One day while enjoying the spring sunshine in the backyard
of our new home in Oklahoma, I read an email on my Iphone from Linda Hoye
asking me to participate in a writing process blog. I was stunned and honored that someone as
well known as Linda, through her work with Story Circle Network, would consider
me in this venture. I immediately went
inside, turned on the computer to read more.
By Googling “My Writing Process Tour” I was thrilled but intimidated by
the well-known authors, such as Dian Curtis Regan, who have been part of this
international tour. “Yipes,” I mumbled, “I
can’t do this. I’m not a professional
writer.” The minute those words went
through my mind the challenge line was drawn.
I’ve never met Linda, but I know her well through
correspondence, and writings. In her
work with Story Circle Network she’s encouraged me to write more and to submit
my stories. On her blog “A Slice of Life
Writing” she gives glimpses of her life.
Weekly she shares “Photo Friday” where she explores and shares her life
through stunning photos. She has
published a new memoir Two Hearts: An Adoptee’s Journey through Grief to
Gratitude. On her website you can
read more about her memoir and other writings.
What am I working on?
Two pivotal karmic events have occurred in my retirement
years that have led me to this blog and these questions. I took a class called “Who Let the Blogs Out?”
from my friend Rosemary Miller. I merely
wanted to learn about blogging, like what was this thing?? Instead, with her encouragement I set up my
blog that day and literally began my new adventure in writing in 2010. Since then I’ve committed to writing http://literallyletty.blogspot.com/ weekly, writing about a moment in time that has sparkle and life to it. I also
knew deep down inside that I had heaps of stories to tell but not the writing
skills to make them enjoyable for an audience.
It’s so much easier to orally tell my stories than to write them, but my
goal was and is to be a better writer and eventually turn my stories into
completed books.
So what am I working on, my blog stories. Look for future stories on: Nadal, the
focused gorgeous body of a man who lights up the tennis court; The Golf Gypsy
and friends; the Lady who Sculpts Hands;
or my Readings and Greetings. Even
though all of my blogs are on the internet, I copied each one to make a yearly
book for myself so I can see my progress in literally learning how to be a
better writer. Now the stories that bobble
in my head have an outlet, and I can now hold those stories in my hand and my
heart.
The other karmic moment happened when I took a three day
workshop on Memoir Writing from Lisa Dale Norton http://lisadalenorton.com/. By the last day I was hooked. I’d found that child in me who had grown up
in the golf shop, where my father was the golf pro, and I spent my years observing every member,
every action, and every reaction.
“Boggies Don’t Win” will one day be a completed memoir. To say I’m working on it now, is not quite
true, but my childhood story stays in my heart every day, waiting on me to give
myself permission to finish it. The idyllic
childhood days have all been written, even the early teen years are finished,
but then I hit a brick wall when the tumultuous years of golf tournaments, peer
pressure, sex, alcohol, and my place in the world all collided. I know the truth, but can I tell it correctly
or will I soften it? When I can deal
with those questions I will be completing my memoir.
Why do I write what I
do?
I write my blog to
share light and uplifting stories that resonant in many of us. I occasionally have to deal with depression
in the winter months, and so I’ve found that by focusing my energy on writing
on the lighter side my depression disappears, and
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| Rabbit's know to exit here. |
sometimes a friend leaves a
comment that lets me know I’m on the right path. If I have a writing muse, it's our Lucy dog, who drags me on long walks, and whose nose can sniff out a good story to tell.
I began my memoir with the intent of honoring my parents and
all of the many club members from the Miami Golf and Country Club (Miami, OK), who
influenced my life. My father was
seriously burned as a fourteen year old, and as a result his hands were
clubbed. Thanks to a dedicated doctor and
nurse my father did not grow up to be the janitor like people thought he might,
since his hands were useless except to hold a broom. Instead, his hands learned to hold a golf club,
and his life was forever changed. Those are the stories yet to be shared.
How does my writing
process work?
In my dream world I’m organized and work on a schedule of
writing every morning for an hour before the world awakens and then venture off
into a new day with my husband, dog, or friends. The reality is random writing times work for me. The best
days are when I awaken just at dawn with the birds chirping, and then stay in
bed allowing my mind the freedom to wonder, to imagine, to dream, to
create. On those days I can write, take
notes, explore techniques of writing, and read. My mind is happiest when it’s being challenged by a story that needs to
be told.
The actual writing process used to take place on yellow
legal size pads. I read and acted on nearly
every idea in Julia Cameron’s book The Right Way To Write. Her style and process matched my mind. One day when I’d written a rather sensual scene
I read it aloud to my husband at lunch.
He smiled. I asked him to bring
home a stack of colored legal sized pads after work, so I could write more. That evening he brought home six colored pads
and a new laptop, just for me, not for paying bills, not for reading the Drudge
report. So now I let my fingers follow
my imagination and don’t stop to correct or change my words until I’m out of
story. Then I go back, delete, change,
edit, and save, but some days I hit ‘don’t save!’
Through blogging I’ve met new friends. Now I’d like to introduce you to them.
Michelle Pond
Michelle and I met on the golf course, and immediately discovered that we both love to write. Then I discovered that she is a poet and a photographer who likes sports, jazz, and art inspired by other art. Since 2001, she has attended and/or volunteered with a bereavement support group; and grief is a recurring theme in her poetry. She has collected some grief poems into a chapbook, I Keep You With Me. Her work also has appeared in Thorny Locust, Rusty Truck ezine, and the Salon anthologies, poetry from Kansas City's longest running open mic. Her visual art pieces that combine poetry and photographs have been exhibited at The Writers Place and PT's at the Crossroads. Her poetic blog site is http://mapoetpoems.blogspot.com/ "Buried Lies", a poem posted on May 22, 2014 is one of my favorites. I wonder what favorites will be found as new people explore her sight?
Renee Hutchins
Roberts (R.H. Roberts, Writer and Speaker)
Renee and I met this spring at the Oklahoma Writers’
Federation, Inc. conference, We
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| Renee Roberts |
chatted,
exchanged cards, listened to the speaker then parted ways. She recently found me through face book, and
we are now getting acquainted in the small world in which we live.
As a busy mother of six children Renee began writing while
pregnant with her last child, as a means of preserving her sanity. That I can fully understand.
As a result of her decision to write she is
the award-winning author of The Underwater Witness Protection Program, Gypsy
Moon, and Jellica’s Pot of Gold.
Her website is http://rhroberts.com/home/.
On her blog she shares fantasy
thoughts: Happy is boring. Characters should be driven by obsession,
guilt, an unreachable dream. A quest for
happiness? Well, that could work.; walks in nature; adventures in writing;
traveling stories. You can find her blog
at http://rhroberts.com/blog-2/ How fun making connections with new friends
through a common thread—writing.
Vicki Adrian
Vicki and I share a common thread--we love to laugh, make other people happy, she loves to buy neat clothes for her boutique, and I love to shop there and buy those items. I've written about her on my blog http://literallyletty.blogspot.com/2012_10_01_archive.html and about the small town
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| Vicki Adrian and Ann Armstrong |
where her store has thrived for nearly three decades, Buhler, Ks. Her blog is about foods and recipes that delight our taste buds and about the connectedness of living in a small town. Recently, at a writing conference (OWFI) I sat at a table with three women from Wichita, Ks and rather than connecting through writing we connected through shopping at Adrian's Boutique. It might be easier to go to her blog to find out why people love her store and her smile http://adriansboutique.com/. Most recently, Vicki is branching out to create a new blog. Stay turned to her site for further development of a new idea.
"Whacking heads." After a pause, she (Handful) added, "A triangle on a quilt stands for a blackbird wing." .... "I have a thimble and it stands for pushing a needle and keeping my fingertip from turning sore, but I could let that stand for something else." (p.59) The two young girls are forever linked by their secrets and their intelligence. Quilting is stitching that holds the story together as all three characters take wing in one form or another. While reading this story and the power of story hidden in the seams of a quilt, I was reminded of a children's book I loved called Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold. http://www.faithringgold.com/ringgold/book01.htm It, too, is worth the time to read or perhaps reread.
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