Showing posts with label #questions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #questions. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 05, 2018

Christmas Time Is Coming! And, IWSG December

IWSG WEBSITE

Happy December Everyone!
Are you looking forward to this month? To whatever it is you have planned? I am and I’m not. It is coming way too fast, but I will get to see a lot of my family over the holidays.
Recently a friend of mine wrote to me, to a group of us, and gave some inspirational thoughts that I have since made it mandatory to read every day before I start writing. I wanted to share her words with you. 
I have found this year that I’ve fallen in and out of love with writing and when I finally (just recently) sat myself down and really thought through why this was happening, especially the falling out part, I realized it’s mainly because I changed the emphasis on WHY I wrote. It was no longer about me expressing myself. It was to please others, to write what would “sell.” I gave up on my love of creating and subjugated it to what other’s said to do or not to do. My inner editor took over and told me, “Don’t use ‘just’ anymore. Don’t use commas in place of periods. Don’t use adjectives. Don’t make it too long. Don’t this, don’t that.
I lost my love of writing trying to follow all the rules. I forgot all the amazing examples there are of writers out there who broke those same rules.
Then, all these memes and articles started showing up on line everywhere; in other’s blog posts, on FB and in my friend’s letter, all with the same message. I realized what she wrote is what I needed to read out loud to myself every day. I hope it touches some of you the way it did me and helps to bring back your love of your art, whatever type of art that is.

"I will create, and I will do it for my own benefit. I allow me to express myself in whatever way my heart wishes to express itself. I allow myself to be free (for this hour, or session, or ten minutes, or whatever time you are devoting to it)".

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year. I wish you all good things and, to embrace your art…
 

 IWSG Question for December: What are five objects we'd find in your writing space?
 Eyeglasses, lots of pens/pencils, post-it notes, a keyboard, a computer. Pretty typical, I'd say!

 
 Please visit our lovely co-hosts for this month....
For the December 5 posting of the IWSG our co-hosts are

Wednesday, June 06, 2018

June IWSG and Leaving France

IWSG WEBSITE

 June 6th question: What is harder for you to come up with, book titles or character names?

Titles for sure. Book titles, in my mind, need to speak about the subject of the book. To find one that does this and hooks the reader is very hard, almost as hard as the first sentence in the story!
As a reminder, because I need reminding every now and then...


 Purpose of IWSG: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting!
  IWSG CO-HOSTS THIS MONTH ARE ROCKIN' ON THESE SITES,

Please drop by their blogs and thank them for helping out!

 So June is here, come so quickly and bringing warmth and our leaving. We head home on the 21st of June, our daughter's birthday, and I am more than sad to go. I am also very, very grateful, happy, and honored to have had so much time in a country I dearly love. My french is possibly a bit better, and my joy in speaking it has blossomed even more.  I love the poetry of life in France, love learning its differences, nuances, and love that I definitely understand the language more, especially when watching TV, especially without subtitles. I won't even get started on the food.

So I leave with a bliss-filled heart, sad to leave, glad to have been here. I hope you enjoy these few images of France, I place I can't get enough of...
 Pyrenees near St Bertrand de Comminges

My mother in law's neighbor's front door

Monastere Ste Catherine de Sienne, Communaute des Beatitudes 
in Blagnac
Jean-Louis Toutain statue in Blagnac at Music and Art School

Neptune Fountain in Parc des Poetes in Bezier


A painted building in Bezier

Neuf Ecluses a Bezier (Nine Locks) Canal du Midi

Etang D'Enserune near roman ruins

Museum des Augustins in Toulouse


Bordeaux by night

Hubby and me in Bordeaux

Porte Cailhau in Bordeaux
Chateau Archambault in the Limousin from the air. My hubby got to fly in an Ultralight!

Isle Jourdain in the Limousin