DECEMBER DJ

December DJ

We're back after taking Sunday off!

DECEMBER DJ

DECEMBER

DIA DE LOS MUERTAS - AN IWSG POST

I have to concede that it’s only fair if you begin to refer to me as ADL&ADS – a day late and a dollar short. I admit to having been overwhelmed lately, especially during the month of October. A quick trip to La La Land, winter coming much too quickly to my part of the world, and then Halloween was a bit much for me to keep up with. Yeah, I’m that kind of a light-weight.

At any rate, I had promised myself to post each month for the IWSG no matter what, so here I am even if a little less than timely. I know I read what the ‘suggested’ question of the month was, but for the life of me, I can’t remember. Since its November 1-2 I would like to talk about something else.

Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead

Día de los Muertos — also known as “Día de Muertos,” or “Day of the Dead” in English — is a holiday with Mexican origins that is celebrated on November 1 - 2. While some imagery might be close to that of Halloween, there are significant differences between the two. Día de los Muertos is a day to celebrate death — or, more specifically, the deceased — while on Halloween, death is seen as something to be feared. Día de los Muertos has both indigenous origins from the Aztec festival for Mictecacihuatl, The Lady of The Dead, and Catholic origins  from the Spanish conquistadors’ All Saints and All Souls Day.

In my life celebrating the dead was not unusual although my family has neither Mexican nor Aztec origins. When I was a young adult I remember my father asked me if I knew who’s birthday it was on a given day, and then he would proceed to tell it was my great-grandmothers or some other distant long-dead relative. As a young adult I thought that was weird, but then a lot of things about my family and my upbringing in general were kind of weird. Today, as a much older person I find myself remembering my parents, and other close friends and relative who have long left this world on their birthdays, death dates, and other significant times. It seems only natural. Is that weird, or am I merely a product of my environment.

Something even weirder is that it seems in almost everything I write someone and often multiple characters die or are dead. As writers we are told to ‘kill our darlings’, but I’m pretty sure this is not meant literally. So, my question to you today is…Is this too weird? Is it a complete downer if the MC dies at the end of the story, even if that’s they was it was ‘meant to be’? Can you see the possibility for romance, even if it is a tragic love story? I’m just not sure.

I hope that I handle it delicately and my deaths are not gratitutious, but I have to admit I can’t seem to help myself. Not every one of my characters are destined to die, but many do.

This is my IWSG Post for the month of November. If you want to know more and read other, quite possibly more interesting posts please go HERE.

Please take the time to thank Mr Alex J. Cavanaugh and those who help him continue this blog hope each month. For this overwhelmed writer it at least, helps me keep my head and hand in the blogging world.

"YOU DON'T KNOW HOW IT FEELS" - AN IWSG POST

Hi guys. Miss me? It's been quite some time since I posted here. I even thought maybe I was through with blogging. Not saying I'm planning on returning on any sort of regular basis, but I am going to try to post at least once a month for the IWSG. Well, let's say the only thing I know for sure is that...I'm gonna post this month for the IWSG.

I guess we don't often think of most musicians as writers. Of course they write music and if we're really lucky some incredible lyrics. I suppose technically they are called lyricists, but for  my money we're all just writers of one creative sort or another.

If you know me or think you know me, or if you've only come around here occasionally you know that my favorite musician/writer of all time is Tom Petty. This past summer, right smack dab in the middle of my move from Nevada to Idaho I was taken to see him perform in person at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. Not the ideal time for a road trip, but what are ya gonna do. Tickets were purchased and let me tell you the cost was almost obscene, but in the grand scheme of life, 'it's only money'. This is when it really pays off to be 'the girl'. Anyway there was no way I was gonna miss this concert. AND, IT WAS TERRIFIC.

When Tom sang 'Wildflowers', I promise you it was just for me. Red Rocks is an outdoor venue and one of the best, in my opinion. As usual it poured rain. There are no alt dates so the musicians take cover and the audience just waits out the storm and enjoys the 'light show' playing out over the prairie. When Tom and the Heartbreakers came back they played about twice a long as planned to give us our money's worth, because he was that kinda guy. Do I need to tell you how glad I am that I didn't miss this show?

Tom Petty wrote my life in his songs. I know a lot of people say that about musicians, but this is uncannily true. I participated in a meme a while back titled 'My Life According to..." you can find it HERE. The one and only time I participated in the A - Z Challenge my 'W' post included Mr. Petty's "Wildflowers". You can find that one HERE (if you have limited time, read this one, it's one of my better memoir pieces). My writing has all been inspired by music and great lyrics, much of it Mr. Petty's.

I had a recent conversation with a blogger friend, in person, about writing We had an interesting weekend with a lot of brainstorming and some good advice. I also recently joined a new writers group here in Idaho, which I hope will prove fruitful, but nothing helps me as much as music.

I've backed away from blogging, because I really do want to devote more time to serious writing. I have a two book series of what I hope won't be more than three completed, and have set a personal goal to finish the third and work hard to have the publication process (traditional) at least in it's earliest stage by June of 2018. Easy feat for a procrastinator like myself, eh?

 I have decided to take all the writing advice and throw it to the four winds. I'm not sure where I'm going in the last book and not exactly sure where my story ends, but I do believe that as I begin to write my characters will tell me. After all it's their story not mine. They are only lending it to me for the telling. My goal is to be good enough, strong enough, inventive enough to tell it properly. Believe it or not, I have confidence I can do this.

Losing Mr. Petty at such a young age(yeah 66 is pretty damn young - see, I'm older than most of you probably think) and the recent events that have proved just how cheap life in an advanced country like the US really is, or at least should be, a wake up call for us all. It's my goal to take the time to 'write good stories' . What about you?

To Mr Petty and his family I want to say thank you, Tthank you for putting my life to music. Thank you for giving me the inspiration in my ear to complete the work I want to do.Thank you for being an extraordinary writer who also exhibited pure musicianship. You Tom 'belong among the wildflowers, You belong in a boat out at sea, Sail sway, kill off the hours, You belong somewhere you feel free.' If you meet Mickey have him tell you his stories and maybe one day we can all sit down together and listen as you put them to song.

Probably not what you guys were expecting in an IWSG post, but I gotta go where my heart takes me. To read more and probably better posts go HERE. Take the time to thank the admins, especially Mr. Alex Cavanaugh for their efforts in keeping this forum going. I do appreciate you guys.

IWSG - WHAT I'VE LEARNED SO FAR

Here we are at the first Wednesday of the month, or in other words IWSG Day and I'm not prepared AGAIN. YIKES! LET ME EXPLAIN...

Back on May 22 I left my home at Lake Tahoe to make a move to Idaho. For the past seven weeks I've been staying with family. It has been an adventure. Idaho is not completely foreign to me (I lived here sever years ago), but it is a place I thought I would never return to for more than a visit. Anyway, things have been a bit today-turvey for a while now, I am moving into my own place onFriday and hopefully will be able to settle in and have a more normal live back. Ha, ha, ha! Like I would know a normal life if it bit me in the butt.

The IWSG QUESTION of the month is something like "What have you learned since you started writing?" I'm gonna tell you what I've learned about writing and life in the last seven weeks. Family is important. They can drive you nuts and even take incredible advantage of you (kind of like I have been for the past seven weeks), but in the end they love you and take care of you in a fashion that most others won't even attempt. Now when it comes to writing, family can provide you with some of the best fodder for your imagination. Whether you're writing a memoir: where family and family reminisces are of the utmost importance, or just creating characters for a totally fiction piece, your family and their nuances can be of tremendous value.

My advice to each and everyone of you...value your family. If you've had a falling out with one or more of them make amends and do what you can to build a bridge. If you live far apart make an effort to stay in touch, regularly. Life is shorter than you think and I promise you, one day you will be wishing to have a nice sit down with a family member who is no longer with you.

Having said that, today is my mother's birthday. She is no longer with me and has been gone for quite some time (38 years). I was much too young to lose her when I did, but that's life or the absence of it, I guess. Love love you Momma and I miss you every day of my life.

Now get yourself on over to the IWSG site where you can find the list to visit other participants and see what they have to say. Unfortunately, I'm still having computer problems and working on a iPad, which is way smarter than me and won't let me make the link. But, I trust you're smarter than this dumb blonde and can find it without my help.

Enjoy my parents song.