Month: December 2018

Writing

Thinking of New Year 2019

carolyncordon

There will be no New Years resolutions for me, and this is why:

Over the final month of 2018 I’ve been thinking about the meaning of words, and how actual meaning can be lost or muted over time, particularly through flippant overuse. New Years resolutions, where many of us put together a list of our worthy resolutions, only to ignore them or willingly break them early in the New Year is one of those words.
A resolution is an intention, something we aim or plan to do. But no matter how worthy this intention or resolution may be, so many of us easily and quickly throw that New Years idea to the winds, and just go back to our bad habits of previous times. We eat, drink, smoke, work, too much even though we’d resolved not to, or we don’t do the  exercise or good works we had written down as a New Years resolution.
Is the problem one of semantics perhaps, and maybe stripping it back to bare basics might be better, is what I’ve decided. Some circumstances demand that you drink more than usual, or have another smoke, or don’t do that exercise program. Life can be a problem, trying to fit in or take out various things, and worthy pursuits we had resolved to do, go undone.
This is a shame, but hey, that’s what life is sometimes, isn’t it?
That’s why this year, I’m going to do it differently. This year I won’t have a list of intentions, or resolutions. This year, this year I won’t resolve to itdo anything anything, and then not do it, there’s it’s happened many other years. Instead, this year I simply declare this. This year I WILL BE the BEST person I can be.
It’s as simple as that, it’s as widespread as that. In everything I do, every decision, action, or choice I make, will be the BEST I can do!
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This will be dependant on how I am feeling, and what I am doing, but I am promising right here, to anyone visiting this blog, that everything I do in 2019 WILL BE the BEST person I can be. I will write the best words I can, I will be a caring and useful community member. I will give my all to every thing I do. My life will be a shining example of the the Best I can do, at every given moment.
There will be times when my BEST may not measure up to much, but it will truthfully be the BEST I am able to do at that time. I am not a super person, I am living with a chronic illness, but I am also well looked after, and have great family and friends. I have no excuses for not doing my BEST I can, and I therefore WILL DO MY BEST!
I will do my best writing, I hope to publish at least two books in 2019 (or at least have them written and ready to be published in that year). These books are a children’s picture book, a chapter book for middle to upper primary school level, a chap book if not a poetry collection, and the next book in the Buster the Dog series, which will be a book written with my friend and fellow writer Janette Menhennet, who is writing with McTavish the Cat! Fun times for sure, and I’m looking forward to getting this book ready and seeing any illustrations that will be done by my usual illustrator, Ally Hean!
2019 will be my BEST year ever, in many ways, and I look forward to putting out information about my writing in 2019, to keep everyone up to date!
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Thinking about Memories

carolyncordon

memories are precious reminders of the good times, and/or needed reminders about the bad times perhaps. At the moment, the idea of memories is very much in my mind, and I remember a favourite uncle of mine who died very recently. Denis McGill was my mother’s much-loved brother, as well as being a published writer who had many friends in the writing world of South Australia and beyond.

The news of his death has prompted people to remember him, in fond ways. He as a good bloke, and everyone liked him. He has one poem, that many people know of, and that poem which I am almost certain is titled “Orange Trumpet Vine”, will live on in the memories of many of us, family and writers both.

That idea of living on after our death is possible one of the big reasons many people write, to be remembered through their words after their death. Being well-known, having people remember who you are is an important thing, when you are a writer. If people know or know of you, it is more likely you might be considered in people and groups need a speaker.

And if you are a writer, it’s important to be a speaker too. Writing might be your main thing, but speaking words is important too, to keep your name in people’s minds. Being accomplished as a speaker as well as writer means you will get more book sales, or have your books  borrowed from libraries.

I have written a poem today, in honour of my uncle, and share it here for you to read.

Orange Trumpet Vine – remembering my Uncle Denis

Sad but not sad
sad because
that’s the way
these things are
with grief
but not sad because
memories
are brought out
polished up
made beautiful again
and those memories
are becoming lore
one orange trumpet vine
at a time
and he will surely live on
as long as our memories
allow him and his words
to live on
in our minds
in our hearts
in our stories
in our memories
of that orange trumpet vine
and so much more …

I know there will be many people at my Uncle Denis’s funeral, which is happening in a few days time. There will be hugs and tears too, and that Orange Trumpet Vine will be mentioned, for sure, as well as his quiet good humour, and gentle ways. He wasn’t a shouter, demanding attention, but with is words, he was able to grab your attention, for sure.

Thank you for everything Uncle Denis.

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Do I Need A Mentor?

carolyncordon

I am an author, with seven books published. I still make sales of some of those books, in fact I sold one of them yesterday, at an event I attended. And I get book sales often of the website of the publisher of my first book published by an actual publishing company.

When I make a new sale in person, I still get a big buzz out of doing the ‘signed by the author’ thing. I proves to the critic inside my head that, yes, I am an author, you doubter! Book signing is what authors do, therefore if I am signing a book I wrote then I am a real author.

But my car has unsold copies of some of my self-published books. More copies than I’d like left still. But when the right time comes, I will find the best home for all of those books, and I will personally, and gladly sign every copy!

I know I can do a lot more than I already am, to raise my author profile, speak more in public, and be known more widely as an interesting person to hear speaking. I have many themes I have valid opinions on. I know much about living well with dogs, creative writing, finding peace in life, having a happy marriage, and about living well with Multiple Sclerosis too.

Ask me about any of these things, and many others and I can talk interestingly about them. Or if you have things troubling you, I will listen in an engaged way, and offer assistance to you if you ask for it. I know sometimes the best listener is just a caring person who will just listen, with no blame or judgement, simply listen. I have been that person on many occasions, and I know I have helped others in this way.

Helping others is a good thing to do, and that is why I do it when I can. Communities need people like that, and people like that love their community, so they are happy to play that part when they can. A good Society is made up of good communities, and good communities have good people doing the good things.

In my days of connecting with my communities, I have met many good people, and I am making a list of some of these good people, ‘movers and shakers’ in a bigger way than I am currently, and I am going to find ways to connect with these people in informal ways, with them as informal mentors, assisting me in ways that can increase my skills, and help me to be better known as someone who has opinions worth hearing.

Writing creatively helps me to work through the thoughts in my head, and I know I am able to learn more about myself and others through writing about myself, and what I see around me. I also know I am able to assist others in doing the same thing, with the thoughts they have inside their heads … simple and honest encouragement, combined with careful critiquing are fine tools to help others create beautiful words.

I have a good life, I want to use my skills to help others have good lives too.