My baby is now a 6th grader. Okay, he's my first baby, but still I just don't feel old enough to be the mother of a middle school student.
Next year my third baby will be a Kindergartener.
6th.
2nd.
K.
And a 2 yr old.
I don't know if I should be excited to have three kids in school or sad that my babies are growing up so fast.
Friday, June 17, 2005
Thursday, June 16, 2005
A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Dirtballness
How much of who I am today is a result of what happened to me in junior high and high school? Eeewww. That’s just too freaky to imagine. Heck, I just don’t want to imagine it. But I should. I need to.
An Ode to the Senior Class
Like dirt in the wind
wanting...
waiting...
knowing...
knowing that one day they will be sucked in the great vacuum cleaner of life.
Like dirt in the wind
reaching...
yearning...
striving...
striving to leave the oneness of themselves and unify with others to become one large dirtball.
I knew even as a sophomore that my destiny didn’t lie in fertile poetic valleys. But I sure had fun writing pages of stinkweeds because I wasn’t writing to please my teachers, friends, or family. I jotted down what grew from my loony and not-so-loony mind. My poem may be corny, but if you dig a bit, you can find a truth because at the core of my soul abides Truth.
Are you a dirtball? Ouch. Well, you might be. Chances are (remember that movie, now that was corny)...chances are you need to do some soul dusting. And if you want your story—your writing—to reach breakout proportions, you will break out a rag, a facemask, and a can of lemon-scented Pledge.
How many times do you “leave the oneness” of yourself to become just like your friends or the celebrities on TV? How many times do you “leave the oneness” of yourself to become just like the other writers out there? How many times have you heard “if you want to right for Harlequin, familiarize yourself with Harlequin novels,” “to write romances, you must voraciously read romances,” or “know what the publishers want”?
Yeah. Please ignore my curled lip. If you haven’t heard saying like those, then I’ve heard them enough times for the both of us. I’m soooooo anti-cloning.
“A true breakout is not an imitation but a break-through to a more profound individual expression. It demands that an author reach deep inside to find what is truthful, original, important and inspiring in his own world view.” ~Donald Maass, WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL
I only have a bachelor’s degree in radio/television (thin, cheap books with lots of pictures) so I needed some help understanding Mr. Maass’s impressive verbiage.
Knowconflict.com defines worldview as “the way s/he sees the world and his/her place in it. In includes the person's beliefs about how things are done and by whom, what is good and bad, why things happen as they do, and who holds the reins of power. It also includes the group or groups to which a person belongs or with which s/he identifies.”
The way you “view” the world and what’s in it affects how you write. Your worldview may contradict the mainstream, follow the mainstream, agree with the majority, agree with the minority, may be liberal, conservative, narrow-minded, open-minded, no minded. Everyone has a worldview. Everyone has a voice.
Are you struggling to define your “voice”? Has ascertaining your “voice” never even crossed your mind? When someone asks about your “voice,” do you answer, “Well, I’m a soprano, but I can sing alto if needed”?
Maass says, “what drives you to write, to some extent, are your own unresolved inner conflicts.” Great, I guess we all could stand some shrink-wrappage. Who wants to break out the Glad first?
Give yourself freedom to say things in your own unique way. How do you do that? How do you develop your “voice”?
One way is to read poetry. Samuel Taylor Coleridge once said, “Prose consists of words in their best order. Poetry consists of the best words in the best order.” Reading poetry will cause you to become more aware of the dynamos of the correct word choice.
Another way is to put you in your story. Maass says, “It is from the unknowable shadows of your subconscious that your stories will find their drive and from which they will draw their meaning. No one can loan you that or teach you that.”
Don’t strive to leave the oneness of yourself only to unify with others in one blob of sameness. Don’t become a clone. The world already has a Nora Roberts, a Julie Garwood, a PC Cast, a Suzanne Brockman, a Jennifer Cruisie, a Sherilynn Kenyon.
It’s just wanting...waiting...hoping for you.
Write, drink Dr. Pepper, and be you.
Umm, actually, I like Cherry or Vanilla Coke better. And the Diet Coke with lime isn't too bad, for a diet drink. Of course, if I wanted a drink, I'd head over to Starbucks and...
An Ode to the Senior Class
Like dirt in the wind
wanting...
waiting...
knowing...
knowing that one day they will be sucked in the great vacuum cleaner of life.
Like dirt in the wind
reaching...
yearning...
striving...
striving to leave the oneness of themselves and unify with others to become one large dirtball.
I knew even as a sophomore that my destiny didn’t lie in fertile poetic valleys. But I sure had fun writing pages of stinkweeds because I wasn’t writing to please my teachers, friends, or family. I jotted down what grew from my loony and not-so-loony mind. My poem may be corny, but if you dig a bit, you can find a truth because at the core of my soul abides Truth.
Are you a dirtball? Ouch. Well, you might be. Chances are (remember that movie, now that was corny)...chances are you need to do some soul dusting. And if you want your story—your writing—to reach breakout proportions, you will break out a rag, a facemask, and a can of lemon-scented Pledge.
How many times do you “leave the oneness” of yourself to become just like your friends or the celebrities on TV? How many times do you “leave the oneness” of yourself to become just like the other writers out there? How many times have you heard “if you want to right for Harlequin, familiarize yourself with Harlequin novels,” “to write romances, you must voraciously read romances,” or “know what the publishers want”?
Yeah. Please ignore my curled lip. If you haven’t heard saying like those, then I’ve heard them enough times for the both of us. I’m soooooo anti-cloning.
“A true breakout is not an imitation but a break-through to a more profound individual expression. It demands that an author reach deep inside to find what is truthful, original, important and inspiring in his own world view.” ~Donald Maass, WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL
I only have a bachelor’s degree in radio/television (thin, cheap books with lots of pictures) so I needed some help understanding Mr. Maass’s impressive verbiage.
Knowconflict.com defines worldview as “the way s/he sees the world and his/her place in it. In includes the person's beliefs about how things are done and by whom, what is good and bad, why things happen as they do, and who holds the reins of power. It also includes the group or groups to which a person belongs or with which s/he identifies.”
The way you “view” the world and what’s in it affects how you write. Your worldview may contradict the mainstream, follow the mainstream, agree with the majority, agree with the minority, may be liberal, conservative, narrow-minded, open-minded, no minded. Everyone has a worldview. Everyone has a voice.
Are you struggling to define your “voice”? Has ascertaining your “voice” never even crossed your mind? When someone asks about your “voice,” do you answer, “Well, I’m a soprano, but I can sing alto if needed”?
Maass says, “what drives you to write, to some extent, are your own unresolved inner conflicts.” Great, I guess we all could stand some shrink-wrappage. Who wants to break out the Glad first?
Give yourself freedom to say things in your own unique way. How do you do that? How do you develop your “voice”?
One way is to read poetry. Samuel Taylor Coleridge once said, “Prose consists of words in their best order. Poetry consists of the best words in the best order.” Reading poetry will cause you to become more aware of the dynamos of the correct word choice.
Another way is to put you in your story. Maass says, “It is from the unknowable shadows of your subconscious that your stories will find their drive and from which they will draw their meaning. No one can loan you that or teach you that.”
Don’t strive to leave the oneness of yourself only to unify with others in one blob of sameness. Don’t become a clone. The world already has a Nora Roberts, a Julie Garwood, a PC Cast, a Suzanne Brockman, a Jennifer Cruisie, a Sherilynn Kenyon.
It’s just wanting...waiting...hoping for you.
Write, drink Dr. Pepper, and be you.
Umm, actually, I like Cherry or Vanilla Coke better. And the Diet Coke with lime isn't too bad, for a diet drink. Of course, if I wanted a drink, I'd head over to Starbucks and...
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Elementary Woes
I posted this over at Romance Divas. Since I'm too lazy to write something profound for my blog, I'm just going to copy and paste it over here. :-)
*********************
My 5th grade son brought home a writing folder from school. Apparently, the school keeps several pages of each student's writing from first to fifth grade. I just have to share some of what he wrote. I did not correct spelling or punctuation.
June 12, 2002
Dear Reader,
I have learned many things in writing this year. I haved leared three parts of a story: a beginning, a middle, and an ending.
I am a good writer. I can do lots of good senses {sentences}. I can do lots of wrting veary fast. We wrote lot of storys like toys summer. Wate {wait} you can just look at my stores instade {instead}.
Your student,
Matthew Welborn
May 18, 2004
Dear Reader,
This year I have worked on my writing. Some areas in which I have improved as a writer are: I have gotten better at my cursive. I have learned new and better words. I have been writing longer stories.
I know that I will continue to grow as a writer. Some things I would like to improve are: My printing I would like better and neater. I would love to write a longer paragraph. I would like to like writing.
Sincerely,
Matthew
LOL. I can't believe my son wrote "I would like to like writing." I have to give him his props because many writers never honestly evaluate their own writing to see where they need to improve.
Do you remember the day when you learned there were three parts to a story (and hopefully that your story had all three)? Have you learned new and better words or are you using the same generic word choices, like big, small, short, tall, handsome, beautiful? Do you produce more pages per sitting than you did a month, a year ago? Are your stories longer, deeper, more fragrant and lush?
Okay, this is turning into an article-length post. Oh well. I have an exercise for you.
ALL ABOUT (fill in your name here)
I am _______________________.
I wonder _____________________.
I hear _______________________.
I see _______________________.
I want __________________________.
I pretend _______________________.
I feel ______________________.
I touch _____________________.
I worry ___________________.
I cry ______________________.
I understand _________________.
I say __________________.
I dream ________________.
I try ____________________.
I hope I am __________________.
I am ________________.
Here's what my son wrote on April 23, 2003. He was 9 at the time.
I am Matthew Welborn.
I wonder what will happen in the future.
I hear my thoughts and things around me.
I see what I see.
I want to have a great life.
I pretend to be everything.
I feel happy sometimes.
I touch things if I'm allowed to.
I worry about a lot of things.
I cry when I'm sad or hurt.
I understand how people feel.
I say a lot of good things.
I dream about the future and the past.
I try to do my best.
I hope I'm a youth minister.
I am full of joy.
Not bad for a 9 yr old. He did a pretty good job describing himself because I "see" him in his words. He's optimistic, literal, obedient, tender-hearted. I wonder what my daughter would answer.
What about you? What would you answer? What would your characters answer?
I could have saved this for a WOES article, but then I wouldn't get to hear your responses. And I'd love to hear your responses. Your answers don't just show your personality and character. They show your "voice."
*********************
My 5th grade son brought home a writing folder from school. Apparently, the school keeps several pages of each student's writing from first to fifth grade. I just have to share some of what he wrote. I did not correct spelling or punctuation.
June 12, 2002
Dear Reader,
I have learned many things in writing this year. I haved leared three parts of a story: a beginning, a middle, and an ending.
I am a good writer. I can do lots of good senses {sentences}. I can do lots of wrting veary fast. We wrote lot of storys like toys summer. Wate {wait} you can just look at my stores instade {instead}.
Your student,
Matthew Welborn
May 18, 2004
Dear Reader,
This year I have worked on my writing. Some areas in which I have improved as a writer are: I have gotten better at my cursive. I have learned new and better words. I have been writing longer stories.
I know that I will continue to grow as a writer. Some things I would like to improve are: My printing I would like better and neater. I would love to write a longer paragraph. I would like to like writing.
Sincerely,
Matthew
LOL. I can't believe my son wrote "I would like to like writing." I have to give him his props because many writers never honestly evaluate their own writing to see where they need to improve.
Do you remember the day when you learned there were three parts to a story (and hopefully that your story had all three)? Have you learned new and better words or are you using the same generic word choices, like big, small, short, tall, handsome, beautiful? Do you produce more pages per sitting than you did a month, a year ago? Are your stories longer, deeper, more fragrant and lush?
Okay, this is turning into an article-length post. Oh well. I have an exercise for you.
ALL ABOUT (fill in your name here)
I am _______________________.
I wonder _____________________.
I hear _______________________.
I see _______________________.
I want __________________________.
I pretend _______________________.
I feel ______________________.
I touch _____________________.
I worry ___________________.
I cry ______________________.
I understand _________________.
I say __________________.
I dream ________________.
I try ____________________.
I hope I am __________________.
I am ________________.
Here's what my son wrote on April 23, 2003. He was 9 at the time.
I am Matthew Welborn.
I wonder what will happen in the future.
I hear my thoughts and things around me.
I see what I see.
I want to have a great life.
I pretend to be everything.
I feel happy sometimes.
I touch things if I'm allowed to.
I worry about a lot of things.
I cry when I'm sad or hurt.
I understand how people feel.
I say a lot of good things.
I dream about the future and the past.
I try to do my best.
I hope I'm a youth minister.
I am full of joy.
Not bad for a 9 yr old. He did a pretty good job describing himself because I "see" him in his words. He's optimistic, literal, obedient, tender-hearted. I wonder what my daughter would answer.
What about you? What would you answer? What would your characters answer?
I could have saved this for a WOES article, but then I wouldn't get to hear your responses. And I'd love to hear your responses. Your answers don't just show your personality and character. They show your "voice."
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Hello, World!
I don't really have anything to talk about. Just thought I'd write something to remind myself I have a blog.
I know I've been "tagged" again, but I'm too lazy to follow up.
Too many entries to judge, chapters to polish, crits to do, and children to feed.
One more week of school.
I know I've been "tagged" again, but I'm too lazy to follow up.
Too many entries to judge, chapters to polish, crits to do, and children to feed.
One more week of school.
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