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Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/profile/blog/tanith49
by Tanith
Rated: E · Book · Writing.Com · #2135844
With coffee and writing implements at hand, I can determine the shape of today.
I tend to write in the morning. After morning coffee and writing comes whatever the day holds...work, more writing, family time, reading, maybe even some gaming. It just depends...but writing first, always. And once I start writing, I get an idea not only of what I'm writing about, but how the rest of my day will go. Hence, the shape of today.
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March 25, 2024 at 7:51am
March 25, 2024 at 7:51am
#1066889
Update my blog, WDC?

Okay, quickly, because I've got a lot to do today.

Recently rebooted my account, and also pinned the NaNoWriMo site back to my main taskbar. Suffice it to say I've got an idea percolating.

But if it's going to work I've got to get back into the habit of writing daily, and here is as good a place as any to begin. So I'll try to hop into a few contests here, do some reviewing when time permits, and see if I can get that muse of mine coaxed into action. It shouldn't take much to get him started.

Now, let me see if I can get myself started...
August 19, 2023 at 10:15am
August 19, 2023 at 10:15am
#1054313
I have always shied away from fanfiction. It never felt right to play with someone else's characters, in someone else's setting, without the knowledge and permission of that someone. As kids we're taught not to raid some other kid's toy chest, after all.

However, this morning I was browsing a Doctor Who forum and found a thread on writing. I think there may be a whole section on that particular forum devoted to the craft, but writing's been on my brain of late after an extended dormant period. This is because yet another forum I'm a member of has coaxed me into participating in its annual Halloween story, and since I'm doing a readers' advisory display for work in October it seemed natural enough. Click.

I've been dormant for the last couple of years, yes. My life's undergone some pretty radical changes, and writing fell by the wayside. But this morning it suddenly occurred to me...how would it be if I did a DW fanfic for this year's NaNoWriMo? It wouldn't be something intended for publication, but intended to jump-start my writing brain and get me back into the groove? I checked the NaNoWriMo forums and yes, lots of people do fanfics for the annual writing challenge. Click.

I've had an idea for a DW story in the back of my mind for a while, mostly because it's something I haven't seen in the Gen Two era at all, and if it exists in the Gen One era I haven't run across it yet. I imagine it does exist out there somewhere, possibly in the Big Finish archives, almost certainly in the uncountable number of fanfic stories. What better way for a fan to celebrate the show's 60th anniversary, than to create a story about it? Click.

And because it's going to be my story, I'm going to bring my Doctor over here to America, something he never did during his tenure on the show. I think I'll also bring along my favorite of his companions, for exposition and also because someone's got to help me keep him in line. What the hell...I think I'll just land the TARDIS right here in Georgia. Click.

Maybe it's time to stop being such a snob about fanfic. These toys cannot be broken--generations of writers, directors, producers and actors can attest to that--and they are unlike any in the world. I'll play with them for a bit, and hopefully they'll help me find my way back to the world I need to be in.

Click.
March 4, 2022 at 9:54am
March 4, 2022 at 9:54am
#1028158
(Written offline, during one of my increasingly frequent internet outages. No matter. I’ll upload it when online again.)

Boy, that’s a fancy-sounding name, isn’t it? Sounds like one of those Amish romances (“Bonnet rippers”, I call them) that are so popular with certain library patrons. But it reflects on a conversation I was having with a family member yesterday morning. Like yesterday, it promises to be warm and pleasant, a welcome break from the chilly rainy days we’ve had this winter. Not to mention those bright and clear but bitterly cold days, when the wind makes your eyes water. I know it’s only the beginning of March and there’s still cold weather ahead, but I’ll take this little bit of relief while I can. It’s going to be a beautiful day and with the internet out until possibly this evening, I have no excuse not to be productive here around the house. There’s plenty that was left undone while I was babying my ankle over the winter.

As I was telling my aunt, you can tell by the quality of the sunlight when the day is going to be a lovely one. It takes on a golden sheen that begins as soon as the sun clears the horizon and seems to cry, “Come outside! Come outside!” And I will heed that invitation, hopefully I can open the windows again as I did yesterday and let some of the fresh air in. Even the cat was frolicking on the porch more than usual when I fed him before dawn.

I have done very little writing during the winter…the aforementioned ankle issue kept me in the recliner when not working, trying to get over the slow-healing wound that’s plagued me now for months. Been doing plenty of reading, however, which is the second-most important activity for a writer-to-be. Much of the reading has been revisiting Stephen King’s “Dark Tower” series, along with books and stories attached to it. With a very few exceptions I’ve read all of this material before, multiple times in some cases. Others, like Insomnia, are only my second read. And in the case of Insomnia, likely to be the last for the foreseeable future–how sai King kept from putting himself to sleep while writing that one, I’ll never know.

The newscasts of these days are filled with words I haven’t heard in decades. “Nuclear”. “Alert”. “Radiation”. I will forgo all the politics and long-winded posturing because there’s plenty engaged in that, and many of them don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. I’ll just go on hoping that the crisis will pass eventually, and go away along with the murdering bastard that initiated it. And if not…well, we all will be tested. I should probably discuss this in a seperate blog post; I’ve rambled on long enough for now.

That golden early morning sunlight is shifting into bright early spring daylight, and the clock is ticking. Time to get busy.
January 23, 2022 at 7:30am
January 23, 2022 at 7:30am
#1025230
Last night, before bed, I found myself watching an old episode of The Joy of Painting.

I haven't done painting of any kind since my grade school days, but like so many, I am delighted by Bob Ross' gentle form of mesmerism. He was painting a scene with a little old house or barn, surrounded by great evergreens, in the wild at sunrise or sunset. Since the episode had been about halfway over by the time I tuned in, I'm not sure of the time of day he was depicting, but it was lovely. The sky flowed from peach-pink to orange on the horizon, and you could tell old Sol was just beyond.

Then, Ross added his evergreen trees and truly transformed the scene. The colors of the horizon, already beautiful, took on a magical vitality that had me looking for the golden edge of the sun. It wasn't in his painting, but this new depth had me believing it would be there. And even the house or barn, a structure he clearly stated was very old and showing its age, became so vivid I imagined it creaking in the wind that swept over this scene. All because the artist added a few evergreen trees.

It occurred to me that much of our world's great art is great for that same reason. The words on the page, the paint on the canvas, the notes in the song...all of them resonate with us because the key elements are all there. The character in the story may be courageous, but it is the legendary foe that she/he confronts that makes that courage shine. The melody of the song is enchanting, but the pace set by the rhythm section is what keeps it playing in one's head all day, making a workday more enjoyable. And the sunset in the painting is pretty, but the deep green of the painted treeline makes it pure enchantment.

This lesson is something I need to bear in mind the next time I'm struggling with a piece of writing. If it seems incomplete, it probably is. There's another piece of the puzzle that I need to find and put into position.
December 25, 2021 at 8:23am
December 25, 2021 at 8:23am
#1023644
"Update your blog", WDC keeps urging me. Okay, here it is, Christmas morning, and I'm updating my blog.

Christmas is going to be different for me going forward, to be sure. This is the second year in a row I didn't put up a tree...something I'd been doing faithfully every year since Mom died. Last year I was simply too preoccupied and exhausted to be interested, and I think on some level I sensed Dad's situation was growing steadily graver. This year I simply didn't have the heart for it, and dealing with my own health issues takes up most of my spare time, including the time i should be spending writing.

By this time next year, I'm hoping to have a better handle on things. I'll have the tree up and be able to enjoy those old but well-loved ornaments of Mom's. And Dad, for all his grumbling, enjoyed the tree too before he got too ill to enjoy much of anything. I remember he was a bit scandalized that first year after we lost Mom...he thought, as we were still in mourning, that the tree was not quite appropriate. However, I argued that Mom would have wanted us to have the tree and all the joy that went with it. So yes...these last couple of years have been sorrowful and difficult, but in time a Christmas tree will return to House Tanith. In time.

So am I skipping Christmas? No. I've a rather simple but tasty carrot dish I'm going to put together in a little while to bring up to the family meal at my cousin's, which I still think of as "Grandma's". I learned over Thanksgiving that fattening casseroles are not the best bet for this, because several family members have food allergies or special diets or weird diet ideas, and I end up bringing said fattening casserole back home and eating it myself. Not something I need to be doing. Too much eating of the wrong things has played a role in this very tiresome situation with my ankle, and I need to reverse the trend.

One of the themes of Christmas is peace, so I spent a delightful time on the porch just as day was breaking partaking of some peace. For once, there wasn't a lot of traffic swarming off to work, school, and shopping. It's a rare enough thing around here, so when it comes my way I make sure to enjoy it.

Here is a Christmas wish for peace. For all of us.
November 1, 2021 at 7:23am
November 1, 2021 at 7:23am
#1020516
Here it is. November 1st. First day of NaNoWriMo!

And despite everything in the last year...the sorrow, the frustration, the fear, the grief...I am sitting here excitedly. I have only the vaguest idea of how to start on my selected project, but start I will...and we will see how it goes. I definitely have a setting in mind for the opening scene, now I just need the scene to reveal itself to me. I have my main character, my time period, and even my target audience in mind. It's just a small handful of pieces in the jigsaw puzzle of my story, but I'm going to start putting them together. I need this.

And the best part? If this project works as I hope I will, it will become a series of books that youngsters the age of my protagonist will dash into their local library to snap up. Or their local bookstore. Or scramble to download from their E-book vendor. Whatever. What matters is that the story gets told. There is, to my mind, no higher calling.

With that in mind, let's go.
October 10, 2021 at 7:22am
October 10, 2021 at 7:22am
#1019052
I wanted to take a few minutes to share a perfectly seasonal and delightful thing I saw yesterday morning on the way into work.

The sun had just risen, and there was heavy fog near the gas station where I'd stopped. As I started off again I was faced with a number of strange factors. Despite the fog the sun was very bright, and combined with the wet road surface to produce a glare that not even my driving shades and visor could cut much. I was obliged to turn my headlights on even though it was fully daylight by this time; I was having trouble seeing other cars so I knew they might not see me.

Cruising along into town, I was muttering to myself about this when I glanced up at the power/phone lines along the road and did a double take. The combination of moisture in the air and the early sun illuminated row upon row of spider webs between the upper and lower sets of lines. I could not take my eyes from the road long enough to do more than glance, but they seemed perfectly spaced and symmetrical. I wondered how many of these "spider condos" there might be, but of course I had to keep my eyes on the traffic.

It put a smile on my face, though, during this Halloween season I enjoy so much. Despite all that has happened this year, I'm having a good October so far.
September 16, 2021 at 8:58am
September 16, 2021 at 8:58am
#1017502
A month since my last blog post? Good heavens, how the time flies...

Well, I'm adjusting to my new life...mostly, adjusting to being the sole person responsible for the needs of an elderly house. There's a lot of work to be done. I'm determined to do all I can...I don't want to give up and run.

Am I writing? Not as much as I should be, probably. Right now the only regular piece I do is the guild mission reminder post on Saturday mornings. I've an idea in mind for the "Journey Through Genres" contest here at WDC I've got a couple of weeks to formulate, and I'm still planning on jumping into NaNoWriMo this year. I need to start disciplining myself more stridently, and actually working to achieve what I want instead of just daydreaming about it.

I also have a work project (not a writing project, really) which I'm not supposed to work on during my off time but probably will. Getting chances to work on it on the job are few and far between, and it needs to be ready by October. I'm to do the "Readers' Advisory" display for next month so naturally I picked Halloween. My last "Readers' Advisory" display was in April (I think) and it was pretty slipshod. I want this one...a celebration of the spooky fun of Halloween for all ages...to be good. There's no shortage of books in our library to support this, it's just a matter of getting them all entered on a list so I can track them down when the time comes. I also need to develop a slide, bookmarks, and maybe some signage and coming up with all this while stationed at the desk is difficult. The phone is ringing, patrons are approaching me...it's a lot of distraction.

So, I'm going to tweak it a bit this morning before heading off. This will be our little secret, WDC. I trust you. Who knows, maybe I'll even unearth an idea or two to use in my other writing probjects.

*Wink*
August 9, 2021 at 7:48am
August 9, 2021 at 7:48am
#1015395
Now that things are settling on the home front, it's time for me to turn my hand to writing once more. This is what Dad would have wanted, for me to chase the dream dearest to me. After all, I'm not getting any younger myself.

And so I can consider participating in NaNoWriMo, which I previously hadn't been able to do. Hopefully come November there will be enough structure in my life to hit that magical 1,667 words per day. As a matter of fact, I know I'm already doing more than considering it because I've ditched both previous projects from my NaNoWriMo page to make room for a new one. And I think I even know which one I want to work with, though I want to make certain adjustments to it before committing it to NaNoWriMo. If all goes as I hope it will, I'll have an enjoyable and profitable project to work with!

With that in mind, I'm off to tinker with said project before the day's errands begin. No time like the present, eh?
August 1, 2021 at 10:59am
August 1, 2021 at 10:59am
#1014830
This one last time, I'll use a "sailing" metaphor to describe my personal situation.

The "storm" that has ravaged me for so long has ended at last. It ended Friday morning with a phone call from the rehab facility. A sorrowful nurse told me that Dad's suffering is over.

I won't go into the details, as I am still learning those myself. I also won't go on and on about my grief...that is a thing I will carry with me to the end of my own days. It's been very nearly 35 years to the day since we lost Mom; you never truly get over it. Nor should you. A person who was a big part of your life is gone, and nothing can fill that void except your own memories and love. Time must do the rest. There is an annoying little voice in my heart that bemoans the fact that I should have been there with him at the end, but that would not have been possible with the COVID lockdown at the place. I am comforted by the fact that I'd spoken to him on the phone before he apparently took a turn for the worse, and got to tell him I love him one last time.

That same annoying voice asks me if I could have done more while he was home here, but I knew I had been doing all I could for him. He knew too; that's why he asked me to call 911 on July 4th so he could be taken back to the hospital. I remember telling him that day that I would miss him while he was gone, and he looked at me very clearly and said, "Yes, but you'll get over it. And you've got your own life to live."

He knew. I just pray that he and God will forgive me for all the times I was weak, that I let anxiety and frustration get the better of me. I know it happens to caregivers everywhere, often in worse situations that Dad's ever was.

He's beyond pain, now. He's with Mom again. He's free, and so am I. And while sorrow will ride with me, the fear that clouded my vision is gone. I can see the way ahead. And I feel a new strength, even at this sad time, that comes from knowing two great spirits are also riding with me.

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