Writing In Retirement Blog

 

Commitment is the stuff character is made of: the power to change the face of things.

 

I keep a jar of fortune cookie sayings on my desk, and I pulled out this one just now. It gave me a start as I know it was the right saying for the right time. It got me started thinking about commitment to writing. It’s a real key to writing.

Sometimes when facing a blank page, when you feel your well of words has dried up. When you feel like nothing will appear on the page. You just have to sit down and face that blank page and begin to write. One of the definitions of Commitment is – to engage oneself.

That’s what you have to do. It’s not that you have to think about stuff, it’s rather that you have to ‘do.’ Put one word after the other, and things will begin to percolate, and before you know it, the words will appear and with it ideas that will make sense.

If you are looking for a magic pill that will make you a writer – forget it. What it takes is everyday commitment to write. That’s the way you learn to put together the elements that make a story. It also is the way to get past ourselves – the many excuses we use not to put down the stories that circulate in our brains. The ‘someday stories,’ the ‘someday book,’ the ‘someday I will submit this story to a publisher’ stuff can be cured by the commitment to do.

We are soon to see a New Year start. Why not get a jump on that and write down your goals of commitment to writing?  It’s doing that get you somewhere.

Comments are always welcome.

It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is just around the corner. It is one of those holidays to which we all look forward. Not just because of the food, or the football games – although that is a delightful part of it – but for the fellowship with families and friends. Oh yes, there is always one relative we would rather not sit next to, but then again perhaps they feel the same with us! It is the one day we put all that aside and enjoy the bounty which blesses all of us. To that end, I have written a cinquain poem (a five line poem) about Thanksgiving and then followed that with a prayer. Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Enjoy your blessings.  Marie

Cinquain for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

 Gratitude, Harvest

     Gathering, Eating, Praying

 Fullness, Kindness, Happiness, Love

       Blessings

 

 

A Prayer for Thanksgiving      

Dear Heavenly Father

Bless the elements of this planet and help us be good stewards of the earth, air, fire, and water.

Bless the creatures of this earth whose bounty and beauty we enjoy.

Bless this country in which we live. Help us to mend our differences and live in peace with our   neighbors.

Bless this gathering of souls that we might break bread and be merry.

Bless this abundant meal and the hands that have prepared it.

Let us express our gratitude freely on this Thanksgiving Day.

Amen

 

Comments are welcome.

 

I gathered together some pearls of wisdom by writers about writing. I share with you these time-honored quotes to give us all a boost in our commitment to writing. So here goes…

 

“If you wish to be a writer, write.”

—Epictetus

 

“If you wish to be a writer you must do two things above all others:

Read a lot and write a lot.”

—Stephen King

 

“Just write every day of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens. Most of my friends who are put on that diet have very pleasant careers.”
—Ray Bradbury

 

“Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.”
—Jane Yolen

 

“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”
—Ernest Hemingway

 

“We’re past the age of heroes and hero kings. … Most of our lives are basically mundane and dull, and it’s up to the writer to find ways to make them interesting.”
—John Updike

 

“A blank piece of paper is God’s way of telling us how hard it is to be God.”
 —Sidney Sheldon

 

“Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good.”
—William Faulkner

 

“Writing is its own reward.”
—Henry Miller

 

“Everywhere I go I’m asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don’t stifle enough of them.”
—Flannery O’Connor

 

“I can’t write five words but that I change seven.”
 —Dorothy Parker

 

“Half my life is an act of revision.”

—John Irving

 

“Anything is possible if you have enough nerve.”

—J.K. Rowling

 

“Keep a small can of WD-40 on your desk—away from any open flames—to remind yourself that if you don’t write daily, you will get rusty.”
—George Singleton

 

“I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.”
—Anne Frank

 

My Personal Favorites:

“I’m a writer, and I will write what I want to write.”

—J.K. Rowling

 

“I do not over-intellectualize the production process. I try to keep it simple: Tell the damned story.”
—Tom Clancy

 

I hope you have enjoyed these quotes. Feel free to copy down your favorites on sticky notes and keep them where you can see them.

Comments are always welcome!

For those of you that are not familiar with NaNoWriMo, the acronym stands for National Novel Writing in a Month. The object of NaNoWriMo is to write a 50,000 word draft of a novel during November. The whole thing started in July of 1999. Chris Baty and 20 of his friends – out of boredom – decided to try and write a novel in the space of one month. The group, having had a lot of fun, and coming out with a draft for a novel,  grew the concept. Writing an original piece of work in a month switched to November. Soon the event went international. Writers around the world participated in the seat-of-your-pants, put-your-editor-in-the-other-room challenge.

This year NaNoWriMo expects at least 400,000 people to start the month off trying to write that first draft of a novel. Not all will finish – according to the NaNoWriMo website – “Last year, NaNoWriMo welcomed 394,507 participants, in 646 different regions, on six continents. Of these, more than 58,000 met their month-long writing goal.”

Also according to their website “Hundreds of NaNoWriMo novels have been traditionally published. They include Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants, Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus, Hugh Howey’s Wool, Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, Jason Hough’s The Darwin Elevator, and Marissa Meyer’s Cinder.”

I have participated in NaNo since 2009 and published one novel The Peacock’s Tale because of NaNo. I have at least three unfinished manuscripts and one other finished one which still has not been published – all started as NaNo projects. As you see, I don’t always finish NaNo, but I find the challenge exhilarating. I have had NaNo interrupted several times by “real life” and had to put my writing on hold; I think only three times I have finished the challenge of writing 50,000 words in November.

This year I signed up. I even had a title, but that’s where the juices to write that many words stopped. My muse just would not come out to play, perhaps because she was too busy helping me with poems and short stories; facilitating the Winter Garden Ink & Quill writing group; and writing this blog. After four days of struggling to start, I realized I didn’t have the energy to devote to this challenge – at least this year.  And you know, that’s OK, because there is always next year and in between, there are lots of opportunities to write lots of other things. In other words – my writing cup runneth over!

How about you? Are you participating In NANo this year? Good luck to all who take up the challenge! Comments are welcome.

Again we come to the fifth Monday of the month so I am going to give you a challenge. This prompt is to write a story between three to five hundred words. The catch is all the sentences in the piece must contain no more than four words each.  This means you have to write with clarity and every word must count.

Here is an example that I wrote back in August of 2016.

 

The Empty Chair

By Marie Staight

It was very hot. The boy came in. Perspiration soaked his hair.

“What’s for dinner?”

“Hamburgers, baked beans and …”

The boy’s nose wrinkled. “Not corn again?”

She smiled. “Rather it is Okra?”

The boy turned away. “No. I hate that stuff.”

“Go wash up. Dinner is nearly ready.”

The bathroom’s door slammed. Water was running.

“Use soap!” His mother shouted.

“Oh Mom …” he whined. More sounds of water.

She set two places. She fingered the utensils. She looked up, wistfully. The empty chair loomed. She turned her back.  “Come on now. Time to eat.”

The boy appeared again. His hands examined.

“Okay.” She said. “Sit down and eat.”

He sat across. His eyes never straying.  He couldn’t look. He knew. Magically the hamburger appeared. She plopped it there. “Ketchup?”

“Yes, please.” The bottle appeared.

“Pickles?”

“Yes, Please.” Pickles piled high appeared.

“Mustard?”

“Yes, Please.” The yellow bottle appeared.

“Peanut Butter?”

“What?”

“Peanut butter?”

He looked at her. Her lips smirked. It was a joke. He did not smile.

“No Thanks.”

It was quiet. Only munching was heard.

She was up again. “Corn’s ready.” She said. Plunk! The plate rattled. Steam rose off the cob.

“Thanks.”

“It’s hot.” She said.

He nodded. “Butter?”

“Of course.” She brought the butter.

He slathered the corn. Reached for the salt. Salted the corn heavily. She lifted her hand. He stopped shaking. “Okay…” he said annoyingly.

“Too much.” She said.

He stared downward, pausing. She nodded. He resumed gnawing. The corn disappeared. He sucked the cob.

“Want more?” She asked.

“Yes, Please.” He stole a look. The empty chair existed. He stared. Sadness overwhelmed him. She turned. She bit her lip. She longed to hug. He rebuffed her. He was too old.

Heartbroken, they wept.

“He is gone.”

 

Good Luck. Write me a note in the comments below as to how you did. I would love to see your finished products! Happy writing.