Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Fri, Jan 21 2011
When you only have time to write the best
I've had time to write only five brief items today, so I made certain they were five very items of importance. It's amazing what happens when we put ourselves fully into an experience. Our focus becomes clear and purposeful without being frantic or forced. I think it's what they called "being in the zone" there for awhile, though that phrase has probablly been left in the dust for some newer, more hip expression. Come to think of it, the word "hip" isn't very up-to-the-minute either. I'll just sign off for the week and encourage you to get hip, be in the zone and go write five important items.
posted at: 14:38 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
I've had time to write only five brief items today, so I made certain they were five very items of importance. It's amazing what happens when we put ourselves fully into an experience. Our focus becomes clear and purposeful without being frantic or forced. I think it's what they called "being in the zone" there for awhile, though that phrase has probablly been left in the dust for some newer, more hip expression. Come to think of it, the word "hip" isn't very up-to-the-minute either. I'll just sign off for the week and encourage you to get hip, be in the zone and go write five important items.
posted at: 14:38 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
Tue, Jan 18 2011
Stack, sort, repeat.
It's a good thing I didn't make a New Year's Resolution to be more organized and get more done. I can never figure out how to do both of those things. No matter what anyone tells you, organization takes time. Getting things done also takes time. Dealing with one of those takes away time from dealing with the other one. You can argue the point, of course, but I've seen it in action for decades. Very organized people don't get more work done. They just spend more time organizing than the rest of us do.
What I have determined to do this year is spend a portion of each day on organization. It might be a mere 5 minutes and it might involve putting several stacks of items by a chair to be gone through while I view a little TV in the evening. It might involve taking story notes and putting them together into a story board of sorts. It might involve actually cleaning off one shelf of a cabinet instead of vowing to clean out the whole cabinet and never getting that much time to finish the task.
I'm giving it a year as an experiment. After that? We'll see.
posted at: 07:54 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
It's a good thing I didn't make a New Year's Resolution to be more organized and get more done. I can never figure out how to do both of those things. No matter what anyone tells you, organization takes time. Getting things done also takes time. Dealing with one of those takes away time from dealing with the other one. You can argue the point, of course, but I've seen it in action for decades. Very organized people don't get more work done. They just spend more time organizing than the rest of us do.
What I have determined to do this year is spend a portion of each day on organization. It might be a mere 5 minutes and it might involve putting several stacks of items by a chair to be gone through while I view a little TV in the evening. It might involve taking story notes and putting them together into a story board of sorts. It might involve actually cleaning off one shelf of a cabinet instead of vowing to clean out the whole cabinet and never getting that much time to finish the task.
I'm giving it a year as an experiment. After that? We'll see.
posted at: 07:54 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
Wed, Jan 12 2011
Settings
That word up there would usually refer to story settings, but this time it means something different. We were awakened a little after 1:00am this morning by a chorus of UPS alarms and a very familiar sound of power arcing somewhere. The power was off for about six hours and then was interrupted briefly again late this afternoon. It turned out that the cause was a lone driver who lost control of his vehicle. News reports indicate that he was lighting a cigarette and adjusting his radio while driving and ran into a power pole, which broke off and hit yet another power pole. The runaway vehicle somehow managed to crash near a home and set a tree, the home and itself on fire.
We had at least one small earthquake this evening, centered a bit further inland. The big joke of the evening was that at least the quake wasn't large enough to knock out the power and make us have to set all the clocks for the third time today. (I think you had to be there.)
posted at: 21:41 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
That word up there would usually refer to story settings, but this time it means something different. We were awakened a little after 1:00am this morning by a chorus of UPS alarms and a very familiar sound of power arcing somewhere. The power was off for about six hours and then was interrupted briefly again late this afternoon. It turned out that the cause was a lone driver who lost control of his vehicle. News reports indicate that he was lighting a cigarette and adjusting his radio while driving and ran into a power pole, which broke off and hit yet another power pole. The runaway vehicle somehow managed to crash near a home and set a tree, the home and itself on fire.
We had at least one small earthquake this evening, centered a bit further inland. The big joke of the evening was that at least the quake wasn't large enough to knock out the power and make us have to set all the clocks for the third time today. (I think you had to be there.)
posted at: 21:41 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
Tue, Jan 11 2011
That extended holiday break
I had little intention of taking that much time away from blogging, but it turned out to be a good break. I've caught up on conversation with some great friends from years ago, enjoyed holiday treats and excursions, gone through some stacks of papers and reaped the spiritual benefits one often gains when listening instead of talking. I've also been mentally walking with some old fictional characters who were rambling about in the nooks and crannies of my mind. I think they're almost ready to take their places in a story. It's a good time to live. I hope your year has begun with good health, passion for a purpose and an eagerness to create in one fashion or another.
posted at: 23:37 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
I had little intention of taking that much time away from blogging, but it turned out to be a good break. I've caught up on conversation with some great friends from years ago, enjoyed holiday treats and excursions, gone through some stacks of papers and reaped the spiritual benefits one often gains when listening instead of talking. I've also been mentally walking with some old fictional characters who were rambling about in the nooks and crannies of my mind. I think they're almost ready to take their places in a story. It's a good time to live. I hope your year has begun with good health, passion for a purpose and an eagerness to create in one fashion or another.
posted at: 23:37 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
