Three Questions

Today I'm posing three questions. I never meant too, but after putting these questions to a writing group and receiving so many varied answers, I just thought it would be interesting to post these questions on my blog.

Q1. What do you think is the colour of the wind?

Q2. What is the colour of your heart?

Q3. What is the colour of your tears?

Think about it and those of you that want to can post your answers in the comments.

Tax & Reflection

I have been sitting down today doing my personal taxes plus the taxes for the book; I have an appointment with the accountant tomorrow. When I did the tallying I found that as expected there were no profits and far more expenditure than I thought. I went around to visit my ailing mother after crunching the numbers and we discussed this, she said to me that I may not have banked a fortune or had broken even, but I have never seen you so happy.

God she's right! Just crunching numbers and doing the figures can be tough and depressing, but when I look back over the last year and think about the friendships I have made and the fun Anthony and I have had, the dollars spent mean nothing. What price happiness indeed. I would never have met some of the most wonderful people that are in my life now, had it not been for this book and for that, I'm truly grateful.

To Leigh, Maggie, Debbie, Kelly, Karen, Helen, Robin, Penny, & of course Anthony. Priceless!!!!

Critique

I have recently joined a writers group. For the first 14 yrs I had done and been alone with my writing. So being around a group of writers was a daunting prospect. I was really nervous about submitting a piece for critiquing as I had this vision of people looking over the top of their glasses, all shaking their heads with extreme disapproval at what they had just read. It's what school was like for me, so that's what I was expecting when my turn came for submission.

What I did find was a group of dedicated people who really care about the other people sitting at the table. None of them were condescending, or put themselves above the others. Basically we are all the same so that's how we are all treated. I submitted a piece of flash fiction it's a piece I posted here around Christmas time, called 'Long Haul' originally titled 'Why' also posted here. I got so much helpful feedback that once I got the time, I sat down and sorted through the comments.

I felt like I was opening a Christmas present it was that good. I sorted through all the comments and tweaked the story once again pulling it tighter together. I'm lucky, the writers group I belong to is generous and caring, but I have heard horror stories about other writing groups. So thanks to Andrew,Jan,Kelly,Maggie,Deb,Robin and our group leader Karen. I'm glad to be part of the team.

Trials

Once again it's been a while since my last post. I try to get back here as often as possible, but life gets in the way. Since my last post I have changed jobs, my mother was taken seriously I'll and I had to train to get my forklift licence. All things that have caused me stress in one way or another. At my darkest point I found writing to be a comfort. I have used my words as a healing agent since I started writing, but while waiting for my mother to come out of her latest surgery, I used thoughts and memories of beauty to help me through the darkness.

It helped, I had something I could keep reading that helped me deal with situations out of my control. It's hard when life snatches the controls out of you hands and your flying on a wing and a prayer. I guess at times like these we all need comfort and understanding. It also shows us who we really are, I know that I went through a lot of stress and found it hard at times to deal with. But I got up every day and went to work as well as to the hospital and carried on as best as I could. Surly it's all we can do.

Everyone goes through this at one time or another, please don't be afraid to talk about it to your friends or family, they will support you and be there for you. I know this for a fact. I would like to thank everyone that has been there for me in the last two weeks, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart, if you ever need me I will be there for you as well.

Teacher

I found something today that I honestly thought had gone by way of the Dodo. It's something I wrote on the 17/6/1997 it's simply called, "Teacher." It's short and sweet and I think quite poignant. I'm not sure why I wrote it, but it was on my very first PC which died years ago. I actually found a hard copy and I'm so glad I did. Here is Teacher.

Teacher

The greatest teacher of wisdom is Pain

The finest teacher for learning is experience

The ugliest teacher is lust

The prettiest teacher is joy

The hardest teacher to understand is life

The strangest teacher is yourself.

Kev copyright 1997

Are Writers Broken?

Believe me, I'm not being flippant when I ask this, plus I will clarify the question. It's more an observation really I suppose, I know from personal experience that I heal when I write. You see I had a rough time as a kid and carried around my fair share of pain, yes I was broken and in need of repair. Writing did this for me, it allowed me to go to places in my head that I'd never been to before. It allowed me to explore areas that I would never have gone to otherwise. When you write fiction you can go where others fear to tread. You have the ability to explore the dark side of yourself and others, it's that part that is hidden away shunning the light of day.

I find it incredibly exhilarating to come up with story lines that make people say."Where the hell did that come from?" You draw on your own pain, you write from your very soul or what's left of it, and because you have been there, you know how to touch others with your words. I see it also with other writers, you only have to talk to them to know we are all coming from the same place. Most writers are extremely sensitive and wonderfully supportive, we are emotional and love music. I can't function without a tune running through my head. I especially love to write to music as do most writers I know. All the years I have been writing have also been years of healing for me. The one thing I worry about is that if I heal, will I lose my edge will my writing not be as powerful? If I suddenly start to love everything in sight will my words turn to flowers? Now that's a scary thought. I think for my own sanity I must stay a little broken, besides being normal is a little too weird, even for me.

So are writers broken? Are you a broken writer, or one that's healing like myself?

Incredible Journey

When I started writing all those years ago, I had no idea of where it was truly going to take me. All I knew back then was that I had finally found the one thing in my life that had always been lacking and was completely untapped, my creativity. I had never been so happy and so busy all at once. Every day was a new adventure in research and story direction. Each new fact screamed at me and told me that it was a perfect piece for the jigsaw puzzle that is Dream Raider.

I have been on this incredible journey ever since and I don't want it to ever end. I love escaping and hiding, running through my own worlds, breathing the air of my own creation. When I write that's where I go, I am totally immersed in my own world. I experience the world through my characters eyes. When I'm in the zone, well lets just say I can't type fast enough. Dream Raider has given me far more than I ever thought possible, it has provided me with opportunities I would never have otherwise had. It has also provided more pleasure than I have ever experienced before with anything else I have achieved.

I have met some truly wonderful people through this book and can highly recommend this journey to anyone also contemplating it. "WARNING!" It is not easy and can be thankless and sometimes soul destroying. But just like every other thing in this life, you have to experience the bad to truly appreciate the good. Take it from me though the good stays while the bad fades, and the incredible journey continues.