Sep. 30: Reading Your Way Through Writer's Block

In today's meditation the author talked about reading when you have writer's block. Basically the idea is to get a different perspective. I think this would indeed help me. Maybe more so if I was not reading two or three books at one time. Right now I read a chapter a week for my book club, a chapter a week of Debbie Macomber's non-fiction book that I have another blog going on. Then I am also reading "The Hole in Our Gospel", "Before and After: Living and Eating Well After Weight-Loss Surgery", a Debbie Macomber fiction on Wyoming Brides. So sometimes things can get pretty jumbled up in my head. But sometimes I do keep things straight because I read for so many different reasons. Some reading I do is educational, some recreational, some for self-improvement, some for spiritual renewal. Well by now I'm sure you get the idea. The sad part of this is at times things I'm suppose to be reading (like my lesson for tomorrow's Bible Study) don't get done because I'm reading all these other things.
For today's "Try This" Mr. White says to work in three reading breaks during my next writing regimen (don't think I have one). If I don't experience a block then take the breaks after reaching a certain kind of closure, i.e. finishing a chapter, or a dramatic incident. He also suggests that you select your reading from a differnt genre each time. Then take notes on how much time you spend reading, what you've read, and how (if at all) it has helped you to gain fresh impetus on your work in progress when you return to it.
Not really certain I will follow through with this section right now. Maybe the next time I'm faced with writer's block I may try it.

Sep. 29: Metaphors

Today's topic is about how metaphors help us to understand abstract ideas by connecting them to things that are familiar to us. Mr. White's examples are sound or light moving through space to waves of water; or the movement of a flag to the action of a whip. He states that "Metaphors are among a writer's most versatile stylistic devices." He also quotes two other authors stating that "metaphors lie at the heart of our thinking and reveal much about our conceptualizing processes."
The "Try This" section today is to maintain an inventory of the different types of metaphors that you and other family members use. Again this will be something that gets added to that little composition book of mine along with the dreams I am recording when I can in the morning.

Sep. 28: Wit

Well once again did not get to this yesterday. After my epidural came home and went to bed. By the time I got up there was just to many things to attend to, plus my brain cells were still effected by whatever it is that the doctor uses to knock me out. Wit is something that is not always easy for me. It tends to come acrossed as sarcastic. In the try this section is to either compose a letter in which you combine intelligence with a lively, animated style; or write a profile of a character possessed of great wit (intelligence + cleverness + animated personality). That is the idea for my character of Ginny in the story I'm working on which is currently called Emma's story. She is to be a middle-aged sophisicated career woman who is happy in her life after years of struggle. She meets Emma at an AA meeting (Emma's first). Ginny has several years (15+) of sobriety. It will be her sophisication and wit that ultimately win Emma over and also help her and Emma get through some trying times.
That's what I would like to be able to write. Not the profile but the actual witty remarks that demonstrate the profile in the story. This is something that I struggle with.

Sep. 27: "Once Upon A Time"

In today's meditation the author discusses how these four words take our minds from the reality to the magic of imagination. How they transport us into another world, an imaginary one. The assignment for today is to write a journal entry in which I extend the possibility of conventional reality. I am to begin my entry by answering the question, "What would my life be like if I could read people's thoughts?" or, "If a genie gave me the power to perform one miracle, what miracle would I choose, and how would I put it to use?"
So here goes:
What would my life be like if I could read people's thoughts? I am not certain this is a talent that I would really wish for. At work, yes I would be able to determine just how truthful my clients were being about whether they really wanted to be sober. However, I would also know all their criticism of me. I would also know just wht my co-workers were thinking which again at times would be better off not known. My feelings would not be hurt by someone else's criticism, put downs, or other negative thoughts.
It would also not be something I am dying to hear from friends and others. You know the hidden thoughts like "what was she thinking when she put that on", "can she gain any more weight', "she is so uncouth", etc. Yes, at times it might be educating to find out what people really think of you but I think most of us, if we thought about it for awhile, would rather remain in ignorance. It is easier to take and often less hurtful. It would also be rather hurtful to learn through their thoughts that they really were not thinking of you, or about you as often as you thouht they were.
I know that there have been any number of times when I was glad someone did not know what I was thinking. This is true of even my dear sweet hubby. More times than I care to remember my thoughts have been angry, bitter, resentful, and just down right mean-spirited. Since I am not a very unique person, if my thoughts are such, then so would other's thoughts. I am so grateful that other people can not read my thoughts and therefore will remain grateful I can't read their's either.

Sep. 26: Writing As An Expression of Faith

I really enjoyed today's meditation but had to read it through a couple of time to really grasp what the author was saying. When I thought about his opening sentence though it began to make a little sense. He started out by stating that artists (and writers) are explorers of the inner universe. It is this inner universe he says is "the one in which the human drama is played out." He also states that he thinks all writers are engaged in expressions of faith in everything they write.
In the section "For Further Reflection", Mr. White touches on the fact that it is language that people use to define their species, "that words are windows to the truth about ourselves and the universe." For me expressing words in thought, writing, or speaking do allow others to begin to understand some truths about me. It is also through word that I learn about others.
Today's "Try This"section is to write an essage that reflects on the truth of the claim that language does not capture the reality of the world outside ourselves but rather thought-constructs of that reality. I am going to have to think about that one for awhile. I agree to a degree but not totally and also need to ponder on this for awhile before I can actually write on it.
To digress a bit to yesterday's assignment. I recorded my dreams upon waking this morning.

Sep. 25: Fashioning Dreamscapes

Today's meditation is about dreams. Mr. White says that "Sigmund Freud may have been the first person to demonstrate from a scientific perspective the importance of dreams in one's life as well as in society generally, but dreams have always played a significant role in human history." He also states that as writers we can tap into our dreams and also we can also made up dreamscapes for our stories. He then gives and example from T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land, in describing the Unreal City.
The "For Futher Discussion" section talks about the profound influence of dreams on modern art and literature. Therefore we need to pay close attention to our dreams and the role they play in our psychic lives.
Today's "Try This" assignment is to record your dreams for the next couple of weeks to convert our dream images into words. Then later use these images to convert them into coherent stories.
I have for years remembered on awakening my dreams and I used to write them down in a journal but stopped. I have some very realistic dreams and then at times they are peopled by realistic people but in bizarre situations. This happened the other night when a dream was peopled by people I work with but the setting was not related at all to work. I have also dreamed about people from my past but again as if they were still in my life or if my life still occurred in those long ago settings. Guess I'll take one of the composition notebooks not currently being used and place it in the bathroom to jot down my dreams everytime I wake up. Always head straight for the bathroom on awakening.

Sep 23: "Know Thyself"

Today's meditation is on the subject of knowing yourself and how self-knowledge is of importance to a writer. The author says that having better self-knowledge should be a part of every writers' mission statement. In the section For Further Reflection he makes the comment that "Psychologists point out that merely acknowledging an impulse is a major step toward controlling it." This is something that I try to teach my clients that in order to change behavior we first have to acknowledge the impulse and then do something different with that impulse than we have been doing. Because of more than two decades in a 12-step recovery program I have had a chance to do some serious "soul searching" and because of my academic training for my current career plus continued additional training to keep my license and certification in learning about the workings of the human mind; I think I have more self-knowledge than most. Of course, my age is also a factor in having more self-knowledge. Once you pass the half century mark you tend to reflect on your life and it's lessons. Therefore, the "Try This" section takes some thinking time.

"THINGS I DON'T KNOW, OR KNOW VERY LITTLE, ABOUT MYSELF

This is another difficult assignment because I know myself pretty well. Using Fred White's questions I do know how I would perform in a stage play (very well as long as I did not have a lot of lines to memorized or have to sing). I have decided not to participate in an activity because I had no idea if I could hand the task. This is particularly true when it comes to volunteering to take part in a mission trip. However, that is really do to physical limitations, another gift of age. Usually though if something appears interesting to me I will attempt it at least once. I am aware of why I do, or do not attempt some things. I am also aware of why I think the way I do, why I act the way I do, of how I view the world. In fact right now I am having a very difficult time of thinking of any thing I don't know, or know very little, about myself. Some of what I know makes me feel good about myself; i.e. my loving, caring, and empathitic nature; my work ethic; my intuitive nature; my values; my political views; that I have my own beliefs and values and am not easily swayed by others. Other things I don't feel good about but am attempting with help to change. Somethings about myself that I have changed with help I also feel good about, but the desire to change came about because I got tired of making amends to people I did not really like in the first place. Another bit of information I have learned about myself is that I usually do not change a behavior unless I am sufficiently uncomfortable with the repeated consequences.

Over the years somethings that I have learned about myself have not been the easiest thing to swallow or admit. However, without acknowledging them I would not have been able to change them. It is a great comfort to realize that I can change the things I recognize are not traits that I want to continue exhibiting. Another benefit of a 12-step spiritual journey is that you do so much soul-searching and changing that ultimately the idea of change no longer is a frightening thing; it may just not be something you are willing to invest the time and effort into changing. Unfortunately, another truth I have learned about myself through years of soul-searching is that I can be stubborn and lazy about certain things, and so far have not had sufficient consequences to want to change these things about myself. I say "so far" because I know that I can change at any time. I may even realize tomorrow that there is a whole bunch of things about myself that I did not know. Since, to quote an old adage, more will always be revealed.