Tag: Writing

Twitter isn’t my jam
Procrastination · Writing

Twitter isn’t my jam

AuntGemLeave a comment

I’m too wordy

As you’ve probably gathered from reading the last few posts, it’s hard to contain myself in 240 characters. Heck, my smaller posts here have at least 1,000. And as the Bard said, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” Guess I’m not much of a wit. <Sigh.>

I mostly just read

I love certain accounts and I hardly ever comment – I just read them. Sometimes I retweet; sometimes I’ll quote-tweet. But that’s about the extent of my “interactions.” Here’s a list:

  • @steveolivas – Steve Olivas is a man of many talents: ghost writer/collaborator with rock stars, host of the interview podcast “The Commute” AND the comedy podcast “Wrong and Wronger” with James Breakwell, a practicing psychiatrist, and, in his spare time, a rancher. Listen to “Wrong and Wronger” to learn about the mishaps on his ranch.
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  • @vbspurs – This lovely lady focuses on tweets about the British Royals. It’s been a hoot following along as she read “Spare.” She saved me and many others the pain of reading that book – she just tweeted out commentary on the juicy bits, and we all got to chime in.
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  • @wrathofgnon – His profile simply states “Traditionalist.” And his tweets celebrate all things traditional and beautiful, especially in older city plans, older buildings, and beautiful surroundings. I look forward to seeing his tweets whenever I want to take a break and luxuriate in beauty.
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  • @okmaher – Kelly Maher is one of my favorite writers on urban farming. I follow her for pics of little goats, chickens and all sorts of farm adventures. She also has a Substack that’s well worth the subscription. If I add two chickens this year to my backyard, it will be because of reading her articles.
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Memoir vs fiction
Books · Writing

Memoir vs fiction

AuntGemLeave a comment
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

So many of the books I’ve been reading over the last few years are memoirs or memoir-ish:

Something Other Than God – the story of how comedian Jen Fulwiler came to Christianity.

Let’s Pretend this Never Happened – Jenny Lawson, aka the Bloggess (funny but she likes to cuss – do not click if you are easily offended)

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me – Mindy Kaling

…. and I could go on and on. 

Why memoirs now? Is this a product of our self-obsessed time? I read other authors and it’s not all about them. Don’t think I’m slamming these authors – each of these books is wonderful.  Yet they are all memoirs. For reasons I haven’t completely thought through, I have my knickers in a twist about the entire concept of writing so much about yourself. Even though I have a blog, the epitome of navel-gazing. Even though this blog post is written entirely in the first-person point of view.

One of the reasons I’ve been stuck so long in writing a book about my journey through a disastrous experience, and how it redirected my life, in so many ways is because I don’t want to do it as a memoir. I’m currently fictionalizing it as a novel. But – to anyone who knows me, it will be transparent. Good thing I’m not famous! 

The Joy of Writing
blogging · Hobbies · Writing

The Joy of Writing

AuntGem1 Comment

Isn’t that a book already? Actually it is – a memoir by Pierre Berton. I hope he gave a tip of the hat to Joy of Cooking author Irma Rombauer for the inspiration.

Expressing yourself

Writing has always been my favorite way of communicating. I like it better than even speaking on the phone to someone. I think better when I’m either putting fingers to a keyboard or setting a pen to paper. It gives me the opportunity to think linearly and logically, when I wish to write non-creatively: pick the topic, add sentences supporting your position or thoughts, give evidence, persuade or inspire.

But I also love playing with words. I was one of those funny kids who loved learning about words in school – where did they come from; how did they get their present shape? When I discovered the Oxford English Dictionary, with its complete etomology of each and every word in the language, I was transfixed. Why do we use certain synonyms? I loved learning all the different flavors of a word. I can hear my friends now saying, why do you have to use the word frank when the word candid will do? Or any of the other synonyms that convey open, sincere, honest, or plainspoken? Because! I’d shake my head – don’t they understand the connotations? Don’t they hear the music of the word? Sometimes you need one, sometimes the other.

How I got started

It was in third grade that we all starting writing stories for our English class each week. Our teacher would give us a topic or question, and we’ll all write a page. (A ‘prompt’ in writers’ jargon.) I’ll never forget one essay I composed: “I wish I had a money tree.” I kept it for years, along with all my other papers, thus getting a jump start on my lifetime of hoarding books. Looking back at it I was appalled at my sheer greed and sloth: I ended the page saying I would just eat and read all day. Actually, that does sound like my idea of heaven right now!

Later on, I kept writing – both for the high school newspaper and the college paper. The only story from those years I remember is the feature I did on the ducks that lived on the Thomas Cooper Library pond at USC. Later there were freelance articles in newspapers and magazines in Columbia and Savannah. Then I spent two glorious years writing for a small weekly paper, before I went on to be an editor at a daily.

Starting this blog

Over 20 years ago I went corporate, starting by doing communications work. Then I got into the web game, and corporate life became a string of projects, analysis, testing, and usability work. Shortly after completing a masters in 2010, I decided it was time to start a blog so I could write again. At the beginning, it was random day-to-day happenings, more diary than journal or newsletter. And lots of cat pictures.

Fits and starts

I kept it going fairly regularly for about four years; then, life got in the way. Back in 2022 I re-started and did fairly well. But this year: this is the year I’ve dedicated the blog to only four topics, all revolving around my special interests: Books (including writing, literature, and just plain fun reads); my new Keto Journey and my love of cooking (with lots of fun pictures!), and Gardening. I’m dedicated different areas of the top navigation to those categories, and I’ll be blogging more frequently on each topic.

Next up: Masterclass

My newest strategy: taking lessons from some of the world’s best. My membership in Masterclass is giving me access to some best-selling authors. I want to explore how do they handle the problems of fleshing out a character in fiction? How do they write compelling openings, that draw a reader in and make them want to spend time with the people in the book? When you’re reading, it’s as if you’re entering that character’s world, or as if you’ve invited that character to come over to your house, sit on your couch and chat for a while. How can I make people want to spend time with my characters? So off to Masterclass I go. Now, my biggest question – do I choose Judy Blume‘s or Amy Tan‘s class? Or perhaps Neil Gaiman? Good thing the membership is for a year. I can and will do all three.

Goals Set, Goals Missed, Goals Set Again
blogging · Hobbies · Introspection · me

Goals Set, Goals Missed, Goals Set Again

AuntGemLeave a comment

I’m only two weeks into restarting my blog and I’ve already missed my first goal: publish at least twice a week. I even have 16 different blog topics started in various drafts. And I set up thrice-weekly reminders on my phone to post. Yet still – offline for a week!

I’m going to treat this blog the way I’m treating my successful (so far) diet: a slip doesn’t mean it’s all over. I just get back up and get back to the goal.

To paraphrase fictional heroine Bridget Jones: if it is true that success is the progressive realization of a worthwhile dream, then that is the definition of a diet. I don’t have the energy to shoehorn that into a blogging metaphor as I’ve been up since before 5, but I like the quote.

(At 9 p.m. my eyelids are falling shut in spite of me. Yes, I need to re-arrange my writing schedule and write when I am fresh, in the morning. I’ll start that Wednesday.)

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to get the last of my “personal” topics out of the way – nine of my 16 remaining drafts are related to personal thoughts. And then, after that’s out of the way (in four and a half weeks if I stick to my twice-a-week schedule, less if I post more) then I’m going to turn this blog to what I really want to focus on: in-depth look at the hobbies that I’ve come to love over the pandemic, and two that’s been with me all my life. I’ll be focusing first on three areas: Books, Gardening, and Writing. I’ve been a bookworm all my life. Growing up, if I loved a book, you could usually tell because either a) the book covers were read to pieces, b) it had a tomato stain on a page from a pizza slice I munched as a read, or c) I read it so much I had it memorized and was quoting parts to you. (Ask my dad about how I recited parts of Erma Bombeck’s “At Wit’s End” from memory.) I’ve loved writing ever since third grade, when our teacher had us write short stories every week. Part of my career was working in journalism, and I’ve saved a few clips from along the way. And thanks to COVID, and the big backyard I have now, I’ve been doing more gardening than ever.

Come along with me for a look at my favorite books, what I’m planting in my gardens and my latest writing. (That’s after I finish emoting in those nine personal posts!) As I’ve learned from my latest diet – you need to bundle a reward with a chore to increase your chances of success. Once I can sustain my regular posting schedule for four weeks, I’m going to treat myself to a new logo for the blog.