Month: October 2020

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A Writer’s Work …

carolyncordon

Today I have been well aware of the novel I am wanting to write. The book is sitting in a part of my brain, waiting to leap into action, as soon as I settle down to write it. I want to write the book, I feel very fond of my characters, and am keen to have the book finished, and move onto the next book in the series.

But instead of writing that novel, I have instead spent time today doing other things. Some of those things are the things that we all must do, eating, household things, exercise. We must do these things to be a member of the household we live in.

Another of the things I have done today is definitely related to being a writer, but it is not writing that book, or any other new poem or short story. Today I have worked on putting together a flyer for myself as a Speaker and Presenter.

This is a very important part of my Writer’s life. If I can speak or present workshops to people, I will have the opportunity, perhaps, to sell copies of my own books, as well as perhaps getting payment for these presentations.

Some people have a fear of public speaking, I most definitely don’t! I may have been shy as a child and teenager, but I’ve certainly made up for that ever since I grew up!

So that has been my day so far. Other aspects of my writing related life over involvement with my writing group, editing a monthly community newsletter, and getting out and about, living a life and gain inspiration from my life and from Nature, too.

Being involved takes away time to write, but it can add much to my writing, to anyone’s writing. The more a person knows about things, the greater range of interesting things they can write about.

xxxxx

Back again, I’ve just been out to the backyard, and watered the plants out there that need it, as requested by my husband. He’s been busy doing other things around the yard, it would have been churlish of me to refuse to do anything. I may have a disability, but there are still many things I’m easily able to do!

Our garden in the backyard is a place of inspiration to me too, after all!

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Public Speaker, Workshop Presenter …

carolyncordon

I have been a poet and writer of prose, as well as a blogger for quite some years now, but the life of being a Public Speaker, in any big way, has long eluded me. But now, oh now, I feel that is all about to change.

I have a disability, Multiple Sclerosis, OH how sad, right? Not really, it’s under control with medication and lifestyle actions, from diet, to exercise, as well as working to live as stress-free and positive life as I can. It seems to be working, I haven’t had a relapse for quite some time. I know, though, that one could hit me at any time.

I was diagnosed with MS back in 2010, ten years ago, so it’s something I know quite a bit about. I’ve also been interested in dogs, in a few different ways, dogs as pets, showing dogs, breeding purebred dogs, doing obedience training too, in a minor way. And writing about dogs, in both serious, and amusing ways, with three books so far, about a dog who lives in my mind, named Buster the Dog!

Not Buster the Dog, but our Dog, Missy, with her little friend Herman the German.

Gardening is an interesting thing in my life too, and I’m currently getting assistance to get my place made safer for me, and with better quality of life. This is paid for by the government, via the NDIS, and I am grateful for that, or I will be once it is all finished.

I also have lived experience of child sexual and other sexual abuse, fortunately from a much earlier time in my life, my life now is much happier. I have a poetry collection I put together when I was in the healing process of becoming more settled in my life over the things that had happened to me, victim to survivor, and now I can say I am thriving.

So my way of getting through life has relied very much on using my words to heal myself, to entertain others, to explore my life, and the lives of others. And I love to speak to people! Sitting down in small groups and chatting, standing up with a microphone and speaking to a crowd, I love it!

So now, I have a support worker, paid for by NDIS, and she and I are looking to find speaking engagements for me. I give her possible groups I could speak to, and she is working toward getting gigs booked. She will assist me too, once I actually get engagements, by carrying my books I will bring, for possible sales, and book signing, fun times!

And soon, the writing group I’m involved with will be holding its monthly writing workshop, and poetry reading, and I am going to be one of the two workshop presenters, hooray! I will be talking about some forms of poetry, the other presenter another one and some tips of getting small poetry forms published in a particular magazine she has been published in, an Australian one.

I definitely feel like my life, even in these awful Covid times, is heading in a good direction.

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Life, the same, but very, very different too …

carolyncordon

I suspect this blog post is likely to have a bit of a Stoic angle to it, but that’s OK, in fact it’s a good thing. Looking at life from a Stoic angle, when things are looking pear-shaped is probably the best way to look at life, in troubling times. And these certainly are troubling times.

Writing about it here, on my writing blog makes sense though, because, well, this is where I have the most followers, and I’m hoping what I write will be worth reading for others. And a note to any newcomers to Stoic Thought – being a Stoic does not mean one must live a boring, life, with no emotional actions happening. It simply means one will accept the good, and the bad things too, and deal with them in the best way you can.

And that ‘best way you can’, doesn’t just mean best for you, it means best for you, your family and friends, your community and the entire world. So obviously, being a good Stoic is a big thing, if you’re doing it all well. I don’t imagine I will ever have a huge impact on the entire world, but if the call goes out for me, I’ll be there, doing my Stoic best!

Is writing a Stoic thing? Being a poet and writer, fiction and non fiction, books, a community newsletter, blogging. Some of it is at the more flippant end of things, some more serious. I have had lots of fun times with family and friends in my life, but I have had some terrible things happen too. Such is the way of our lives. Good and bad, and yes, if we wish to live our best possible life, we must find ways to handle all of it, and do it well.

One of my blogs talks about sexual abuse, and another of them talks of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Both of these things have been in my life. The sexual abuse happened when I was a child and teen, the MS has been with me since I was diagnosed with it in 2010, and unless there is a cure found, it will be with me forever.

I have thought long about these things, and written about them in my creative writing, firstly with the poetry collection, https://damagedchildrenpreciousgems.wordpress.com/ and more recently, https://mickjaneandme.wordpress.com/ These two books have been great and therapeutic for me, allowing me to examine things in ways where I control what is happening, and looking from a variety of different points of view. I am a firm believer in these therapeutic possibilities from creative writing. I know that other people have found help in these books, and I am glad of that.

In fact, one of my best life things to do, I suspect, would be to assist others to travel from victim to survivor, and then further, to being one who is thriving in life. This is a possible thing, I am living proof of it. I have good family and friends who love and care about me, I have a safe and secure home, with enough money available to go on living here, easily and well.

I am not held back by my Chronic Illness, and for that, I can thank both my excellent medication, and the lifestyle choices I have adopted – reduce stress, increase healthy eating, get some exercise into my life, and go on thinking about my life in positive, rather than negative ways. There are bad things in life, yes, but I am going well, and helping others to do the same, when and if I can.

So this year, 2020, was going to be the year of Great things, with the whole 2020 Vision vibe of life, but then Covid-19 came along. Did I let that make me close down, and hide away from the virus? NO! I decided what I might be able to do, to help others think about how they were doing, and how things may be improved, perhaps.

Before the year was half over, I had put out a call for submissions in response to Covid-19, and very soon I had collected a goodly number of works from around the world. I was thrilled with what I had collected, and I was encouraged to forward this ‘anthology’ to a publisher that I know, to have the anthology professionally published, if possible. I’m currently waiting to hear back from the publisher, and whether they accept this book or not, I intend to launch the anthology at the Gawler and Adelaide Plains Festival of Words, in late July 2021.

This has been my first adventure in being the editor of a big collection, and I have enjoyed it very much. There’s no telling whether or not I will take this kind of thing any further, I have certainly considered the idea of setting up as a Publisher. We’ll see what happens with this anthology first …

This ‘seeing what happens’ attitude is my Stoicism shining through. Taking advantage of opportunities, knuckling down and working when I have to. Knowing what I can do, and doing that, but also stretching myself further, to try do more. These are definitely good ways for me, and for others, to look at their own lives. It’s the old “When life gives you lemons” thing. You don’t sit back and curse, because you wanted a sweeter fruit, instead you get on with doing great things with those lemons you’ve been given!

So, overall, life in many ways is the same for us all, but oh, dangerously different, for those living where the Covid-19 virus is at loose in their community. I feel for those people, and hope that soon, scientists and other medical people can find a vaccine, or other way to finally kill the virus, for us all. It only takes one person, to spread the virus to another, and so it could go again.

Working on Climate Change, tied with action of Covid-19 seems to be how the whole world needs to go, as soon as we possibly can, for all of us!

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Changes – A Fact Of Life

carolyncordon

Without change, no growth can come. Flowers wouldn’t spring from the branch, no seeds, no new plants. If we kept the same opinions, always, we wouldn’t learn, grow, become better people.

Geranium flowers

Growth unchecked, coming from all directions, that is cancerous, lumps and bumps unwanted, unneeded. But considered growth, the way Nature changes things from season to season, this is how we people go best too.

To bring this thought to literature, a novel has characters, each with their own thing, to bring to the novel. The novel will begin with characters in one stage of being, and during the course of the narrative, the characters will learn, grow, and change, some for the better, some not, as the author, or the story, dictates …

Sometimes, yes, the story can take over, and the writer follows where the story takes them. If this seems fanciful to you, take heed, it is a true thing. The writer has ideas, but as they write, new ideas emerge, and so the original thoughts the writer had have to change too, to make sense of the story.

We are all born, we grow, we live and (hopefully) we learn. And then we will die. It is hoped a person has lived a life with a good many changes for the better, and made friends with persons of note, and done their own things of note too, and so can in some way defy death, and live on in the memories of others, and perhaps in the history books …

If you are not able to do that, in any way, I suspect you may have been ignoring the challenges that change can bring, you silly person – those challenges can bring some of the most important changes possible in life!

Do you embrace change, or hide from it? I love challenges, and the changes they can bring!

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Too Much Poetry?

carolyncordon

I was speaking with someone recently, a person who is newly in my life, and she has a medical problem which is keeping her inside, and bored. I mentioned writing about it, to help ease her boredom.

I mentioned poetry, and in particular Acrostic poetry, and while my husband, who was in the room with me when I was talking with this woman on the phone, kept on making fun of me. I know poetry is far more important in my life than it is to him, and I’m ok with him laughing at me, it isn’t done with any malicious intent. We both know this poetry, and other writing is an important thing to me, and that’s fine.

So this woman listened to me, and mentioned she used to write a bit, way back in her past. I suggested if she was thinking of giving it a go again, now would be a good time for it, and she agreed.

I expect to be seeing this lovely woman again soon, and I can’t help wondering whether she may bring a brand new poem with her, to show to me. If she does, and enjoyed writing it, that will be a great thing. If she didn’t write anything, but enjoyed the possibility of doing it, that is still a good thing.

If she gave it no further thought, it won’t be a disaster, but that doesn’t mean it may never happen! I realise not everyone is as ‘into’ poetry as I am, we all have our own interests, and things we like. I just hope that some people find poetry, and see the way it can be so helpful in many different ways! Poetry and therapy, such a fine and healing combination!