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February 28, 2009
Starting A New...
I started a new story today. (I can't even remember the last time that happened.) I'm 1019 words into the first draft and feeling pretty good about it so far.
Posted by Selena at 04:40 PM | Comments (0)
February 27, 2009
Lessons from the Lost Week
When I wrote this yesterday:
"I would be devastated if someone...tried to ban me from writing for life."
I realized that I didn't want to give up on writing no matter how discouraged I am with it right now.
It was one of several lessons life taught me this week.
Lesson #1: The wheel turns. Sometimes fast, sometimes slow, but it always turns. So, if I can go from perfectly fine to suddenly-very-sick-with-the-flu in a matter of hours, I should be able to get back on track with writing too.
Lesson #2: All writers do bad work sometimes. Okay, I knew that already. But the review I read yesterday reminded me of it in a dramatic way. And I don't even know that the playwright-in-question's work was actually bad, just that one reviewer hated it. I do know that the reviewer wrote and published some words he shouldn't have. We all make mistakes. If Big Successful Writers like those two guys can mess up, then maybe there is hope for me after all.
Lesson #3: Perseverance is key. Again, I kind of knew this but I'd forgotten it somehow. So, when I saw this quote on a friend's Facebook page, it really hit home:
Tiruvalluvar's Kural 611: "Never say in weakness, 'This task is too difficult.' Perseverance will confer the ability to accomplish it."
Which brings me to...
Lesson #4: Perseverance is linked to religious faith. Really. My laptop's dictionary informs me that perseverance has these two alternate definitions that I'd never heard of: Calvinist concept of divine grace, and Roman Catholic belief in God's grace. Huh. When I read the Facebook quote I thought: "hey that's great but where can I buy some perseverance, 'cause I am all out." And now my dictionary is telling me I don't have to buy perseverance, that I can just ask God for it. Admittedly, I should have known that already. I guess sometimes I just need to be told that kind of thing directly.
Losing a week to the flu isn't so bad if the trade-off is learning some vital life-lessons.
Actually there is probably a Lesson #5 in there. Something about tough times usually including a gift for us—some lesson we need. That helps make the tough times easier to bear.
Posted by Selena at 12:25 PM | Comments (0)
February 26, 2009
Damn, That's Harsh!
Today as I scanned the online news I came across a review that started like this:
"Would somebody please take playwright [name removed]'s typewriter away from him before he writes again?"
Whoa.
Coincidently, just last night I watched the "Gilmore Girls" episode where Rory writes a scathing review and catches all kinds of hell from the object of her criticism. I felt for Rory. But I also agree with her editor's exhortation to write about her opinions.
On the other hand, I think the guy in today's paper went too far. As a writer I don't think it's okay to tell someone that they should stop writing. And it's certainly not okay to actively encourage people to forcibly prevent a writer from writing.
We all do work that is less-than-good. If we're lucky, we fall under the "good" line only occasionally. But all writers miss the mark sometimes, so it seems woefully unfair to throw someone out of the writer ranks just because one person didn't like one piece of the writer's work.
I would be devastated if someone wrote such a thing about me or tried to ban me from writing for life. So, I don't think I could ever do such a thing, no matter how much I hated what the person had written. I can hardly imagine a fellow writer treating another writer that way.
Yet there it was in black and white.
Posted by Selena at 02:05 PM | Comments (0)
February 23, 2009
"Singing Me Home" by Jenny Schwartz
"Singing Me Home"
by Jenny Schwartz
Each of us is the person we choose to be—choice by choice we discover what is important to us and where we belong. It's not an easy road we travel, but there are miracles around every corner—sometimes we just need a little science to see them.
Posted by Selena at 07:56 AM | Comments (0)
February 22, 2009
Suddenly Sick
Oh, how fast the wheel can turn!
This morning I was fine. By 3:30pm I was starting to feel sick. By 6pm, my fever was at 101.2.
Feels like the flu. Bummer. Hardly seems fair.
I just hope it goes away as quickly.
Posted by Selena at 07:56 PM | Comments (0)
February 21, 2009
Giving Up
I feel like giving up.
So, I searched online for quotes about giving up. Funny how all the quotes I found were about not giving up.
Here are a few of my favorites:
"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up."
- Thomas Alva Edison
"Energy and persistence conquer all things."
-
Benjamin Franklin
"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop."
- Confucius
Posted by Selena at 07:54 PM | Comments (0)
February 20, 2009
"The Summons" by Brandon J. Boone
"The Summons"
by Brandon J. Boone
(A Student Contributor)
A man’s worth to society is on trial. If he is found wanting it will cost him his life.
Posted by Selena at 08:04 AM | Comments (0)
February 19, 2009
Two Quotes I Keep Thinking About
Here are two quotes that I heard recently and can't stop thinking about:
1) "You gotta get caught up to get ahead."
(Yeah, I know. I’m trying. I’m trying. It just feels like the light at the end of the tunnel keeps getting further away.)
2) "Sometimes when the body has been in pain for a very long time, it takes the brain a little while to get the message that the body is no longer hurting."
(Wow. Really? I wonder if that's true. Could explain a lot. And it's just wacky enough to be true. File that tidbit under "Things that make you go hmmmm.")
Posted by Selena at 07:33 PM | Comments (0)
February 16, 2009
"scifaiku #113" by Greg Schwartz
"scifaiku #113"
by Greg Schwartz
a robot ponders the frailty of its master...
Posted by Selena at 08:09 AM | Comments (0)
February 13, 2009
"Redemption" by Shea McCandless
"Redemption"
by Shea McCandless
Dirk lives with an alcoholic mother. There's no heat in the house, but he thinks more about what it would be like to save his father and bring him back home.
Posted by Selena at 08:05 AM | Comments (0)
February 12, 2009
Cool Shakespeare-Themed Story
I got this cool Shakespeare-themed flash fiction in my email this morning, courtesy of Every Day Fiction:
The Loves of Ariel
by Clint Wastling
Stop by and check it out if you can.
Posted by Selena at 07:16 PM | Comments (0)
February 09, 2009
"tanka - past this landing pad" by Joshua Gage
"tanka - past this landing pad"
by Joshua Gage
is that Li Po...
Posted by Selena at 08:08 AM | Comments (0)
February 06, 2009
"A Native Soul" by Anne M. Pillsworth
"A Native Soul"
by Anne M. Pillsworth
Mriba goes against everything she believes about herself when she befriends the two human visitors to the Pikhren colony. Now her friends are dead, and she is left with the overwhelming task of rearing a human infant named Thomas.
Posted by Selena at 08:10 AM | Comments (0)
February 05, 2009
3 a.m. & Bright Lights
One of my favorite songs, “3 a.m.” by Matchbox 20, came up today on the Sirius station I was listening to (on my laptop, via a cool app called Pulsar). Of course, it made me go looking for the video on YouTube.
I found this instead; it’s a slow-paced acoustic version of the song. This stripped-down version really lets the lyrics shine.
I also found this, which is one of my favorite Matchbox 20 performances and songs:
Posted by Selena at 04:21 PM | Comments (0)
February 01, 2009
"Quiet Time" by Sara Butcher
Here is a new cover to start off a new month.
"Quiet Time"
by Sara Butcher
Posted by Selena at 11:41 AM | Comments (0)