ME NO NANO

Well here we at the end of October 2012 and writers all over the world are getting ready to participate in NaNoWriMo, but not me. I’m a little bummed. I had such a great time last year that I thought nothing could stop me from participating again this year, but alas I am not prepared.

OK, I admit it, I’m a wuss. I let life kick me to the curb in 2011. A nasty health issue and life in general. Sometimes, I think maybe I feel things too deeply. Maybe I lack something essential to ‘take it on the chin’ and keep on going. I don’t know, but I do know that I’m vertical now and gonna try to stay that way.

For a minute I thought maybe I can come up with a small nugget of an idea and apply some pressure, you know, write to a prompt. Writing 50,000 big ones to a single prompt with no outline… probably not. Still hopeful, I asked a friend for ideas and although I did get a pretty good one, my friend also asked if I was a writer or a wanna be; and if I thought of myself as a writer, why didn’t I spend November getting last year’s project up and running and out the door, instead of hiding behind a new project. I got the message. I didn’t particularly like it, but it was true, I was hiding out.

So, I dug out my note from another blogger who is brave enough to think they might want to be my CP. Of course, when I started to send them a note, I remembered that they live on the Jersey Shore (are you kidding me?), so we probably aren’t going to connect for awhile, but I sent that email anyway.

I have a few pages of critiques from various contests that I won, so I have a place to start. Wish me luck. I’m gonna see this through to publication.

Also, I want to wish a whopping GOOD LUCK to all of you who are prepared enough and participating in NaNo, this year. I sincerely hope it’s as good for you as it was for me in 2011. Hang in there. You can do it!

Measuring Goodness

We can’t measure our goodness by what we don’t do; by

what we deny ourselves, what we resist, and who we exclude.

We should measure goodness by what we embrace, what we create,

and who we include.

Pere Henri…CHOCOLAT

As I find myself struggling with various ideologies, looking for answers and trying to find the truth; as often as not, those truths are spoken by a fictional character in a book, play or movie.

Resistance, denial, and exclusion certainly don’t seem the way to a happy life. I do believe that man is that he might find and have joy and yet the world would have us believe differently. I found this the other day, can’t say that I disagree:

Currently I'm guilty of two and seriously guilty of a third. Probably not what you're thinking. I admit to having a problem with RAMBLING CONVERSATIONS. I love em. I love it when someone is willing to talk to me about anything and everything. Honestly, I'm good a rambling.

INSECURE WRITERS SUPPORT GROUP

Here we are at another first Wednesday of a new month and it’s INSECURE WRITERS SUPPORT GROUP. What am I insecure about today? It might be easier to ask; what am I NOT insecure about today? But, that’s another post entirely.

I live on an island in the Caribbean. Like a lot of islands we have no water source. No rivers streams or lakes (it’s also a very small island). We depend on rain to sustain us. All structures are built with water collection in mind. Each is equipped with a cistern to hold the reserves. Some cisterns are as primitive as a barrel at the corner points of a roof line and others, like the one in the house where I live, are intricate, and empty into a concrete vault below the house designed to hold thousands of gallons.

Normally, during the ‘rainy season’ the cisterns fill and we draw on them throughout the drier winters, when the skies reign crystal clear blue with nary a cloud in sight. This year, like so many places around the globe, we are experiencing a drought. Not that anyone is complaining that the large storms (hurricanes) have all been ‘fish storms’ (they are doing their climatic job of cooling things off, while not coming in contact with land masses), but a few days of rain would be appreciated. The cisterns are dropping and many have already run dry. Of course you can buy water, but it comes at a price that most cannot afford

I’ve heard it said that weather, especially dramatic weather is the great equalizer. No matter how rich you are you cannot change what God has decreed. Of course, the rich can purchase their water, but they cannot bring the rains. The rest of us, wait and pray. We wait on God’s mercy learning patience and humility at the Master’s plan. As we pray we develop a more profound relationship with our Father in Heaven. As our prayers are answered we learn to look toward the ‘living water’ of his mercy, love and grace. It’s amazing what a little humility can do for you.

To God our insecurities are like those weights we lift to build our muscles. They truly do serve the purpose to make us stronger, better and ultimately draw us closer to Him. I have found the best way to become more secure is not necessarily to plow through my insecurities but to lay them down before my Lord and Savior, Jesus  Christ and let him shine his light on the path I should take to leave them fully behind.

Probably not what you might have expected from me today, but as I find myself on a journey that I know not where it will lead, I find the only way through this maze of life is to trust the light that shines forth from Christ. For each of you today who might read this, I pray that you will find God’s love and peace and the ability to lay down your insecurities before his son. If it is that you don’t believe that God does live, no matter, He loves you anyway and always.

To learn more about IWSG, or to read other interesting posts click on the badge over there in the side bar.

TALK LIKE A PIRATE

As I rolled over in me king sized bunk earl-I in this morning and gazed out over me bounteously beautiful turquoise Sea of the Caribe, I began to wonder, why am I thinking in these strange language patterns. I reached for me trusty iPhone in search of some answers.

While spying the blogs of some of me favorite buccaneers I dropped anchor for awhile at me good mate Donnas’ harbor  Weaving a Tale or Two to find, to my great pleasure, I might add, that I did not suffer some strange brain and speech anomaly whilst I did sleep, but that today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. It is actually the 10^th Annual Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Arrgh! Me Hardies, you heard that correctly. Today is your one chance all year to talk like a pirate and be totally approved by his high holiness of the written comedy Mr. Dave Barry. TLAPD is not the brainchild of Mr. Barry, but its authors did contact him and he endorsed it heartily. As in ‘Shiver me timbers…what a great notion.’

Seeing that I live on an island in the Caribbean and I can almost see Captain Morgan’s ship makin’ the point at Buck Island, it’s time to man the nine pounders and make like a pirate, at least in the lingo. To find out all you need to know and watch an authentic pirate video click HERE

On my island we like any excuse for a holiday and this is as good as any. So, go on out into the world today and amaze your colleagues, friends and family and Talk like a Pirate to your heart’s content, or you may be ‘keel hauled’ for the not tryin.

Genre Favorites Blogfest

Today is Alex Cavanaugh's 'Genre Favorites Blogest. In a more perfect world or at least with a more perfect blogger you would be able to click on that badge and get right to the source and all the details of this particular blogfest. But, what you have here is me, so, to get the 'down and dirty' and see the linky list for other participants click HERE

If you come to this space often, you know that I have been posting less than regularly (there's a under statement). I signed up for this blogfest thinking it would help me get back into the swing of things now I'm simply thinking; 'what was I thinking?'

Anyway... the point here is for the participants , that's me, to list our favorites in three different genres,

Movies

Music

Books

And

A guilty pleasure genre from any of the three categories

Of course, this morning, my mind is a blank.

MOVIES

I have to go with 'Love Stories'. My favorite movie of all time is 'Life is Beautiful'. I see this movie as the most incredible love story on several different levels. The main character feels and expresses romantic love most beautifully (as maybe, only an Italian could) and he goes a long way in demonstrating his love for his family. Probably most important is the fact that he loves life. Often in great love stories we see the Protagonist as willing to die for those that he loves, but Guido is willing to live for them and this he does with every fiber of his being.

MUSIC

Gospel Music. It has to be Gospel Music. There are a lot of individual favorites, but here's a medley that I found that should give you a good example of what I'm talkin' 'bout. I don't care what you believe, or what type of music you enjoy, you have got to feel something when you listen to this stuff. At the end when those women sing 'every knees shall bow and every tongue confess', holy carp, I'm about brought to my knees.

Medley Old School Gospel Music

BOOKS

This is the hardest category for me, I read a lot and a lot of everything. I have to admit it's not all good, it's not all uplifting or thought provoking, but I do like to read and I don't watch TV. I guess I'm gonna cheat and do what another blogger did (YES, I checked out a few of the posts before I wrote mine, not surprised are you?) and list my lest favorite genre to read. That would probably be horror or anything gory. For awhile I was reading a lot of Civil War non-fiction and had to give it up due to the gore. Seems just about anything historical is filled with it. Kinda makes you wonder who we human beings really are becoming. 

GUILTY PLEASURE

Why is this category so easy. It has got to be Rock Music. Not really hard rock, although sometimes that's OK, not really Pop Music, but that's alright too, but 'old school rock and roll', not exactly Elvis, but let's at least get back to the seventies. If you come around here much at all, you have got to know I love 'Van the Man Morrison'. Oh and I love the 'old' Surf Music - think Beach Boys and I was a die-hard Jan and Dean fan in my youth. (Just dated myself again didn't I - Oh, what the heck). Hey I even like me a little country.

Now take one of them rock and roll or country artists and give him a gospel tune to sing and I'm done for. I'll leave you with a song that has some great personal meaning to me.

Now get back up to the top and click on that Linky List to see what other bloggers have to say. Oh, and Thank You Alex for moving me a little bit further out of my shell today.

STILL CRAZY?

Just in case anybody is wondering, the answer is yes, I'm still crazy. Today you can check that out over at Arlee Bird's blog 'A Faraway View', click on the little stars *****

Mr Bird is crazy kind enough to turn his space over to me today. Go ahead, go on over and check it out. No need to linger around here. Leave your comments over there too, that way I can hide the evidence later of just how completely nuts talented I am.

One thing for certain Arlee and I are both FarAway!

Insecure Writers Support Group

IWSG

Is it that time already? Where did the summer go? Of course, I live in the land of perpetual summer, but that’s beside the point. 

Anyway…onto today’s topic; Am I insecure? You bet. As a matter of fact I’m so insecure that there isn’t much I can say to you as either encouragement or venting my troubles.

INSTEAD, I would like to direct you to two incredible posts that I read earlier this week. Neither is really about insecurities, but they sure did help me sort some things out.

 FIRST, head on over to Jay Noel's space. Just click here
Are you at all surprised that I was touched by a post titled 'Be Water, My Friend'.

NEXT, go on over to Lori Freeland's blog by clicking here This post 'Parking Lot Prayer' is a little different than Jay's and yet it touched me and my insecurities deeply.

I apologize if this is taking the easy way out this month, but I sincerely thank Jay and Lori for the support and inspiration. While you there, tell 'em I sent you and leave a little note.

I might not know where the commas go, but I do know what touches my heart. 

For more inspiration and help dealing with insecurities go on over to the right and click on that little ole button and check out some of the other Insecure Writers. OR, click below and have a big helping of Van the Man.