oh vey, where are the letters? The letters, I tell ya!

[Jane]

I think this has been my longest blogging break so far. Between the short storying and shuffling Italian relatives around in car caravans (after spending an entire week simply ... cleaning), not a lot of time was left for much else. I'm still in the middle of "The Visit", but it's somewhat settled down a little. Working does introduce a comfortable routine into life - as opposed to spending 12 hours a day running around showing things to people (that may or may not want to be shown things). On top of that, trying to keep 17 people fed on a regular basis is a daunting task and one I'm glad to not be responsible for (I only assist). So, as the end of the visit nears and the last few days have almost all been planned out with some selected tours. Can I just say this? Yay for the two that are staying with us - true to their mid-university age form, they remind me of me and my old friends back in our 20s when we were keen to try and see everything there was. So we're going to go try Thai and Japanese with them, perhaps throw in a little Canadian or Indian fare, rummage around Kensington. On top of that we will have all 17 over for 'little' barbecue in our yard on friday, provided that the weather cooperates willingly.

The writing has been going well - I was stuck for a few weeks after having the initial spontaneous spark that propelled me to write something with meaning, but I think I'm slowly and meticulously digging myself out of that swamp hole, and I hope, just in time to complete a decently created story. We'll see. But I think I am inspired enough at this point to allow myself to admit that I may want to write more and learn more about writing. So I think I will apply to the certificate - only paper, yes, but it will give me some sense of accomplishment.

I'll be back here. Soon.

[Jane]

Hey Carole, sorry but it took me a while to check back in here and see your last comment on this entry. I think we all learn to express ourselves in one way or another. Writing down is a courageous act, telling a story orally is a courageous act, shouting it out from the top of a roof is a courageous act. No matter how you bring yourself out, it will be a courageous decision. You will have to find the expression that gives you the greatest satisfaction.

[Carole Noble]

I wonder if I don't ever consider creative writing as something I want to do because I found it so difficult to churn out a creative piece when I took a creative writing course in university - and then my efforts got a lukewarm reception from the prof. In other courses I was considered a good writer but not there. It is quite probable that my writing seemed forced since at that point in my life, I was probably not writing with "honesty" - for fear I might expose my own thoughts - or something?? You've got me wondering about it though - story writing that is - certainly not something as long as a novel or even a novella. I'm just wondering though - not writing ;-)

[Jane]

Hey Carole,

I hope that creativity that carried you as a child is going to come back to you - it's just buried, never left the building, so to speak. At least that's what I would like to think. Maybe one day you'll find yourself reading a book and thinking "I could do this exact thing a bit better", and from there, it's just a slippery slope. But it's a nice thing to have on the side. I bet noone at work ever thinks of me writing something 'creative' - over there, I have a very specific role and other parts of me simply do not fit into it. That's alright though - that in itself is something I have to remind myself constantly - never underestimate anyone.

[Carole Noble]

Wow. I feel tired just reading everything you are doing. It sounds as though you are digging deep with the writing thing. I've recently read interviews with a couple of authors and they both said that they don't know the ending of their novel while they are writing. They said they wait to see where the characters take them. On another - but related topic - when I was 8 or so I wanted to be a writer - of fiction and I used to make up stories all of the time and I liked writing them at school when it was part of our work but now, that creativity is gone and my will to create with it - so I write emails and blogs instead - and lately - no blogging - just comments on blogs. Also - an yet another and only slightly related topic - just now I looked at the online MLA Guide (you know the one I mean) and I started really looking at it and then I found a typo and I was starting to think about whether the wording was correct - and then I caught myself and said to myself - what the dickens am I doing ??? and I clicked myself out of the whole thing. It was kind of scary. Thank God I don't have to think about that kind of "writing" any more!!