Wednesday, December 4, 2019

It’s all in how you Read or the empowerment of the microphone!

Talking about how to read, not reading a book to yourself but rather reading out loud is a curious thing.  How does one learn how to carry the voice, to resonate, to read in a manner so that’s it is interesting to others?

Some people are naturally gifted and born talkers.  They are at ease speaking in front of any size group.

But some of us writers, me included, have to practice reading.  Even reading a poem or two at an open mic is scary for us (at least it is for me) and that’s usually only about 2-3 minutes at a time.

I like to go to poetry readings to observe how other poets read.  There’s one place I go where I see a rather big individual, (bulky and built from working out) get up and read with passion, a fire, and such enthusiasm.  Others read in meek mild voices.  Others talk in meek mild voices but when they read they are loud and boisterous.

There’s something empowering about their voices and the microphone.  There’s something empowering about reading your words in front of an audience.  There’s something empowering about being in front of people saying those very same words out loud.

You can record yourself when you practice or get practice listeners to help you out.  You can read in front of a mirror.  You can imagine yourself reading in your head.  There are many ways to practice!

Finding the comfort of reading in front of others, though, probably takes getting in on an open mic whatever chance you get.   It’s good to read whenever you can so you don’t get out of practice.

You will know it when you find your comfort level.  You will own that mic when you find your true voice!

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Unsolicited Free Advice

If you’re human, chances are you have asked someone for advice. You can tailor what you ask based on who they are and what they know.  You can find others willing to mentor you in most cases.

But what happens when you get free advice from people who know absolutely nothing about your situation and the problem you are having?  What about people who tell you what you want to hear and not like it is?

You have to find a way to discern the truth for your own best self interest.  You may need to research things a little on your own.

Simply because someone decides it’s so, doesn’t make it so.  Also what works for them may not work for you.

Countless times I have had people want time to say something that I know isn’t so in this or that occurrence.  They, of course, end up learning the hard way (most of the time).

I think listening to others and their advice can be a good thing if you look at the content and circumstances to which the advice is offered.  If they’ve never done something, etc than you are taking a risk listening to them in the first place.

The truth is, you should trust yourself and your own instincts and your ability to filter out the good advice from the bad.  Take heart, you are not in whatever you are in alone - but take heed because not all advice is meant to be followed!

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Poets are Born not Made

I read about poetry and poetry a lot!  Makes sense because I’m a poet.  I read a recent quote from a book about reading poetry - it was the Latin proverb “poets are born not made.”

I have thought about that phrase constantly ever since I read it.  What does it mean?

It probably means (at least to me) if you were meant to be a poet then you were born that way - ready to share your words in whatever form but mostly in a poetical one.  Does that mean you can’t become a poet if you weren’t meant to be?

That’s not a question, I can answer.  I have come across many people who say to me some things like “I write poetry,” “I want to publish a book,” “I’m a writer” after they find out I am a poet and writer.  But they don’t have any experience with it in most cases, they’ve just decided that’s what they want to do.  Once in a great while, someone who says these things to me will have some kind of educational background in writing or literature or English.  Generally, no.

For me, though, yes I was born that way, as a Poet.  I’ve been writing stories and poems since I was really little.  Later on as a voice major, I wrote song lyrics.  I have one degree in the arts and studied poetry with a well-known poet at the time, and I’ve taken poetry workshops, etc. etc.  I wouldn’t be happy if I couldn’t write.  I love everything about it - the entire process including submission and rejection.

Poets are indeed meant to share poems.  Poems, in the long run, always belong to their poets!

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Things to Do Every Day

Do you have a list?  You know one of those with things you do every day?  How about a routine?

Mine is kinda simple, get up, meditate, have a light breakfast, fix a cup of tea to go.  I find, though, I never do any of this in the same order on the same day.  Similar, but not exact.

It’s moments that come up and change the routine that make things interesting or not.  I decided I would try to find certain things to do every day to keep my focus.

Here’s my list:

1) Read
2) Yoga
3) Mediate
4) Drink hot tea
5) Write
6) Eat dinner with my family
7) Call my Mom
8) Clean or Tidy Up something
9) Exercise
10) Study

As you can see, it’s not an overly ambitious list and it is easy to modify it or adjust it as needed.  What do you try to get out of your day everyday?

Routines can be necessary and don’t have to be boring.  Routines can be rewritten at any time.  


Tuesday, November 5, 2019

The Lost Art of Silence

I like music.  I don’t particularly like to talk, but I will.  I enjoy watching movies and sometimes TV shows.  I like listening to audiobooks.

But yet, I spend parts of my day every day in silence.  Sometimes, I’m meditating but because I’m using a guided app, it is not quiet for the whole session.

Usually I spend my quiet time driving in the car, with no radio, no tunes - there is absolutely nothing on.   When I swim, I’m in silence.  When I work at my small business, most days I prefer quiet over lots of talking or a TV or radio blaring in the corner.

I am not one of those marketing statistic shoppers who buys more when I’m shopping because music is blaring on the speakers overheard.  Nope, I actually leave the store!  It goes without saying, I prefer to shop online because unless I’m playing a song on my computer, it’s silent.

Most people, though, cannot stand the silence especially if they are in a group of people.  Sure, that is a time to socialize or network, but every second doesn’t have to be filled with saying something, anything, or whatever comes to mind.

Today, during my silent time, I’ve thought about many things I need to get done to do with organization and things I need to take care of, and I have had several writing ideas for my poems and stories.  Would this have happened had I been blaring tunes in my ear or watching Netflix in the time I’ve had to not have “noise” in my head?

Sometimes it’s hard to be in your own head, or alone with your own thoughts.  If you are experiencing grief or other troubles, yes maybe then you do need a non-silent distraction, but you still need that silent time to figure out how to move on, get going again, or to keep trying.

Next time you have a few minutes while waiting on your kids to finish an activity, or while waiting in line, use that time to be silent and think ... don’t play on your cell phone, read, etc.  You may be surprised at what you figure out when you are quiet in your own head.

Silence is a lost art.  One I feel that needs to be practiced again.

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Dimes (and Pennies) from Heaven

Today as I was walking into the pool, I happened to look down and there was a shiny dime.  It was almost obscured by the glint of the rain upon the dark asphalt but as I almost walked on it I saw it.  I look down when I walk due to the fact that I kinda trip over things if I don’t.

What’s so great about looking down and finding a dime in the parking lot?  Well, since my Dad passed, I’ve found many dimes and also pennies.  I never used to find loose coins before or if I did it was the occasional quarter that I would find.
Dime I found in the parking lot today the day of this post

I have amassed a small coin collection from all the pennies and dimes I have found in these past 4 years.  What do I do with them?

I spend them, share them, deposit them, drop them in those Take a Penny cups you sometimes seem at cash registers, etc.  I don’t usually examine them too much looking at the year or where it was minted.  Maybe I should be looking at these happenstance coins more closely when I stumble upon them.

I am rather happy in the sheer act of finding the coins.  It makes me think that my Dad’s presence is out there somewhere looking after me.

Yes, I am kind of New Age - I do believe everything happens for a reason.  It’s unreal how some things simply happen or come to be if you are in the right place at the right time or let them happen.

I don’t actively look for the coins.  I don’t even give it any thought other than some of the strange places I’ve found them - places, truly, where no coin should be.  One day I was at home and looked down and there was a penny in the carpet.  It had no business being there in the just swept, just vacuumed floor.  Nope.  No one had been around emptying pockets or loose change or anything.  It was not there one second, and the next it was.

Sure, there is probably a rational explanation to all of it.  Loose coins fall out of people’s pockets all the time.  Notes, sure do!  (As a writer, I love to find dropped notes and use them in a poem - depending on what the note is about of course).

I will keep on walking, though, and not searching for dimes and pennies.  Somewhere out there somehow, some way, I will keep believing my Dad made sure that those coins were meant especially for me.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

The Traveling Postcard, a True Story




About a week ago, a friend of mine gave me a postcard — the postcard pictured here. She had been to a coin show in Charlotte, NC and she told me there was a guy selling old letters and postcards. She saw this card with “Bush’s mansion” on it and knowing it’s my maiden name, she bought it for me.
I was glad to have it. I love old cards and letters especially postcards. I collect postcards! Yes, really. I have collected them from all over the country and some from a few overseas trips.
This postcard was intriguing because it was sent to a person living on the street where my Dad and Uncle grew up in western North Carolina. It was also interesting because of the picture on the front where someone had written “Bush’s mansion.”
I couldn’t imagine where this picture on the front of the postcard was taken as the text indicating its location was marked out. I looked it over and showed it to a few people. No one recognized anything about it. No one identified it. No one claimed its history.
My Uncle used to keep up with the history of our family genealogy, and knows quite a few people. About a week ago, I decided to mail the card to him where he now lives in Washington, DC.
With work and everything in-between, I forgot about mailing the old card. I did take a picture of it, though, front and back so I could look at it later.
Yesterday, he called me to thank me for sending him this old postcard. And guess what? He recognized the building on the front of the card, as well as the card’s recipient.
How? Why? What? When?
My Uncle said _he_ was the one who had originally written and mailed the card! He wrote the card when he was 19 maybe 20 years. He was out of town in Raleigh for the summer. Upon writing the card, he crossed out the text identifying the location on the front putting “Bush’s mansion” in its place — he told me it had actually been the old NC Governor’s mansion.
He wrote and mailed the card to their neighbor across the street at the time. He didn’t know the house number, so he put their name and the street name and city, state and zip only on it. Still, the card wound up in their mailbox — a benefit of living in a small town. He signed the card “Col. Bush” — he said that was due to his aspirations to be a Colonel. He didn’t quite make Colonel, but he actually is a retired Captain in the Navy.
Today, my Uncle was amazed at my having sent this old postcard to him last week. He thought I’d found it cleaning up at my Mom’s house as I’d mailed the card to him along with some other old books and things.
I told him I hadn’t found the card while cleaning. I relayed to him that the card was given to me by a friend about a week ago!
I’m always joking with my friends about how everyone needs that New Age everything happens for a reason friend and how I’m that friend for them. And yes I do meditate, do a little yoga, use essential oils, go see Tibetan monks (well I’m going for the first time to see them this weekend,) and I am a vegetarian. In this case, though, yes real life, reasons, coincidences here ya go!
The friend who got the postcard for me at the coin show has been my friend for about 10 years. We’ve stayed friends all this time occasionally hanging out together or with our families.
I have always believed that yes you do meet people for a reason. I also believe you have to constantly be open to possibilities, and that things happen for a reason.
Two days after my Uncle called me and solved the mystery, a cousin in an online family group I belong to identified the picture of the Governor’s mansion. So far, besides my Uncle, that’s the only other person I came across with an inkling as to the card’s history.
The next time I send a postcard, though, I will remember this one sole card won’t be traveling alone. I will remember that this postcard my Uncle labeled as his home away from home for the summer aka “Bush’s mansion” traveled in 1949 from him to his neighbor to present day at a coin show in 2019 to my friend, to me and then finally circling back to him. This card brought with it a circle of life, a message in a bottle, a postcard from one friend to another.
Some people you are simply meant to be friends with. Some people are meant to be in your life.
And that my friends is the way to travel through life. As I learned this week, even the simplest things such as a postcard bring with them a reason!

Monday, September 30, 2019

Writing on the Road

I'm one of those writers who needs adventure.  It doesn't have to be anything extreme - simply getting out of town and doing something different will do.

I find that I get a lot of work done on my writing when I travel and more so than when I'm at home.  I've had time to consider this and I believe it's because I'm not at all distracted (well maybe a little) when on the road.  I can simply concentrate on what I need to do for my writing. 

Of course you  have to go about your daily or even weekly routines to keep things going.  So how can you capture that same kind of simple focus for your writing at home?


  1. First of all keep a schedule and stick to it as best you can.  
  2. Make a list (on paper, on your smart phone) of what you want to work on each day.  
  3. Let your family members know what you are doing so there will be less interruptions.
  4. Clear up and keep your work area so you aren't distracted by anything you find to be unnecessary clutter.
  5. Take breaks.
  6. Relax.
  7. Enjoy!
Keeping things simple will help your writing grow.  It really is that easy!

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Just Keep Writing

I often run into people who are writers, who write sometimes or who want to be writers.  They lament to me quiet frequently about not being able to write.  No time for it.  Can't get the words out, right.  And so on.

I'm like their go to writer therapist - I say that with a smile.  It's good that folks associate me with being a writer.

It's quite simple to be a writer if that's what you want (no I'm not talking "publishing" here - I mean actually writing).  You have to write!  And read this sentence twice.  You have to read!  You need to study writing to get better at it.  You should take a class, join a writers group, read a reference manual or how to book to improve your skills.

The next part is to simply write!  It's kind of like where it's said to stay healthy exercise some each and every day even if only for a few minutes.  So write something every day.  Even if it's one line in a journal. 

If you are a singer, you need to practice with your voice.  If you are in advertising, you have to come up with marketing ideas.  You get the gist! 

So put aside that TV remote, get off your smart phone (unless it's your writing tool), stop playing that game, and jot down that sentence, that paragraph, that poem, those pages.  Soon you will be writing ... all the time!

Friday, July 12, 2019

Creating your own Writer's Retreat

Do you work when you are traveling?  I always do, it seems.  I find I get some of my best work done while traveling.  It's probably really due to the focus - limited space to write, limited time to work on certain projects, limited wifi.  It's easy to get  a lot done in a short amount of time. 

For me, taking those blocks of free time during a road trip are my own writer's retreat.  I can simply work on projects I want to work on at the time.  I don't have to worry about any other distractions (usually) from home.  It's a great way to help your creative juices reach their flow.

Next time you are traveling, take a few breaks along the way to create or work on your projects.  Not only will you have uninterrupted time (hopefully) to do so you might reach a new perspective or two.

Happy Writing!

Monday, March 25, 2019

Publishing Tips

Are you looking to get published?  Have you been published?  How do I get published?

I get asked those questions many times.  There are several ways to go about getting published.  One of the quickest is to write a Letter to the Editor of you favorite publication whether it be a newspaper, magazine, or online.  Another is to volunteer to write something for a local newsletter.  Yet another is to write for the place where you work if they use writing materials.

If you have a poem or short story or something else you want published, you should search for markets using resources in your local library or look online. Be sure to read the full guidelines and check out the publication before you submit.  You do this so you make sure what you are submitting is a good fit. 

To get books or articles published, you would really do the same thing.  You might even want to submit to literary agencies to see about getting an agent.

It takes a lot of hours to search and find places to send your work.  The reward, though, will be worth it when that first publication credit comes in (and it will!) 

Good Luck!

Artemis at Sunset

As this year begins to come to a close, I thought about one of my favorite things to do: watching sunsets.  While I am often up early enough...