Think Fast and Pain a Picture With Your Words!

Quick! What's the first thing you think of when I say the word GRASSHOPPER? Write a sentence about the image that popped into your mind's eye!

I'll go first: Hundreds of reckless grasshoppers jumped into the path of the tractor just in time to live another second!

Playing With Words!

I have fun with facebook because it's quick and easy. I share pictures of my family, my horses, my dogs and all other kinds of things there. Yesterday I shared an idea or rather a thought that was rattling through my mind.

I wondered (on facebook) if riding my horse in the pitch black darkness of night was comparable to dancing in the rain. One person (Anne/Sasha) commented that it reminded her of the word games we use to play here. After that comment, my mind was really on a roll. I wanted to have fun wallowing in the joy of words again.

After that, I got an email from a friend that was about perspective. I thought about that a lot which gave me more pause.

To some, dancing in the rain would be horrible...like swimming in a swamp and getting tangled up in muddy muck. To others (like me) just the thought of dancing in the rain makes me feel passionate and free.

Here it comes! How would you finish this sentence: Dancing in the rain is as good as (or as bad as)_______.

By the way...riding in the pitch black darkness of night is right up there with dancing in the rain barefooted. It's all about perspective really.

Celery and Carrots!

I'm writing this post from San Antonio, Texas. I am here with my sister who had surgery on Monday. Things are going well for her so I expect to be home this weekend but thought it would be a good opportunity to reach out to you about another writing adventure. Yes, it was only a few weeks ago when I told you I had writer's block. Bottom line is that I really didn't have any block at all except one of thoughtlessness.

I really was writing, I just wasn't writing to meet a deadline or to earn income. I had forgotten to practice what I preach...write for the sheer pleasure and joy of writing.

So, here's what I want to tell you: I have started a blog (that I may have mentioned before) about eating http://celeryandcarrots.blogspot.com and would like to establish a network of people who struggle with dieting or eating disorders or any kind. If that's you, please stop by and visit. If that's not you, please consider sharing my site with others that you know. After all writing IS writing and it's the best form of communication I know for therapy and networking!

Icing on the Cake

I got the icing on the cake and I didn't do a darn thing. Well at least I didn't do anything worthy of icing. I received notification in the mail that McGraw-Hill is requesting an extension of rights to a story of mine that they used in a reader ten years ago. They want to renew the rights for another ten years. That's money in my pocket without the thrill of writing anything new.

Good grief! I just be singing from the rooftops not wallowing in the fact that my work wasn't newly created or inspired from an idea that left me sleepless for nights on end. Right now for me icing on the cake is just a carbohydrate overload...go figure!

Deep breath. Deep breath. Okay. I really am happy that my story was good enough to be published over and over again. I'll start counting my blessings right now!

I Distorted the Facts!

I love this. Mark Twain said, "Get the facts first then you can distort them as you please."

I just figured out what the fact is for me. I am writing and I'm writing a lot. Because I'm not getting paid I forgot that I was writing. I just remembered what writing is all about. It's about loving the way that words flow onto the paper. It's about wallowing around with words and not caring about a beginning or an end. It's about being excited and smiling while I'm typing. I'm smiling and I'm excited. Glory Hallelujah!

Boy did I ever distort things. Writing is not about being paid. It's about feeling passionate about stories in my heart and my mind. I'm feeling passionate.

Getting paid again will be icing on the cake!

I'm Writing!

On Sunday we went to a family gathering and I was inspired to write. I had the opportunity to talk to a young man who used to be extremely overweight. His name is Keith and we're related by marriage but mostly we're friends. At any rate, over the past few years Keith has shed many many pounds and has become one of the fittest people I know. He doesn't diet. He eats. He jokingly said, "I'd just like to eat out of my garden for a year and blog about it on a daily basis."

Suddenly a light bulb went off in my head. I've struggled with foods and dieting all my life. I'm not unhappy with the way I look...especially for my age...and yet I can't stop trying to starve myself. Of course not eating never works anyway but that's beside the point. When I saw the light, I felt the thrill that I used to feel when I began a writing project. I'm going to journal about eating for a year, I thought to myself. Win, lose, or draw after a year's time I'm going to be honest with myself and you. My goal is to eat myself healthy and strong and I am going to need all the help I can get. So please come visit me at celeryandcarrots.blogspot.com I know I'm not the only one who wants to eat!

I'll still be writing here too so stay tuned!

Reading!

In the midst of my writer's block I began to do something I haven't done for a very long time. I began to read. I've read and read and read and read. It seems I can't read enough. And as I'm reading ideas keep popping into my mind about how I can create children's books from themes I'm reading in my adult thrillers. Lee Childs has become my new favorite author. His books are causing me to lose sleep. I hang onto each and every word while I think about my childhood friends and how we always had a "detective club" going on.

My last name was Jones. My best friend's last name was Taylor. Somehow I think the JoTay Sisters is a series STILL waiting to happen.

And while the series is still churing in my mind I've switched gears a little bit. Right now I'm reading Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway. This has really been a good summer for me. What are you reading and what would you suggest?

I Humble Myself Before You...

After a lull of three months I posted on my blog for animal lovers http://animaltalk4u.blogspot.com . Even though I was posting out of a need for help, I realized how much I miss writing with all of you. I'm tired of doing writing exercises and I'd just like to talk to you about the ups and downs of writing.

Right now, I have writer's block. It's really never happened to me before and I don't know why it has now. I'm busy, but that's nothing new. Ideas come to me, but I don't sit down and write. What's up with that??? Clients even owe me money and I'm not sending invoices. What is my problem?

In short, for a while I just want to talk to you. Hope that's okay. For starters, I've always written books for young readers. If I can get it together, I'd like to write a mystery for tweens. That's as far as I've gotten with a writing endeavor. For me, that's really unusual. Thanks for listening to my tale of woe....Jan

Our Quote - Beauty

Beauty can mean so many things. To some, it's the outward appearance of a person. To others, it's the inward beauty that shines. It might be a resplendent flower on a spring day or the drizzle of rain on a spring morning.

What is beauty to you? Define beauty.


I'll go first:

Beauty is the wrinkly skin of a newborn baby and and the shaky legs of a newborn foal.

Your turn....

Our Quotes - Life and Wisdom

Continuing on with our list of quotes, finish the sentence below. I think this is one that we should fill in with the first thought that comes to our minds!

Before I leave this earth I have to......