Whirlwind

What a whirlwind of a weekend.

We drove through tornado warnings and torrential rain to get to my parent's home for a visit with my Mom and Stepdad (who has lung cancer). Dad was doing very poorly and before we knew we were following the ambulance back to the hospital. He has pneumonia and was not responding to the anitbiotics and is now having heart and kidney issues. Mom, Brad(hubby), and I were at the hospital until midnight and there again all day today. Before we left his temp. was down and he managed to eat something, which was a good sign. He is being monitored closely and is determined to get through the remainder of his radiation treatments (9). Even so, it was hard to say good bye tonight - any one may be the last.

In the midst of all this, the query for the book project I've been working on was fine tuned and sent out by my partners. As you know I've been working on this for some time now. My book is almost half way done and all the research and ideas are in place, so I'm gearing up for completion. Lord willing, we'll hear soon regarding if, when, and how this will go forward.

It's just amazing how such various emotions can swirl around and around in such a short period of time. Be it heartache, hard-work, emotional or mental fatigue, concern, excitement, joy, or anticipation I'm so glad to find a calm in the eye of the storm.

And I've just got to say, while Dad slept we all had our noses in books. I finished up The Anonymous Bride (I cried at the end), Mom's reading The Apothecary's Daughter, and Brad was finishing up At Plymouth Plantation. So for those published authors, I say thank you for giving people a pleasant diversion during stressful times!

History of the Book

Finding Time to Write

It occurred to me that today is Friday and I've barely had time to write this week, well except for
three blog posts now. That counts. But what I mean is that I haven't worked at all on my WIP and I feel as though I'm not only having a hard time finding the time to write, but sometimes feel that I'm losing time. I have to remember that just because I'm not going forward, it doesn't mean I'm going backward. Nor is time standing still.

Work has been extremely hectic lately with reports due and a special event to plan, so I've put in some extra hours.  I've also been catching up on some website work on my days off.  I've been blessed to have almost two weeks migraine free to help get me through the the busy season.

So what's a writer to do?

It's OK that I haven't been able to write much. The "write every day" thing can make one feel very guilty. I prefer to "write diligently" and consider the overall picture, not just the daily grind.  I'm just doing what I can and being a writer is only part of who I am. My WIP is still there. And Hopefully I can pick it up again and enjoy the process of making progress. In the meantime . . . I do what I can and prioritize my roles and responsibilities. Writing is just one of them.

How about you? What keeps you from writing?

What is a Poet?

"What is a poet? An unhappy man who conceals profound anguish in his heart, but whose lips are so fashioned that when sighs and groans pass over them they sound like beautiful music. His fate resembles that of the unhappy men who were slowly roasted by a gentle fire in the tyrant Phalaris' bull—their shrieks could not reach his ear to terrify him, to him they sounded like sweet music. And people flock about the poet and say to him: do sing again; Which means, would that new sufferings tormented your soul, and: would that your lips stayed fashioned as before, for your cries would only terrify us, but your music is delightful. And the critics join them, saying: well done, thus must it be according to the laws of aesthetics. Why, to be sure, a critic resembles a poet as one pea another, the only difference being that he has no anguish in his heart and no music on his lips."

This quote, from Soren Kierkegaard's, Diapsalmata, implies that it is oft a tortured soul that finds its inspiration to write poetry, ironically to the critic's delight.  In this manner, I am reminded that the life of Jesus is like a poem to us.

Sometimes we think of a poet as a melancholy individual, but that is not entirely so. Poems may be soulful, reflective, romantic, humorous, historical, some poems rise up to praise.  As for me, I think I do tend to be on the melancholy side so my poems are romantic and reflective expressions, not evidence of a tortured soul so much, but of one finding her way. I also enjoy reading historical poems and sometimes even writing them on occasion to record special events of my own. I am especially blessed when reading inspirational poetry written by others as a testimony of what God has done in their lives, as Kierkegaard describes listening to the music on another's lips.

I never sit down to write a poem, the poem usually sits me down to write it.

What kind of poet are you?  What are your favorite poems about?