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blogging101, Creative Writing, Faith and Writing, Family, Fiction & Fantasy, Reflections, Uncategorized, Writing 101
One of the things I’ve come to appreciate most on Word Press is the vast amount of writing talent that inhabits its blogs. I’ve stumbled across so much jaw-dropping content on here that I simply can’t take it all in. Poetry, flash fiction, short stories, three-line stories, pieces of manuscripts, essays, personal reflections… Whatever flavor of writing you like, you can find it in these blogs.
Now let me ask you a question. Why do you write? I bet you’ve got a post on your blog somewhere that answers that to some degree. If you’ve done Blogging U’s Blogging 101 I KNOW you have! 😀 But did you take time to dig down to the root of your desire? (And I hear from authors that hoping to make a living off your work is really a pipe dream these days.) How did you answer that question? I think there are SO many reasons to write! (I tried to find just one good quote in my journal, but there were so many I couldn’t choose!)
Madeleine L’Engle, author of “A Wrinkle in Time”, the science fantasy story most SciFi fans cut their teeth on, puts it this way:
Why does anybody tell a story? It does indeed have something to do with faith, faith that the universe has meaning, that our little human lives are not irrelevant, that what we choose or say or do matters, matters cosmically.
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I would be a liar if I said I’ve never wanted to write something that might be fairly eternal like “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Something that would be remembered long after I was gone. Or “Alice in Wonderland!” Or “Lord of the Rings.” I think all three of those books have something deeply meaningful to say to AND about people.
Muriel Rukeyser, an American poet and political activist, best known for her poems about equality, feminism, social justice, and Judaism, once said:
The universe is made of stories — not atoms.
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I really like that one! A lot of us, when we begin writing or telling stories, start with the sharing of our lives. Our personal trials, triumphs, and transformations that reflect our vision of the world and our place in it. I personally believe that to NOT tell those stories can make one ill or cause them to self-destruct at times. Novelists James Carroll, Karen Blixen (also a Baroness!), Joan Didion, and Zora Neale Hurston all seem to have felt that way.
We tell stories because we can’t help it…We tell stories because they fill the silence that death imposes. We tell stories because they save us.” (James Carroll)
“All sorrows can be born if you tell a story about them.” (Karen Blixen)
“We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” (Joan Didion)
“There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside of you.” (Zora Neale Hurston)
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But there’s also one more reason I think we need to write stories. Especially our own. Because as Tess Gallagher points out:
The past is not only that which happened, but also that which could have happened but did not.
Have you ever wondered what would have happened had you taken the “road less traveled?”
This post (besides articulating something I feel deeply) is a shameless attempt to get folks involved with the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program. If you didn’t catch my post about the program (which begins on the 11th), you can find it here. If you’ve never made that foray into serious (or even semi-serious) writing, this might be a good way to get your feet wet.
But regardless of whether you do or don’t, I hope if you HAVEN’T tried putting the words of your heart down to share with others you’ll give it a shot. I really can think of no better way to connect with other folks in our lives. And it’s such a relief to find out we’re not alone in our sorrows, but also in our happiness.
(It’s true, I’m afraid. I’m like a shameless carnival hawker when it comes to writing, aren’t I! 😀 )
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Picture Credits:
Flannery O’Connor quote — www.pinterest.com
Joss Whedon quote — grimmwriterssociety.weebly.com
Therefore I AM quote — lissabryanff.blogspot.com
Isaac Asimov quote — smallcirclebigcircle.com
My mother had Alzheimer’s and I wonder sometime if she’d had an outlet could that have been prevented? She was uneducated, yet intelligent. I saw that, so she had no outlet like bloggers do. I think Opher said it, if she wasn’t writing all that stuff going on in her brain would “clog up her head.”
I think we all have history and opinions and in writing we get it out there and in reading other people’s blogs (as I have followers from around the world as I’m sure you do) I can see that we really are not so different and I think that’s the beauty of it.
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You know, I’ve wondered about that before, too. It certainly makes sense. I think Opher said it well. I’m like you. I love the diversity on the blogs. I’ve learned so much in the last two years. 😀
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Me too!
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I write because the first line repeats itself in my head over and over until I start typing. I write my dreams down even if I don’t publish most of them. Without writing I would sit in a corner, staring without blinking, waiting for my life back. If I can’t sing or make sculpture at least I can write. Great post Calen!
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Yes you can, girlfriend! And you do it very well. {{{E}}}
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Hmmmmm…love this C……until a year ago, I wasn’t a ‘writer’….. why do I write?! Because, now that I have written, I can’t not write. It’s helped me heal, it’s given me an outlet….I like it 😊
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And look what an amazing writer you’ve turned into! Your journey has been so fun to watch. 😀
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Well,,,,you’ve been with me from the beginning..it’s all your fault and I’ll Always be grateful to you ❤️
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You’re an inspiration! And I expect to learn a lot more from you. 😉
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What a lovely quote: ‘The universe is made up of stories – not atoms’. I think this hits the nail on the head. On my travels all over the world I’ve heard some amazing stories. Especially in Laos, where they still retain a distinctive Laoness. One of my students used to tell me about a giant naga (serpant) who lived under That Dam (the black stupa) and said it with such sincerity, I used to believe it myself. Showing a certain respect everytime I passed the beautiful ramshackle stupa on my motorbike!
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You’re in a unique position to collect all kinds of stories from the kids. You write so beautifully, maybe some day when you’ve some time on your hands you should scribble some of them down. You never know when they might come in handy for a memoir or story book! 😀
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Hi Calensariel, thanks for your encouraging words. My biggest problem is that I’m usually so overwhelmed by new and beautiful cultures that I can’t put things into words, so I usually take millions of photos instead, hoping one day, I’ll be able to make sense of everything. I should have stayed in Laos really, that’s where I’m most happiest, such wonderful people, and perpetual sunshine. How I ever ended up in the a-hole of the world, I’ll never know. I made a bad judgment call this year. I work in such a lovely school, but that’s the only thing I like about this cold, austere, and miserable former Soviet dump. (please excuse the rant – I just needed to vent!).
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So are you locked in there for more than a year, DB?
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Btw, what do you prefer to be called on here? 😀
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Fabulous collection of quotes. Two struck me – I write to read what I think and I write to be the characters I’m not. The latter is what got me writing at all, creating characters for role play, but I often can’t express what I’m thinking unless I write it. Have fun with the course!
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I hear that! When I was doing the online rpg with seven other folks I worked hard for over two years creating Calensariel. She seems to be everything I’m not, and yet she is uniquely a part of me. She is able to say things within me I can’t. She’s one of my greatest treasures and will always exist because she’s part of me. 😀 But then you probably feel that way about Safar?
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Hmmm – then, I must be an odd mix of a terrifying gargoyle, bureaucratic demon queen, a batty wizard, pirate (two – one male, one female), brothel madam, a Tuatha de Dannan sidhe, a wild elf, orc on heat, witch, a 2 year old boy faun, a male teenage elf, a very gentlemanly retired knight, a goblin with a knobbly knee fetish and a bardic rogue!! I know what you mean though. There’s a side to you that emerges in the characters that does become a part of you. Haha – I’m so multi-dimensional!!!!
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What a woman!!! ❤
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That was a wonderful post, why write? I write because I love telling stories, making up fictional worlds for fictional people to live it in. I write because sometimes I get an idea..and I cannot rest until I have done something about it.
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“I write because sometimes I get an idea..and I cannot rest until I have done something about it.” Now to me, THAT is the mark of a true story teller. You are a Bard, my dear! 😉
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Thank you! 🙂
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It’s that inner itch that just won’t go away 🙂 BTW I finally found a way of connecting with the uni and got a temporary password sent to me. I don’t know what happened, perhaps they didn’t get my email confirmation or something when I originally enrolled.
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Yes! And the only thing that will help it is the scratching of a pen! (Or computer! LOL) I’m glad you got it sorted out. I forgot to check mine! I’d best do that.
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I had to change my password, too.
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Shameless, perhaps – but you just gave me a great read 🙂
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Well it IS a great opportunity! LOL Glad you enjoyed it!
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I did – and I’ve signed up. Can I sit with you in class? 🙂
I’ve got candy…
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I write for the sheer joy of it. And to make people feel something when they read my stories.
When I was younger, I was listening to the Phantom of the Opera soundtrack (the one with Michael Crawford) with my sister. When he sang the reprise of All I Ask Of You, the combination of the lyrics and his emotions touched me and made me want to write a story that would have the same effect on people. A story where you believe in the characters, where they can make you laugh and break your heart.
So, I write in pursuit of that story – every time I write.
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What an inspiring story. I SO get that! I’m really glad you mentioned it. Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting!
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You’re welcome! 🙂
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After reading your post, I’m speechless and that is saying a lot….I never really thought about the whys…writing for me just flows and can’t be stopped and it’s all good…and for right now, that’s ok…but thanks for the push to understand the whys.
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I know what you mean. For some of us it’s the same as breathing, isn’t it? If I couldn’t scribble my thoughts down I’d smother to death!
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I write because otherwise all those words would clog up my head and my creativity would suffocate. Besides – I want to make the world better.
Sometimes the ideas come and I just have to write them down. There is no choice. If I don’t catch them they are lost forever.
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That’s a mistake I make lately. Not writing things down when they come to me. I wonder if it’s because I’m trying to read and I have a deadline on finishing the book.
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