feel like I have to give up the rest of my life in order to get a rough draft of the words I need for my novel. I miss my TV shows. I miss surfing the web. I miss my computer games. I miss hanging out with friends. I had to turn down an invitation to hang out with someone last week because I needed to spend that night writing and would never get the words I needed if I even spent a couple of hours out - because those two hours stretch on late into the evening.
Last year one of the NaNo pep-talk writers said that he wrote 1,000 words a day, writing over the course of the entire day. For those of us who have day jobs or must take care of family members, we do not have that luxury. Someone once said to be a successful writer, you have to want it more than anything else. A strong desire, produces results.
Is locking yourself away from the world for weeks at a time to complete a novel really worth the sacrifice? That's up to each aspiring writer to decide for themselves.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Here's the video!
Here's the video. It's embedded now to make it easier to watch. Thank you, Glynis, for your help with how to embed it!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The Perfect Gift
This month I am working at my job during the day and am writing for NaNoWriMo at night. It's starting to take a toll, but the words are starting to add up and make the writing worth it. Still I feel like I don't have a moment's time to do anything except work for my day job and write on my novel. I can't imagine the holidays yet and I haven't even tried to think of the perfect gift for everyone.
At work, we just released our holiday video. It's about finding that PERFECT GIFT this holiday season. It's really a heart-touching video and I wanted to share it with everyone. I hope you enjoy it!
I haven't figured out how to embed a YouTube video in this blog yet, so you'll have to click on the image below to watch the video.
At work, we just released our holiday video. It's about finding that PERFECT GIFT this holiday season. It's really a heart-touching video and I wanted to share it with everyone. I hope you enjoy it!
I haven't figured out how to embed a YouTube video in this blog yet, so you'll have to click on the image below to watch the video.
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