Abandonment Issues

I have started, and stopped, so many projects during the last year. Abandoned stories, and novels, are strewn like carcasses across my Word folder. Part of the reason for starting this blog was to slip past all that mold, all that guilt, and just write. I would concentrate on shorter pieces, until that next big story grabbed hold.

Of course, I didn't anticipate how much I would love writing those shorter pieces, or how my writing style would change. And I didn't realize how much I would enjoy all of you. :)

But now a new novel has grabbed hold. And the blog has retreated a little into the background.

Nope, I'm not abandoning it. Just acknowledging that I have limited time for writing, and I can't do justice to this site the way I might like. Maybe when both kids are in school (a time and place I fondly refer to in my head as Oh, God, Pretty Please?)...

I will try to post here once a week. And I still look forward to visiting your blogs. All of you bring something special to my day.

But for now, I'm downgrading this blog to mumbles.

It's like the crotchety, old-man incarnation. Every story comes with a life lesson, and a throat lozenge. Get used to it, you young whippersnappers!

Hmph.


I think I hurt something.

I'm it!

Quill tagged me for this Book Meme, and all I can say is, Thank Mickey.

I was at Disney World last week (hiya, Jason and Aine!), and have exchanged my writing brain for the insidiously catchy, It's a Small World refrain.

So here's something different...

1. One book that changed your life:

Jane Eyre

This was the first "grown-up" book I ever read. It was so much deeper, more textured, than anything I had known before. And of course, it was a captivating love story. When Jane confided, "Reader, I married him," I think my path was set as a writer, though I didn't know it yet.


2. One book you have read more than once:

Many.

One that stands out, though, is A Room with a View. In its pages, you'll find romance, rebellion, evocative writing, and laugh-out-loud humor. A rare, near-perfect, combination.


3. One book you would want on a desert island:

A notebook.

As long as I had a pen.


4. Two books that made you laugh:

A Room with a View

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book) Teacher's Edition: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction

Okay, one's more subtle.
And one has naked Supreme Court justices.


5. One book that made you cry:

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The ending, of course.


6. One book you wish you'd written:

A Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham

I don't really wish I'd written any of my favorite books. But this one was a major inspiration for my own novel.


7. One book you wish had never been written:

Nah.


8. Two books you're reading:

The Longest Journey, by E.M. Forster

Reading Lolita in Tehran, by Azar Nafisi


9. One book you're going to read:

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, by Barack Obama


I won't tag anyone in particular, but if you're struggling for a blog post, feel free to dive in! And thank you, quill. This was a fun exercise. :)

You, too, can be Shameless

It is time to get a little crazy, my friends.

It's time to break out the fuschia font.

ROOOOAAAAARRRRR!!!!

Okay, not quite a barbaric yawp, but close enough.

quill was so kind as to honor me (and Wayne Shannon, among others) with this lovely blogging award. Having my writing called "engaging" and "heartfelt" is even more thrilling than inviting a hot-pink lion into my shabby little den. I really appreciate the sentiment and good will behind Seamus Kearny's effort to build a community of writers, and kindred spirits. And I already have a whole heap of new blogs to explore as a result. Thank you, quill!

About the award:

Seamus Kearney of Shameless Words believes in powerful writing, and he believes that it can be, and is, found in many places on the internet. This award was developed by him to put forth that belief and to encourage writers to roar.

The rules are simple and can be found at the original site. Please follow the link and pick up your award. The Shameless Lions Writing Circle

My 3 Writing Requirements:

Confidence: I didn't start writing until four years ago. Simply didn't believe I had it in me. And while I have yet to transform into a pillar of strength, I am light years more secure about myself than I was before. We all need to believe that we are good, but more importantly, that we can be better.

Empathy: As character builders, we need to be able to flip our perspectives, and tunnel into new skins.

Lyricism: Character is not enough. As writers, we must love language. We must stretch its boundaries, and be willing to fight for the words that will elevate our writing above the commonplace. When we succeed, we elevate our readers, too.

And my 5 picks for the award (note: I tried to pick blogs that have not recently been honored, or don't have the big kitty already in their sidebar):

The Clarity of Night
Jason Evans' blog is less a web destination than a nighttime harbor. I can almost feel my pulse slow, and my muscles relax, when I see that twilight background and his beautiful photos. Through his poetry, fiction, and photography, Jason challenges us to explore the world from different perspectives, before taking our hands to guide us, gently, along the way.

Jaye's Blahg
She calls her kid Spawn. She introduced me to "crypt lit." She makes me kinda like Texas. Jaye Wells is super-smart, wickedly clever, and endlessly provocative. Oh, and she's also a powerful, sharp writer. In each of her posts, Jaye clears away the cobwebs, and finds some buried treasure. But watch out for that heel...

The Reluctant Writer
Abhinav is passion personified. Whenever I read his lovely writings, I sense his generosity of spirit, and a conviction that will never fail him. He's young, but (and I know this phrase has become trite) he truly is an old soul. He reminds me of the fact that we are all still students, sharing a common classroom.

ABenchPress
Church Lady is our web guardian. She's everywhere, and we all love her. Her blog is reflective of her personality: open-hearted, and wildly curious about everything. Through her writing exercises, contests, and free-flowing trivia, Church Lady's blog is a party that never ends (it better never end!). And none of that love of fun detracts from the fact that she is a profoundly gifted writer.

Hotwire Reality
I have only recently stumbled across Hotwire's blog. His vignettes are wonderfully free of pretension and altogether unique. When reading his stories, I feel like I'm drifting down a river that bends and curves, until arriving at a destination so quietly joyful, or melancholy, that the heart sighs to recognize that intangible thing called truth.

So there you have it! The honorees may feel free to select five more blogs to broaden the circle, or they can just wrap their arms around the kitty, and squeeze.

Now I want to thank my husband, my children, my Apple laptop, my dog, the jackass neighbors with the crazy-loud pickups and the rotting pumpkins, and most importantly, God, for this truly humbling award. I feel God in this blog roll tonight. Now let's all raise our (*exit music playing*)

Hey! Wait a minute!

No fair! More names! I think Al Gore deserves a shout--

aw, crap.

Ready, set...

Write.

This inaugural post is just to offer a tentative hello, as I attempt to overcome my beginner's anxiety about posting...on the internet...where anyone can judge me...(even, or especially, that goofy kid from high school with the ear wax collection--Hi, Eric!)...forever and ever...until I just can't bear the white-hot scrutiny, and delete the whole damn thing.

So hello. And welcome.

This blog will be a repository for my fiction (particularly flash fiction pieces) and, hopefully, the omnipresent kick in the pants I need to write on days when I would just rather look at other people's, well, blogs. I can't really say what this hole-in-the-wall will become, but at least I'm out there now, a stealthy Murmur beneath the roar.

Naked, and shivering.