What have I done??
Ever stopped and said to yourself, “What have I done?”
I did that yesterday – not once but a number of times. In a complete turn around of events I went and enrolled in full-time study for the next two years.
Yikes – what have I done?
It all happened like this. My dear wife found out from a friend that Tabor College in Adelaide (about 50 minutes drive from home) is offering a full-time one-year study in TESOL, which stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. This will then give her the qualifications to teach ESL (English as a Second Language) which she has been doing for nearly a year now. (Through our church we have been giving ESL lessons to a group of migrant Chinese workers living in our town. They need basic English in order to gain residency.) Many times she asked herself the same question: “What have I done?” as the waves of terror threatened to swamp her. It has been so long since she last did any serious study.
On another visit to the college last week she picked up a booklet outlining another course offered at the same college. She gave it to me to look at. It gave details of their creative writing courses. Within the hour I had almost decided to do the Graduate Diploma in Creative Writing. Our theory was: if she was going to mess up a year studying full-time, I might as well join her and do a proper job of our lifestyle (“What lifestyle?” says the little voice in my head).
So yesterday we went to the College again. The head of the Humanities Department and one of the lecturers interviewed me for two and a half hours! I left with my head spinning. I had enrolled to do a full-time two-year course to do their Master of Arts in Creative Writing. What I didn’t realise before speaking to them was that I would be given credit for all of my previous tertiary studies, plus 35 years of teaching plus consideration given for my vast body of writing already achieved.
Wow!
I didn’t know that I could do it. So for the next two years it will be head down and tail up. Fitting all this in with our many other interests and responsibilities will be a major juggling act. It will mean lifting my game as far as writing is concerned. Add to that a considerable amount of reading plus plenty of extra travel. I hope we are up to it.
Good writing.
Write while the heat is in you
“Write while the heat is in you. The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with. He cannot inflame the minds of his audience.” Henry David Thoreau.
I have found that it is important to always carry a small notebook. There have been times when I have had a brilliant thought (or so it seemed at the time) only to forget it because I had not written it down immediately.
I usually carry a small notebook in my shirt pocket. This serves a number of general purposes as well as a help with my writing. Some of these uses include:
- To record a list of the birds I see (so I can write about them on my blog called Trevor’s Birding).
- To list any shopping I need to do.
- To list places I want to go.
- To write down story ideas.
- To list ideas for blog articles.
- To write short poems or haiku.
- To record the names and contact details of people I meet.
- To record feelings, ideas, experiences so I don’t forget those first impressions.
- To list things to do.
- To list things to remember.
When you have a good idea, write it down. Don’t trust it to memory.
Good writing.
Back to writing again
No Comments »31st January, 2008; Category: The Writer's Life
I haven’t done much writing over the last week or so, nor have I posted much here for a while.
Did you miss me?
Oh, well, never mind. I missed posting and hearing comments from readers from all over. The first problem arose the weekend before last. No internet connection for the best part of four days. I find that very frustrating when I want to get on with blogging, doing research and dealing with incoming emails and comments. As it turned out, the solution suggested by my service provider was as simple as rebooting the router. Bingo! Everything now works fine. Often it is the simplest things that can overcome the biggest problems. And I shouldn’t have let it stress me out so much.
Pen and paper
On the positive side, it forced me back to pen and paper for a few days. I managed to complete an administrative task I’d been putting off for too long. It was something that could only be done on paper and so it didn’t need the computer or the internet.
Illness – again
Hard on the heels of the internet problems came further illness. I had a massive allergic reaction to something. I’ve had a history of minor reactions to artificial sweeteners over recent years. This is usually solved by a single antihistamine tablet and the intensive itching lessens within the hour and the welts go down over 24 hours. This was different. It lasted nearly five days and covered almost all of my body. I was taking antihistamines every six hours to ease the itching. All that did was make me terribly drowsy. I slept or dozed through the week, a state not conducive to concentrating on writing.
Now this week I have been recovering from some severe dental work. This has also left me in a state of discomfort for three days.
Emergency blog posts
I have written a number of times about the benefits of having some emergency articles ready for posting on your blog. I usually work up to several weeks ahead and have sometimes a dozen or more articles timed to appear here, one every day. This has been very helpful in times past when illness occurs, or other responsibilities get in the way or I am away on holidays or travelling. This time I had nothing in reserve, so I appreciated those times in the past when I had worked and planned ahead sufficiently.
Anyway – its now back to writing again.
Good writing.
Dealing with the drudgery of writing
“The drudgery of being a professional writer comes in
trying to make good days out of bad days and in
squeezing out the words when they won’t just flow.”~Benjamin Cavell
I know how this writer feels.
Sometimes the words just flow easily and on days like that it is the most wonderful thing in the world to be a writer. It is exciting when a piece of writing just works so beautifully that little or no rewriting is needed. It is exhilarating when you read something you’ve written and you are amazed that you put those words together in just the right way. It is wonderful when you get everything just right.
It isn’t always like that.
There are days when it is sheer drudgery, when you are feeling ill, or lethargic or just plain tired. Or there might be some life issue pressing in on your thinking and sapping the creative energies. In the bad days I’ve found a few solutions that work for me. Try them – you may well find that they work for you too.
Overcoming the bad days
- Take a break – even five minutes can help.
- Stretch – your muscles will love you.
- Look at the birds – stare out the window and observe the birds.
- Go for a walk – around the garden, the block or wherever.
- Write in your journal – it doesn’t have to be great literature – just let your feelings all pour out.
- Do the crossword in the newspaper – I find that the cryptic crossword so stimulating I try to complete it daily.
- Nap – sometimes the brain needs the refreshment of a short sleep. (Take note of the word “short.”)
- Read – the mental stimulation can be very beneficial.
- Laugh out loud – read some jokes – or watch a part of a funny DVD.
- Pray – I find that prayer focuses the mind on connecting with God and this often leads to renewed inspiration. Others might find meditation to be useful in calming the mind enabling it to refocus on the writing task.
These ideas work for me. I hope that you find techniques that work for you.
Good writing.
Further reading:
What I learned from 2007
In this article I look back over some of the articles I posted on my blog during 2007. This was in response to Robert Hruzek and his BLOGAPALOOZA Group Writing Project over at his blog Middle Zone Musings.
I am an Australian elementary school teacher who retired three years ago after 35 years of classroom experience. I have always been a writer but it is only since retiring that I have been able to concentrate on my writing almost full time. I’ve been blogging for a little over two years on my blog called Trevor’s Birding (mainly about Australian birds, including photos). For almost two years I’ve also been writing most days on another blog called Trevor’s Travels (about my travels in Australia, Thailand and Nepal – including a trek in the Everest region – and including many photos). My third blog called Trevor’s Writing is about writing, blogging, reading, books and all sorts of things, including some of my short stories and poems.
What I learned from 2007
January – Setting writing goals for 2007 – I believe in the importance of setting goals and have done so for many years, sometimes successfully and at other times quite dismally. That’s life – which tends to get in the way as a matter of habit. I get over it – and get on with life.
February– Looking for inspiration – writing can be a lonely and frustrating pursuit. This is one way I have found that has helped me overcome a lack of momentum with my writing.
March – Strategies to keep you writing – sometimes the words just do not flow. It is then that I need to fall back on some proven strategies to keep me pounding those keys and churning out the words.
April – The potential of blogging – I sometimes get discouraged about the few readers I have on my three blogs. When I stand back and take an objective view of the internet, the enormous potential of blogging is truly staggering. We ain’t seen nuttin’ yet folks!
May – Top 5 Writing Hints – some very useful and valuable hints on improving one’s writing. Now – if only I could apply my own advice to my own writing.
June – Life sucks – writing on the bad days – setbacks, crises, illness or disabilities can severely hinder one’s writing. This year, more than any other before it, has taught me a valuable lesson time and time again (I’m a slow learner). I am learning to roll with the punches. Use the good times, get over the bad times.
July – Writing through the storms of life – struggles are a part of life. I am learning to let the storms of life strengthen me. The strongest trees are those that resist the tempest and survive.
August – How to have 250,000 blog visitors a day – my most controversial article of the year – by far. It drew many visitors seeking an instant success formula. Many were encouraged and challenged by it, some were disappointed because they missed the point entirely – or didn’t want to face up to the reality of what I was saying. I am slowly learning to apply the principles I wrote about in that article.
September – Poem #36: “Raindrops” – I occasionally feature a short poem or short story on this blog. The poem will never win a literary competition, but the post features one of the best photos I have ever taken. Through my photography I am learning that even the simplest objects can be things of great beauty.
October – A very significant day – from this very special day I gained a new understanding of the importance of family and my amazing heritage.
November – Happy birthday to me – I was all primed ready to have a very relaxing 60th Birthday. It all went very wrong but turned out okay in the end. I learned from this little incident that life doesn’t always go according to the script you have written.
December – How a little ant taught me about writing – the title says it all. We need to be aware of how even the simplest things can teach us important life applications.