It seems all of my ideas come to me in the shower.
Seriously.
I've created entire marketing plans, found the missing piece to solving multi-leveled problems for clients, written songs, realized elegant methods of navigating odd social situations and generally had a bunch 'o a-ha moments under the water and suds.
My in-laws started a travel blog recently. They are working hard on making it a complete resource for visitors to Santa Fe and a showcase of travel done "their way" across the country. I was thinking about this in the shower the other day and asking myself why is it that I don't have something like that going.
It all comes down to choices. I have too many of them and I really hate being put into any one box.
For instance, I own a PR/Marketing Communications firm. Hey, i could blog about that. Yeah, but I don't want to put my clients on display like that. And yeah, sure, I could pick apart press releases by other companies, point out mistakes PR firms or companies make in their campaigns, have a "when will Tiger speak" counter on the site, but that, to me, is something I would do on my company website. That's work. And more of it. I love PR/Marketing/Communications - and I'm good at what I do. I live it every day - adding a full blog about it would really let it take over my life.
I'm a writer. I could do a blog about writing - motivation, analysis of the current trends in publishing, review books, kvetch about my own struggles when writing...But really, does anyone want to read what an unpublished writer with two "closet novels" (one's that will stay in the closet until I die) to her name has to say on any of those topics? Especially not with real writers who have earned a seat at the table are covering those issues quite nicely.
I'm a mom who is over-extended in child-rearing, home-making, social duties...maybe I could... Nope. I can't even say "Mommyblogger" without throwing up a little in my mouth. Don't get me wrong, I love to read mom blogs. I get their humor, jokes, fascinating asides. And I think they have A LOT to add to the coversation of parenting because they tend to be truthful when too many people are not. But that's not all of who I am, either.
I'm into fitness and am actively working towards a "Total Body Transformation by 37". This self-created program includes working my way up to running at least 3 miles a day three days a week, cross-training twice a week, dropping 20-25 pounds and increasing my lean muscle - which is to say, relocating it. I'm changing eating habits, working out more regularly, counting calories and keeping a food journal. So far I've dropped 9 lbs (bringing weight to lose down to the number above) - so this would be a great blog to start, tracking my progress daily and being held accountable to the world. Only I'm sometimes too busy to keep my food journal up for a full week, can't remember when I did an ACTUAL workout (instead of those 10-minute running-up-and-down-the-stairs-mini-workouts I see in Shape) and really feel like I'm the last person to crow about fitness at this point in life.
I'm a pop-culture freak. I may not perscribe to them, but I follow trends in fashion and tech and society closely. I take an interest in the celebrity world - while not supporting paparazzi actions or libelous press. I enjoy music and love to see who is on the charts and why - and also point out who I think is worth listening to, and who is not. Why not talk about that stuff. Ehh, it's interesting in passing, and I'd love to make snarky and pointed commentary about events occasionally, but I think I'd tear off my eyelids if I had to watch every style change of Lady GaGa or track which celebrity has their own perfume or fashion line out. I love that stuff, but I'm no slave to fashion - and I only wear perfume if I'm going somewhere where people are present who are worthy of smelling Chanel.
So what do I do then? Tell me, Oh suds and hot water, what should I do to be more engaged in my writing, my world and enter the blogosphere?
Really? Is it that simple? Noooo, it couldn't be...
Just be me? Just write about what I'm thinking about, doing, wondering each day? Why that's... that's just...ABSOLUTELY EFFING BRILLIANT!!! And, after re-reading the posts on this blog, is exactly what I'm doing.
So that is it, that is this, this is me....
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Monday, December 7, 2009
Long Time Gone
I've been away from the Blogger dashboard for too long. But that's me. I am a serial procrastinator and a person who, when the projects are for sheerly my own personal satisfaction, etc. starts a million things and never finishes them. When it comes to doing things for others and clients and the like, I am on it in a heartbeat; checking, rechecking, timelining, updating, revising.
Me, though, I'm the shoemaker's child.
Today the Bennington waitlist closes, and although the Assistant Director of the Writing Seminars sent me a very encouraging and lovely email on Friday, I'm now on to determining things I can do to either enhance my application packet for the June 2010 term, additional schools to which I will apply, or none of the above. My heart feels like I want this MFA and I need this MFA to push myself as a writer. To grow as a writer. To learn as a writer. To take on roles that keep me closer to writing and reading than I am right now. Yes, i write every single day of my life, and yes, it's writing that requires a talent. But no, it isn't the writing that I see myself doing from that lovely cottage in Ireland when I'm in my 50's (which are now only 15 years away). Perhaps it's the writing that will pay for that cottage and afford me the breaks away from earning money (or much) from publishing.
But I ask myself - what will help me over that last little hill and into the sacred temple of Bennington or Warren Wilson or any of the other well-regarded schools that offer low-residency MFA programs and make me feel that they respect me as a writer and a human with all of the responsibilities along with it?
And will the idea of getting into a program and the opportunities it can offer be enough for me to put it first? Up there with the paying clients and pro bono cases and helping outs for the organizations to which my kids belong?
Feeling just a little lost today - but suitable I would say for the weather outside.
Me, though, I'm the shoemaker's child.
Today the Bennington waitlist closes, and although the Assistant Director of the Writing Seminars sent me a very encouraging and lovely email on Friday, I'm now on to determining things I can do to either enhance my application packet for the June 2010 term, additional schools to which I will apply, or none of the above. My heart feels like I want this MFA and I need this MFA to push myself as a writer. To grow as a writer. To learn as a writer. To take on roles that keep me closer to writing and reading than I am right now. Yes, i write every single day of my life, and yes, it's writing that requires a talent. But no, it isn't the writing that I see myself doing from that lovely cottage in Ireland when I'm in my 50's (which are now only 15 years away). Perhaps it's the writing that will pay for that cottage and afford me the breaks away from earning money (or much) from publishing.
But I ask myself - what will help me over that last little hill and into the sacred temple of Bennington or Warren Wilson or any of the other well-regarded schools that offer low-residency MFA programs and make me feel that they respect me as a writer and a human with all of the responsibilities along with it?
And will the idea of getting into a program and the opportunities it can offer be enough for me to put it first? Up there with the paying clients and pro bono cases and helping outs for the organizations to which my kids belong?
Feeling just a little lost today - but suitable I would say for the weather outside.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
What if?
After rolling around in bed for the past four days with what I believe was a wee touch o' the Swine Flu, or The Hiney as it is being called around my house, I made the decision to start this blog. Why? Oh, there are so many reasons why. Because I need an outlet for thoughts that I obsess over for a day; thoughts too complex for Facebook or Twitter yet too fleeting to devote to a full essay. Because I've been reading more blogs by Twitter friends of late and know I should get in on this conversation. Because I need to write. A lot.
Perhaps the biggest reason for starting this blog however lies in the fact that each and every day since roughly October 12 I've been overwhelmed with the knowledge that out in this world today are a group of people who decided that my writing was only good enough to merit me a spot on the waiting list for a wonderful low residency MFA program. I have no ill will towards these people whatsoever. They deemed me better than those people whose applications they threw into the circular file, however, I keep asking myself the eternal "What If?"
For me, in many ways, that question dominates my life. What if I cut my hair - would he love me more? What if I lost 10 pounds - would I feel better about myself? What if I enrolled my son in this program - would he learn to lighten up on himself? And on and on and on. So, since the email that told me that I'm good, but not good enough, came, "What if..." is bouncing in my head like a basketball.
Certainly I'm wise enough to know that the complexities that go into admitting a group of people into an MFA program go beyond me and my concerns. I know that issues relating to everything from age, gender, nationality, and concentration choice add to the equation that when worked with slide rule and pencil sharpened to the nub equaled me sitting at home wondering where I went wrong with my application packet. But still...what if I had more writing out there in the here and now? Sure, the publication area of my CV is weak (unless you count the thousands of newspaper articles I wrote as a reporter and used to hone my method of dissecting Creative Nonfiction pieces with objective accuracy and an eye for the story), maybe a blog will help. Maybe not. Maybe this blog will actually hurt my chances of getting in upon reapplication to the program. But what if it doesn't?
What ifs aside, the clear message that I got from this stomach-churning email that laughed in the faces of all of those cheerful and helpful loved ones who told me I was sure to be accepted was that I need to continue to grow as a writer. Indeed, that was my goal in applying to the program in the first place. To grow as a writer. Because really, if we don't grow as writers we're reduced to rehashers. And while I don't mind rehashing a good story in a socal setting, guaging audience reaction to the words and images created and ever-so-slightly tweaking them for the next group for maximum impact, I would stop writing tomorrow if I were doomed to write the same things the same way for eternity.
So here goes...what if this turns out to be something?
Perhaps the biggest reason for starting this blog however lies in the fact that each and every day since roughly October 12 I've been overwhelmed with the knowledge that out in this world today are a group of people who decided that my writing was only good enough to merit me a spot on the waiting list for a wonderful low residency MFA program. I have no ill will towards these people whatsoever. They deemed me better than those people whose applications they threw into the circular file, however, I keep asking myself the eternal "What If?"
For me, in many ways, that question dominates my life. What if I cut my hair - would he love me more? What if I lost 10 pounds - would I feel better about myself? What if I enrolled my son in this program - would he learn to lighten up on himself? And on and on and on. So, since the email that told me that I'm good, but not good enough, came, "What if..." is bouncing in my head like a basketball.
Certainly I'm wise enough to know that the complexities that go into admitting a group of people into an MFA program go beyond me and my concerns. I know that issues relating to everything from age, gender, nationality, and concentration choice add to the equation that when worked with slide rule and pencil sharpened to the nub equaled me sitting at home wondering where I went wrong with my application packet. But still...what if I had more writing out there in the here and now? Sure, the publication area of my CV is weak (unless you count the thousands of newspaper articles I wrote as a reporter and used to hone my method of dissecting Creative Nonfiction pieces with objective accuracy and an eye for the story), maybe a blog will help. Maybe not. Maybe this blog will actually hurt my chances of getting in upon reapplication to the program. But what if it doesn't?
What ifs aside, the clear message that I got from this stomach-churning email that laughed in the faces of all of those cheerful and helpful loved ones who told me I was sure to be accepted was that I need to continue to grow as a writer. Indeed, that was my goal in applying to the program in the first place. To grow as a writer. Because really, if we don't grow as writers we're reduced to rehashers. And while I don't mind rehashing a good story in a socal setting, guaging audience reaction to the words and images created and ever-so-slightly tweaking them for the next group for maximum impact, I would stop writing tomorrow if I were doomed to write the same things the same way for eternity.
So here goes...what if this turns out to be something?
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