Serendipity Writing #104
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According to Wikopedia: Serendipity is the effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something else entirely. The word has been voted as one of the ten English words that were hardest to translate in June 2004 by a British translation company.
How many times have you as writer said to yourself that you want to try something different? Not another career path, but another genre or sub-genre? I think we all hit that wall at some point. For me, it came after months of not producing enough of what I was doing and of thinking to myself “Is this really what I want to do for the rest of my life?”
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For me, the answer was NO. Write, yes. Write what I was writing, no.
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That doesn’t necessarily mean that I won’t return to my roots. It just means that for today, at least, my mind isn’t where it was this time last year.
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Does that mean that I’m a has-been? Hardly. Does it mean that I don’t LIKE what I was doing? Not at all. There was just something missing, and it’s nobody’s fault, not even mine. It just indicates that like a body needs more potassium at one time than another, sometimes the brain needs a healthy dose of “something different”.
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For anyone else banging their head against their desk, don’t overlook some kewl places to peruse as you consider branching off on another writers’ journey than the accustomed routes.
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She always has up-to-date info on which publisher is looking for what.
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And stop kicking your own ass. Treat yourself to a new way of looking at things. Even if you don’t bite at something new and different, you may come away with a different perspective on what you currently DO write.
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Hugs,
~ Sunny Lyn
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Serendipity Writing #103
Always have a clean work space. - Or maybe this post should be titled Housework Can Kill You.
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Somebody left a laptop plugged in with laptop hiding and cord exposed. I rounded the table to pick up something before sweeping, and...boom. One fractured nose, black eye, and a few gashes and cuts later...I'm a bloody mess.
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As for my own writing space, I still can't seem to write without the accoutrements. Fresh flowers, if possible, some votives if not bigger candles, music or a movie that fits the mood. Anyone else like that? One thing that sets me off is bad lighting - if a bulb is burned out, if there's too much sun coming through the blinds. And I think back to 'working for the man', other jobs, and I remember how important certain things were at that time as well. Nobody else would have expected me to do good work with someone yelling at me or making demands while I was working on a project that had nothing to do with them. Other employers wouldn't have asked me to tolerate poor climate controls. They would have all given me a break every couple of hours. So why should working for myself be any different?
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It shouldn't, IMO. That's why once the blood stopped spewing and I could get my bearings, I hopped back into my chair and finished something I was working on. Broken nose - no problem. I don't type with my nose. Cuts and scrapes, whether stitches or not, I can still work. The bills still have to be paid, and others depend upon me to complete projects I've promised them.
Still. I didn't like any of my other jobs as well as I do this one, so I'd probably show up whether I got paid or not. Come to think of it, I HAVE - lol.
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More next time. Have a good rest of the week, folks.
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~ Sunny Lyn
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Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone
< ~~~ Valentine roses from #1 Son - just thought I'd share.
No serendipity writing blog today - sorry - but I'll be back in a day or two. Just have had a lot going on, lots coming up.
A friend has gifted me with a trip to EPICon in Las Vegas this year - and another friend is giving me a trip to the RT conference in Orlando. The first is in a couple of weeks, the second in about 8 weeks. Color me happy to attend both. I've never been to an Eppie conference, and I've only been to one RT (had a blast).
Winter seems to be *almost* over. Let's put it this way, the robins, geese, ducks, et al are migrating back. That said, our little light rain we were supposed to get yesterday had sleet, snow, and hail PLUS the rain - lol. I don't know if you can see the steps out back very well in this, but those little white dots are pellets of sleet. So much for light rain. We were also having low temperatures, hardly spring weather, but...oh, well.
My friend Mary Ellen has a couple of new books out. Here's the link to her website: http://www.murderexpress.net/mecooper/index.htm - and here's the cookbook I've had so much fun reading: In The Kitchen With Oklahoma First Ladies 1907-1957. Mary Ellen’s books, such as Slow Death, have been featured on A&E television programs such as Forensic Files. If you like homegrown murders (to READ, people, not to commit), give her a try. She also happens to enjoy quilting, cooking, and history, and she’s a delight to read.
Photos today are of Valentine’s Day flowers from #1 Son, as I said earlier, plus cards from son and daughter-in-law, stuffed animal & socks from DIL, card from Gretchen. Thanks, family & buddy.
I laughed till I nearly peed when I read Gretchen’s card. One lady asks another: Who are you going to celebrate Valentine’s Day with? To which her friend replies: Don’t end a sentence in a preposition. Come back inside is: Okay. Who are you going to celebrate Valentine’s Day with, bitch?
Enjoy your day. Hope your weekend includes lots of romance and warm fuzzy feelings.
~ Sunny Lyn
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Serendipity Writing #102
Giving birth to ourselves.
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One of the treats I've given myself this year are books by Sarah Ban Breathnach. First, I found Simple Abundance (you can learn more here: http://www.simpleabundance.com/) then Moving On, and Romancing The Ordinary. Since I'm not a big tv person, I missed knowing that as a writer, she is HUGE. Oprah had touted her. ANYWAY...I'm loving her back-to-self methodology. * * *Found out she had a similar head injury. Difference: a garage door crashed upon me, while she got whacked by a ceiling beam in a restaurant that flattened her. Mainly, I'm discovering me again. Like I was lost? Well. Sort of. But I'm re-discovering, and it's actually a pretty neat process.
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There are all kinds of exercises, and it's not giving gratitude that hangs me up. Nothing like that. It's coming up with things like PLAY - play? What the hell? Don't guess I've really played per se in a while, so that one kind of kicks my arse from time to time.
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That said, the reconnecting involves simplifying life, and I'm liking that a lot. I like slowing down, smelling the roses, and tuning in to the smells, sounds, touches of life. One of the drawbacks to certain head injuries is that you lose your "senses" - literally. And it's friggin' scary. I chalked it all up to oh, well, that's just me. If I smoke (and I did - a lot), I'll lose my sense of taste. I have glaucoma and other problems, so that probably explains the blurry vision. Hearing loss - I had no excuse for that when it happened. PAINFUL sense of touch, like a sheet touching my bare feet felt like fire scorching them. That weirded me out. So reading that somebody else went through this and that it was NORMAL after a brain injury sort of took me aback and made me go hmm a time or two.
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It’s quite strange, this giving birth to myself. Imagine giving birth to something (someone) who has lived before. You kinda know what you’re in for, but at the same time, the subconscious is scared shitless of the monster that may emerge.
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I’m doing it anyway, like a friend who is having a baby out of wedlock, simply because “it’s time” and “I can and I want to” – so everyone else can either sit and watch or join me for a 2009 writing rebirth. But This Year has been different so far (which is a good thing), and maybe with creative maneuvering and dedication it’ll be even better.
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See ya next time.
~ Sunny Lyn
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Serendipity Writing #101
As I stated in an earlier post, I have *different* ambitions this year. I don't want to start off with a laundry list of shoulds and should nots. I don't want to corner myself into *obligations* I can't fulfill. I just want to write. One of the things I've being doing differently this year includes asking questions and waiting for answers instead of forcing them as I plod along. Another thing that’s working for me is simply observing.
I've found the benefits of a good cup of Guatemalan coffee, drank slowly, with observations that sometimes spark a topic, add to a paragraph, or inspire deeper point of view. The coffee of choice is a seasonal offering from Starbucks, and I'm gonna stock up on it this year. It's the extremely mellow, full, rich flavor of Casa Cielo. That and a good slice of homemade banana bread worked wonders for me earlier this week.
As I sipped my brew and looked out the patio doors, I noticed Wilson, my back-fence neighbor’s dog. Four years ago, he was a recovering scared-a-holic who’d been abused. Now he’s a rambunctious whippet who runs and plays, and noses around the wild rabbits who built a warren beneath his owner’s storage barn. He runs with the self-assuredness of an animal who knows he’s loved. Mike, his owner, tosses a ball for him to catch, calls him to the car, and lets him ride shotgun as they head off for a Super Bowl Sunday with other ‘dads’ and their furry children. Both of them move with the ease and grace of older athletes who have paid their dues, won a few games, lost a few, and came out winners through sheer effort and attitude.
I’ve wondered if Wilson, who was adopted around the time Tom Hanks came out in “Castaway”, was named for Hanks’ character’s companion, Wilson…the volleyball friend who didn’t talk back but who was there as steady as a rock whenever his owner needed a chat.
Dorothy Parker once stated that it’s not the big things that kill us, but the little ones. On the flip side, I like to think that it’s the little things that save us as well. For me, this week, it was discovering that every word resonates to a vibration all its own. And it was discovering how much I like the little whippet in back of me.
If you’re interested in the breed, check out The American Whippet Club’s home page, here.
Cheers, everyone. Talk to you later…
Sunny Lyn
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According to Wikopedia: Serendipity is the effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something else entirely. The word has been voted as one of the ten English words that were hardest to translate in June 2004 by a British translation company.+snoozing+in+garage.jpg)
That doesn’t necessarily mean that I won’t return to my roots. It just means that for today, at least, my mind isn’t where it was this time last year. 
4 Comments:
Are you and Lex going to RT this year? Oh, man! I'm totally jealous. *sigh* Maybe next year.
Oh, BTW, I'm taking a shot at a different genre. Maybe it's something in the air...LOL
Liz
omg - I can't believe it's you!!!!!! you are soooo getting a phone call once my phone is charged and the Jevhovah's Witnesses aren't ringing the doorbell. (it's been one of those days)
:) glad you are WRITING.
yes, we'll be at RT - wish you were, too - waaah. miss you.
- and I really can spell Jehovah correctly - typo - oops
I actually got a chance to write this past weekend - something I haven't done it seems like in ages. I was afraid I'd forgotten how.
Since I'm not going to RT or RWA this year, I won't get a chance to see you. Hope you have a good time in all your travels. I might think about you when I'm in Germany in May! *grin*
Oh, and check out my blog for news!
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