Exciting stuff

Written by jamie on June 2nd, 2011

I’ve got some cool stuff going on in life right now. Which is cool… cause I’ve let myself get burdened down by so much lately. It’s nice to have stuff to look forward to.

First thing is that I may have some “guest posts” on another blog soon. I’ve written before about James Barnett and his work with his organization Clothe Your Neighbor As Yourself. Recently, he posted on Facebook that he was looking for people that might be willing to contribute to the Clothe Your Neighbor As Yourself blog. I responded, and soon had an e-mail in my inbox that said he was thrilled that I wanted to be a part of it. Sweet! So now I have homework. In fact, I have two blogs that I have to get to him tomorrow. One of them is done and the other is still being fine-tuned. I feel like I’m writing term papers. Stay tuned for those postings, and in the meantime, check out the blog and the other guest writers that will be featured there.

The other exciting thing is one that I’m practically squealing about. Jon Acuff, one of my favorite bloggers and authors, recently released his book Quitter, which I blogged about before. The book has sold out on Amazon (I believe it’s available again) and made the Wall Street Journal Best Seller List. The topic is apparently a hot one for a lot of people. Must be a lot of dreamers out there.

Today he announced something exciting on his blog. He will be holding a Quitter conference in July. A full day of finding out how to pursue your dream in a logical, safe, and passionate way. I wanted to go so bad. I e-mailed Drew and he told me to go. And buy my ticket soon, before it filled up. So I did. I bought a ticket for a conference in Nashville. I cannot wait.

Thanks for letting me share my excitement.

 

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Post vacation blahs

Written by jamie on May 31st, 2011

Returning home from vacation always kind of depresses me. Returning to the day-to-day hum drum is so… ho hum. After the gloriousness of vacation, who wants real life again?

In order to help me come down from my vacation high, I wanted to highlight the highlights of the week.

– A BEAUTIFUL cabin in the woods, on top of a mountain.

– A beautiful view. Couldn’t get enough of it.

– A comfy window seat overlooking said view. I spent most of my time here, writing.

– Hot tub. ‘Nough said.

– Intense hail storm for about thirty minutes. We moved the rental car into the garage and then ran from porch to porch taking pictures and video.

– The rain and hail clearing up and clouds and fog forming around the mountains. Beautiful.

– Spending an evening with my old boss and her husband. It was great to catch up.

– Fishing and catching nothing. No tree limbs. No old boot. Nothing. My dad will be so ashamed.

– Driving around fun mountain roads.

– Stuff like this. I love mountain country.

– White water rafting with friends. When the guide found out I had rafted the Nile River, he said, “Holy s*%#! I’ve never known anyone to raft the Nile…” I felt pretty good after that. I was determined not to fall out of the boat, and my abs are still hurting.

What a great week.

 

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Writing progress

Written by jamie on May 26th, 2011

Writing progress is not judged by how many words or pages I write. I am not a writing failure because what I write is not good enough to be read by the public. Every bit of writing is a success, even if it never makes it into a book. Writing practice is important. Just the action of words flowing onto a page is important. The practice of putting words together is important and vital. Taking time to describe the sound of the wind rustling through leaves and how it sounds like soft ocean waves in it’s endless flow… all that is important. I may write 500 words and only 10 of them may be seen. That’s okay.

I’m trying to rest in these simple writing truths.

 

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Memoir challenges

Written by jamie on May 25th, 2011

Since I am working on memoir, pulling inspiration mostly from memories, I am reading through journals. I read through one yesterday, hoping to glean some great details in which to infuse into my writing. Details, not so much, but I was surprised at what did jump out at me.

Insecurities. Helplessness. Naiveté. Unconfident. Icky.

I sent an e-mail to a dear friend yesterday, a fellow writer, and someone who happened to share in most of the memories in which I was reading about. I told her I was beginning to wish I had decided to start with a novel rather than memoir. I feel I’d rather write new characters and new scenarios; beautiful, made up scenes in which I could escape to. It’s difficult to dig into yourself, pulling out all the gunk that you’ve so expertly stuffed for so long. I want authentic, real memories on the paper; I just don’t think I thought about what it might take to get there. This is going to be hard.

So why did I choose memoir to begin writing about? Because I appreciate people that are willing to go deep with you and let you into the most intimate corners of their mind. Those people that are unafraid about what they might emerge with if they go too deep. People that write (or speak) like that earn my trust. I want to earn my reader’s trust. Plus, I believe personal stories ring truer with people. I can take you into a real-life story line and chances are you can relate to all the feelings I might portray on the paper.

I told Drew last night it was tempting to avoid pulling in all the ick to my writing. I’d rather write from the perspective of a self assured post graduate who is certain of her place in life. That might “feel” better but in the end it’s a lie. I need to write from the perspective of a scared, clueless, yet hopeful 20 something. That’s where I was, and that’s what I need to portray.

 

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