The tiny tornado that waltzed through my yard.
July 2, 2011 at 11:14 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: time, tornado, writing
Well, my life got turned upside down just over a month ago and I’ve been trying to turn it right side up ever since. A tiny tornado waltzed through my yard (my sister thinks that should be a picture book or something) and demolished my carriage house then threw the roof at my house. I was home with the baby and I want to write about that night, but I only got about half of it out at my last writer’s group meeting. It has been sitting in my bag, half finished, ever since. It was an interesting experience, one I have no desire to duplicate ever again, but one I intend to make use of in my writing. Ah, there’s the rub. I haven’t been making time for my writing. That has to change. I hereby resolve to make some time, every day, no matter how small, to move my writing projects forward. I have a lot I want to do this year and I may not get it all done, but I won’t get any done if I don’t start doing something every day. Wish me luck.
Your Life’s Work
April 21, 2011 at 10:29 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: time, writing
I recently heard someone say that if you don’t start your life’s work by the age when Christ died, you never will. That sounded rather profound, until I started thinking about it.
What about Grandma Moses? Her enduring legacy is her paintings but she didn’t start that until much later in life. She had done many other creative endeavors in her life but the painting came late.
So, what do they mean by starting? I’m not making a living off my writing but I’ve been writing since I was 10 or 12. I wrote a middle grade mystery novel when I was twenty-something that I’ve submitted to a few agents and editors but haven’t sold yet. I’ve started other novels that I’d like to continue.
And just how old was Christ when he died? That seems to be a matter of some debate, depending on what calendar you’re using.
Isn’t time relative to our existence here on Earth and our individual lives in particular? Grandma Moses lived to be 101. I don’t expect to. Guess I’d better get writing.
Warming up for NaNoWriMo
September 23, 2009 at 8:49 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: time, writing
I signed up for NaNoWriMo last night and today at lunch I was warming up for it. I had my fork in my left hand to eat while I had the pen in my right hand to write. I’m almost ambidextrous! This may be the only way I can write 50,000 words in November. The only problem I see with this method of writing for NaNo is that I’ll have to type everything up afterwards in order to submit for my word count. Hmmm…
“Like grains of sand through an hourglass…”
September 9, 2009 at 10:40 pm (Writing Contests/Grants)
Tags: grants, time, writing
Where does the time go? My hourglass must have a hole in the bottom. I can’t believe it’s been at least a month since I heard about this great opportunity for writers in New York State and I haven’t done a thing to get ready! New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) awards Artists’ Fellowships every year in the amount of… drumroll please… $7,000.00. *gasp* You read that right… $7,000.00!
I calculated it out and that amount of money would let me take off one day a week, every week, for a year to write. I can’t even imagine having that amount of time! (Okay, maybe I can since I had extra time while I was substitute teaching, and again when I was only working half time because I couldn’t find a full time job for nine months after being downsized. Anyway, it’s a heck of an opportunity for someone lacking time to write. (Not sure if that would work with my job, but it sure sounds wonderful.)
This year NYFA is including fiction writers in the artists eligible. (As I understand it, they don’t do that every year.) Next week I’ll be going to a workshop to help me prepare to submit the grant, so I have to focus on putting together a portfolio of my work. What to include? I have one middle grade mystery novel finished, but I’ve recently decided the beginning needs re-working. I have the first three chapters of a novel I really like, but my writer’s group last year said it seemed like I couldn’t decide what type of novel it was. I have the start of a couple other novels, but not something I love as much. I guess I’ll put it all together, re-read and then make a decision.
I’m not sure what else they will require for the grant application yet. I’ve only applied for one other writer’s grant and they were only awarding a handful in that competition, though the pool of candidates is much bigger for this one. At least I have an artist’s resume already made up because of that grant application. I’ll do my best and hope. That amout of money would afford me real time to write and submit my work. Of course, now I just have to find the time to sort my work and put together an awesome application. Wish me luck!
Oh, and if you’re interested, the web site for NYFA and the fellowships is http://www.nyfa.org.
Melora Johnson's Muse 