tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48282297829492926622012-02-13T18:58:24.390-05:00This blog is about writing, writers, and books about writing.Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.comBlogger1821100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-63245142851426440462012-02-13T18:58:00.000-05:002012-02-13T18:58:24.423-05:00

I've been patting myself on the back because I finished my first short story, "Adult Education." With the encouragement of my writer friend/therapist/mentor, Billie Hinton, (Check out her e-books at  Amazon.com.) I picked one of five writing projects and forced myself to focus on it. Now I only have rough, VERY rough drafts of two novels, a memoir, and two short stories on the shelf.

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-46882274845894799382012-02-12T14:21:00.000-05:002012-02-12T14:21:10.604-05:00

I know I'm supposed to be building my own writer's platform and I'm plugging away at it. The reason I need a carpenter's assistant is that I need someone to do the submissions for me OR tell me a better way to do it OR advise me on software which will make the process smoother, more efficient.   Okay, I admit I can't afford to pay an assistant to do the work for me but I'm open to advice from

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-86389099719277711382012-02-10T15:49:00.001-05:002012-02-10T15:49:19.310-05:00

To write is right for my friend, Karen Pullen. Go to http://www.everydayfiction.com/ and check out her flash fiction, Snow Day. Read and rate. Support our local author! She can also be found on facebook. Way to go, Karen!

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-1297768801234568802012-02-08T15:28:00.000-05:002012-02-08T15:28:43.604-05:00

Hi, if you're trying to read my story on Author Stand, you temporarily can't get it by putting the name "Adult Education" or my name "Greta Duckwall James" in the search engine. Ironically you CAN find it by clicking on "Hot Titles" and then clicking on a link which gives the list of hot titles and even more ironic is the fact that Adult Education is #1 on the list.  It's weird to sound

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-21615923104293241332012-02-07T19:53:00.000-05:002012-02-07T19:53:46.628-05:00

I've been enjoying myself while submitting my short story, No one told me a writer had to be good at addition! Adult Education, except for the times when a publisher wants the manuscript in a specific font, or double-spaced, or single-spaced, or with no blank line between paragraphs, etc. etc. (Yes, every single publisher has his/her preferences and that's okay.) In other words while I am

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-26600272259613054082012-02-05T12:23:00.000-05:002012-02-05T15:31:34.026-05:00

It had to happen. I'm determinedly building my writer's platform and today I got a splinter in my finger. It must come out before infection sets in. To get my name and writing "out there" I am in the process of submitting my short story, "Adult Education," to online and print magazines, contests, and journals. This is part of building a writer's platform. It's great I've gotten to this phase

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-3251754772506332152012-02-02T13:01:00.001-05:002012-02-02T13:03:08.837-05:00

Hi, since I neglected my blog for so long I deservedly and logically lost followers. I can't change that, but I can go forward. For my latest plank in building a writer's platform I have submitted my short story, Adult Education, to a website, AuthorStand, where it (and other stories) can be read for free or a nominal fee. Adult Education (renamed for me by Georgann Eubanks) is free to download.

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-66681645498993004882012-01-30T21:05:00.000-05:002012-01-30T21:05:07.024-05:00

Last Saturday at the Farm at Weathers Creek, Ian Huckabee helped me get started on building a writer's platform. The process is quite similar to the photo which shows my husband and son teaching me how to use my new gasoline-powered Stihl chainsaw. First I have to learn what tools are available and how to make the best use of them. I have to read and/or hear the instructions, and then I have

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-39835227308468141312012-01-29T20:46:00.001-05:002012-01-29T20:48:01.499-05:00

Within the past two weeks I have submitted a short story to 8-10 journals or magazines. Within 3 days I had my first rejection. I'm  not sure  if it is a form rejection slip. I may be (pardon the pun) reading something into it, but I believe it's slightly personalized. My short story is slated for a plethora of submissions. As in personal development I believe there is a need for rites of

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-64442528003228432732012-01-15T16:04:00.000-05:002012-01-15T16:04:40.420-05:00

As I'm working on a short story and a novel, I'm also reading. Not as much as I usually do, but I never miss reading before turning out the light at night and snuggling into the preheated mattress pad. I'm enjoying and being inspired by Kristy Kiernan's debut novel in 2007, Catching Genius. She's written others since then which you can find by clicking on her name. It's a good read about sisters

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-7976621964319877402012-01-12T16:09:00.000-05:002012-01-12T16:09:48.875-05:00

No, this blog is not about a New Year's resolution or a new phase of my life. I'll use a lowly cliche and say a new day is dawning! The recent photo above of a a sunrise on Oak Island, NC, symbolizes my return to blogging and and my venture into learning about building a writer's platform. It was taken in November 2011 when six of us women from our writing group in Chatham County held its first

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-34809539034302570312011-01-22T19:52:00.000-05:002011-01-22T19:52:28.070-05:00

Today I finished reading breathe, Life in the Rhythm of an Iron Lung, A Memoir. In addition to being fascinated by the life story of this North Carolina woman who had  lived in an iron lung for more than 60 years, I was so pleased to see that she had put into words many things which have been in my head for many years. She prefaced this particular section by noting that the "traditional faith of

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-72928950486004700002011-01-04T10:43:00.000-05:002011-01-04T10:43:59.818-05:00

Memoir writing is fun, exhausting, painful, interesting, and therapeutic. One of the books I'm using currently is Ilene Segalove and Paul Bob Velick's List Your Self, Listmaking as the Way to Self-Discovery. According to the authors, listmaking "...opens up the cracks and lets loose the bits and pieces of ourselves we haven't met...yet."  Most nights when I'm reading in bed, I randomly select

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-18088419376745453212011-01-02T17:44:00.000-05:002011-01-02T17:44:41.725-05:00

Have I made any progress lately? Yes, yes, yes! From the trivial to the mediocre to the sublime. I'll let you decide which bit of progress goes in which category. A.  I've quit worrying as much as I usually do about "things."B.  Harry aka Hellion allows me to occasionally pick him up. (feral cat)C.  Our raw foods diet is progressing nicely. D.  Friend Susan and I have begun our 2-person

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-44720277623552042010-12-28T10:05:00.000-05:002010-12-28T10:05:25.226-05:00

"Whose woods these are I think I know"Robert Frost A few years ago I would have considered it the epitome of audacity to put my name in the same title line of a blog with the Bard of New England. No more. I'm inspired by other writers. Walking around our property on New Year's Day, camera in hand, I looked at these snow-laden trees and immediately thought of the first line of Robert Frost's

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-22331501054763636192010-12-27T16:39:00.000-05:002010-12-27T16:39:14.247-05:00

Here in our snug motorhome in the North Carolina Piedmont, my husband and I are living life in the raw. If you know me, you may be groaning "Oh, no, they haven't joined a nudist colony, have they?" We haven't, but I understand that there was a nudist camp/colony elsewhere in Chatham County. For all I know, it may still be there. Our lifestyle is more mundane. We're investigating the value to be

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-58584636391879384812010-12-25T10:12:00.001-05:002010-12-27T16:17:57.649-05:00

After spending Christmas Eve with my son and his family, my husband and I left Silk Hope, heading for Siler City. I was sitting in the backseat of our Honda Element. In the front was Mike, my husband, and Jerry, my ex-husband and father of our two children. We were taking Jerry back to the nursing home where he has been living for the past two years. Like his mother, Jerry has a memory-stealing

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-76769575411313802562010-12-23T09:46:00.002-05:002010-12-23T18:12:53.708-05:00

 A few days ago I encountered the question of "What did you want for Christmas but didn't get?" I didn't ever get everything I wanted for Christmas. In fact, I've never known any child who did. But I couldn't answer the question. I do know something I got for Christmas which disappointed me at the time. When I was nine years old, there was a weirdly wrapped gift under the tree for me. I

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-86378248201272438932010-12-20T20:23:00.000-05:002010-12-20T20:23:46.448-05:00

Before looking to see what was there, I decided to blog about the writing books nesting in the "cave" bedroom of our motorhome. The cave is where I sleep, escape, and read. It's never cluttered since there's only room for the queen bed and even then it's an RV queen, smaller than the usual queen bed. See why I like it? No room for clutter. Many, if not most, of my books are second-hand books. Of

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-74103002159745348942010-12-18T17:18:00.001-05:002010-12-18T17:21:03.331-05:00

If I take an acrostical approach to the prompt, December is a month of contrasts.  December offers Chanukah, Christmas, and KwanzaaEvery year, at least in my neck of the woods. Children know the traditions and are mostly observantEven as they quiver with excitement at the prospect ofMore toys, electronics, clothes, and candy before, on, or after the 25th.But back to contrasts: serenity of carols

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-72192971241643267302010-12-17T10:54:00.000-05:002010-12-17T10:54:54.528-05:00

Until I perused Cameron Tuttle's The Paranoid's Pocket Guide, I wasn't aware that I could be worrying MUCH more than I already am. I'm writing about worrying, not to be confused with worrying about writing. How has Ms. Tuttle helped me expand my capability for worrying? How has she helped me hone this particular skill? I think you will understand by reading the following selections from her book

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-30898032791257851692010-12-15T08:43:00.001-05:002010-12-15T08:43:48.850-05:00

The second best way to keep myself writing is to use prompts. The best book I've found to prompt me is Natalie Goldberg's Old Friend From Far Away. (see the previous blog for the best way for me) It doesn't work if I know the prompt in advance. I need to hear/read the prompt and begin writing immediately. A delay results in planning what I'm going to write. Doesn't work. I need spontaneity!

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-28504015013459180772010-12-10T19:48:00.001-05:002010-12-11T14:52:25.925-05:00

Today has been wonderful. I went to Karen Pullen's home for our weekly writing group. I took a first revision of an essay the group critiqued (among others) last week. It's morphing from a memoir "bit" to an essay which is a new experience for me.  I left with a higher level of motivation. Then I called Central Carolina Community and signed up for a class and three workshops in the Creative

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-43567981452252647752010-12-08T19:37:00.000-05:002010-12-08T19:37:04.907-05:00

Whatever you're worrying about, stop! I do enough worrying for both of us. Where did that come from? I'm back to my writing group now that I'm back to retirement. Last week I wrote about "something I wish I could do." The answer was easy...NOT WORRY. The response was easy but questions raised during the critiques weren't so easy. I've realized I don't know why I worry or, for that matter, why

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-73830520855586959062010-12-07T15:10:00.000-05:002010-12-07T15:10:39.115-05:00

If I were asked about memories, I'd probably say something like "I have plenty of good memories, a few bad ones, but right now I'm focusing on making memories." Having just closed on a cabin in the mountains of North Carolina, I'm surprised how easy it's been to look at this action as the beginning of a new phase rather than a culminating aspect of life. I prefer to think of myself as a retired

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-32760171724403850412010-11-19T17:34:00.000-05:002010-11-19T17:34:03.558-05:00

I'm into procrastination and memoir these days. Maybe that's a good thing (the memoir part) or maybe it's a bad thing (the procrastination) or does it matter (hence the "irrelevant" in the blog title)? For two years plus, I've dabbled  in memoir. Workshop with Peggy Payne at NCCAT, class at CCCC with Karen Pullen, and workshop at Table Rock with Judy Goldman. I've been reading books such as

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-16389471190330412862010-10-17T19:33:00.000-04:002010-10-17T19:33:27.479-04:00

One hundred eleven years ago (1899) Helen Bannerman wrote The Story of Little Black Sambo. I first read it sixty years ago. Without effort I can remember the excitement of imagining those tigers circling the tree... faster, faster, faster until they turned to melted butter. About 12-14 years after my introduction to the young boy from India,  a friend who was working on a bachelor's degree in

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-2220351307184769782010-10-15T07:47:00.000-04:002010-10-15T07:47:20.155-04:00

http://judygoldman.com/blog/ If you've already clicked on the active link above, then you know the good news. If not, now's the time to do it. Click, that is. Eleven of us from at least four different states had the privilege of spending a week with Judy at Table Rock Writers at Wildacres in the beautiful NC mountains. We put down good, hard-earned money for this honor (and it was worth every

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-76350742034746755522010-10-09T08:53:00.003-04:002010-10-09T16:06:49.086-04:00

Memoir writing is happening in my head even though my mind is presently focused on teaching. If memories live there, then surely memoir writing can share the same space. My musician husband says he has music in his brain constantly. It's my observation that he's telling me the truth. Why else would he grab up a guitar in the middle of something and play a few chords or a riff? Why else would he

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-40476079636197059712010-10-02T09:24:00.001-04:002010-10-02T09:25:24.237-04:00

For over forty-six years I've been enjoying stories, remarks, and conversations with my children and grandchildren. During that time I've also been telling myself, "Write that down, Greta, you don't want to forget that one." Being busy with child-rearing, going to school, homemaking, and holding down a job, I usually didn't get around to writing the funny/precious sayings down. Some I remember;

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-9919153646593636542010-09-10T21:47:00.002-04:002010-10-09T08:28:19.578-04:00

Earlier this week, Mike and I were on our way to Jacquie Thurston's real estate office in Burnsville, NC. That's in Yancey County. She's the reason we've found THE cabin that, Lord willin' and the creeks don't rise, will soon belong to us. Way to go, Jacquie! It's easy to find Jacquie's office; it's smack dab on Highway 19E. We've been there before. No problem. Problem! We got lost and ended up

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-1577530530933527292010-09-08T10:34:00.000-04:002010-09-08T10:34:14.315-04:00

Last night Mike and I spent the night in a motel in Marion, NC, after eating supper in a fast food place just down the road. Behind the restaurant was a hill side entirely covered with kudzu, give or take a few bald spots. Wes talked about what the kudzu might be hiding. The only thing we could detect was a security light gleaming among the twisted, creeping vines loaded with leaves. What am I

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-71746923843985459582010-09-02T19:32:00.001-04:002010-09-07T09:06:21.429-04:00

I just finished reading Not Quite What I Was Planning, Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure, edited by Smith Magazine, 2008. It is my interpretation that I am permitted to use brief quotations if embodied in a review. The abbreviated back story is that when National Novel Writing Month was taking place in 2006, Smith Magazine decided to zero in on six-word memoirs. The result was a 237

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-16262305608447534232010-08-30T09:15:00.000-04:002010-08-30T09:15:16.667-04:00

Okay, maybe the title is a bit pretentious, but it was fun to briefly discuss Zora Neale Hurston with not one but two young women as we sat side by side in the pedicure chairs.  In fact, as soon as I finish this blog I'll be dropping by one of Chatham County's emergency services stations to leave Their Eyes Were Watching God for Nicole. Nicole was aware of this important African American author

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-68291436720312105152010-08-29T12:42:00.001-04:002010-09-04T19:52:52.025-04:00

Compose Recipe for making a memoir Ingredients ( 1) 1997 Gulf Stream Friendship 102 motorhome (1)  Full tank of diesel fuel (1)  Collective spirit of adventure (2)  Granddaughters (4)  Adults (1)  Local creamery Directions A. Secure all loose items (We didn't, but I recommend it.) B. Open windows to enjoy the breeze. C. Meander down country roads. D. Stop at Homeland Creamery E. Deliberate

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-13254130846027882932010-08-26T17:44:00.000-04:002010-08-26T17:44:31.580-04:00

Read any memorable memoirs lately? More to the point, have you written a memoir lately, memorable or not? In two weeks I'm going to the Table Rock Writers week at Wildacres in Mitchell County, NC. This is my third trip to the mountain but the first to Table Rock. I'm a fortunate person. Judy Goldman is presenting the workshop on memoir writing, WRITING PERSONAL ESSAYS or MEMOIR. Although the

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-50026007226588843392010-08-22T12:12:00.000-04:002010-08-22T12:12:56.529-04:00

(The weekly prompt from Sunday Scribblings is dangerous.) I'm sure that my stepfather, Ralph, and my brother, Forrest, are spinning in their graves. Not in disapproval, but in fear that husband Mike and I are going down a dangerous road.  It's not that road to hell that's paved with good intentions. It's that road to financial insecurity. It's the road in the NC mountains where this cabin is

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-9823423137854927132010-08-20T11:27:00.000-04:002010-08-20T11:27:38.228-04:00

I need to simplify my life. I want to clear my mind. I intend to achieve serenity as seriously as an alcoholic intends to achieve sobriety. A first step has been to get back to nature with my camera. Somehow this allows me to focus on beauty. I don't look for a specific subject to photograph. It simply appears. The sound of water falling over rocks quiets my brain and sooths my ears.

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-56133580862131621122010-08-17T12:02:00.002-04:002010-08-17T12:13:30.010-04:00

Motivated by watching kids and their parents in Walmart prepare for the beginning of school and a prompt from Mamie, I'm letting you know what I did this summer:   Participate in the Wildacres Writers Retreat and Workshop.                                   Retreat: favorite activity=readings; best benefit=making friends; special time=writing; most fun=group bonding; personal gain=getting focused

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-51382736125680867252010-08-12T17:34:00.000-04:002010-08-12T17:34:34.606-04:00

I wrote this blog a few weeks ago as I was counting down the days until the beginning of the Wildacres Writers Retreat and Workshop. This was to be my second workshop there but my very first ever writers retreat. It was such an event for me that I took the preparation process very seriously.  First photo is the lodge where I would be sleeping with the windows wide open and the mountain air

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-49320694871066049882010-08-10T09:51:00.001-04:002010-08-10T13:16:59.656-04:00

It’s been quite some time since I’ve taken stock of thestack of books on my bedside table. In no particular order here are a few books which have held my interest lately. Girl with a Pearl Earring, a novel by Tracy ChevalierThis was a quick read which held my attention from start to finish. Like many others, I suspect, I know good art when I see it, but I confess that I know little about Vermeer.

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-74113950482802188172010-08-03T13:41:00.000-04:002010-08-03T13:41:48.116-04:00

My muse has told me that I need to spend less time on the internet and more time on writing. So............. after today I will be blogging and responding to comments on a weekly basis. I am  designating Wednesday as my internet day: blogging, responding to comments, and reading your blogs. Later. Greta

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-48801376517533142022010-07-21T18:12:00.001-04:002010-07-23T11:01:33.934-04:00

Even though the occasion is a death in the family, these past few days have been a memoir in the making. My sister-in-law, my youngest sister, her husband, my husband, and I have been sharing tears and laughter as we tell (actually retell) family stories. Naturally much of the talking is taking place over plates of food brought in by relatives, friends, and neighbors. Some, if not many, of the

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-88916325008966231432010-07-18T18:57:00.002-04:002010-07-18T19:07:32.816-04:00

Forrest C. James, my brother, died today in beautiful, sunny El Paso, the place he has called home for many years. Eighty years old, he was the second of seven children born to our parents, Virgie Harris James and Ellis James, in West Virginia. Forrest had been retired from the United States Army for more years than I ever worked. He didn't heed the concept of retirement. Until he was diagnosed

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-73775657086678683392010-07-06T11:29:00.000-04:002010-07-06T11:29:40.476-04:00

I just edited the previous blog to correct a date. Leaving breakfast this morning, I asked some friends, "Is this Wednesday or Thursday?" They laughed and said "It's Tuesday!" Time truly does fly when you're having fun, but I think it's slowed down here because I'm slowing down and making an effort to be in the moment. I write, read, walk, take photos, eat, and call my spouse when

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-79122230946507205092010-07-05T17:49:00.002-04:002010-07-06T11:17:32.905-04:00

Today is the 3rd day of our writers retreat at Wildacres. Each day I’ve begun a blog and then gotten distracted by something wonderful:  mountains to be admired, photos to take, walking for enjoyment, wonderful food which we’re required to eat! Not to mention enjoying the company of my roommate and friend, Stephanie, and the other 38 or so people in attendance. Oh, and of course the perfect spot

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-61381662931535338882010-06-30T20:34:00.000-04:002010-06-30T20:34:32.653-04:00

Having just blogged about being stuck in a book (which I just finished, thank you), I'm declaring my addiction to buying books. Money is not the issue, mind you, it's the space which is a challenge. I'm not rich, not by a long shot, just fortunate to be volunteering at the Habitat for Humanity Home Store in Pittsboro, NC, where I am one of the main "book" people. Volunteers don't get a discount

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-34087936210733404392010-06-29T10:28:00.000-04:002010-06-29T10:28:30.967-04:00

took forever to get through a book? I've been slogging through Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. That's not like me. There's a great story line; the characters are well developed; the settings (geographically and time period) are fascinating; and it's believable. I even care what happens next. My reading fluency and comprehension skills are above average. (excuse the

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-21636330803996160992010-06-27T19:21:00.000-04:002010-06-27T19:21:17.625-04:00

From Sunday Scribblings:  Is there anyone whose life you would swap yours with?  What about for one day?  One hour? If you did swap lives and then got yours back, what lessons would you have learned?  What would you do differently if you could?  Whose life fascinates you?  If you wouldn't swap lives with anyone, why not? There is no one with whom I'd want to swap lives. Not for a day. Not for

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-10624345880121066832010-06-26T20:57:00.000-04:002010-06-26T20:57:03.974-04:00

I'm in my favorite place to write--Sycamore Lodge in Moore County, NC. A year ago when I needed to get away by myself, I came here. Read, wrote, took nature photos. Each day. Calming, inspiring, soothing. Private but not isolated. It's working this time, too. I've learned that nature plays an important role in my attitude toward to writing. I took this photo today (ignore the date imprinted

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-57548940912303988502010-06-19T20:13:00.000-04:002010-06-19T20:13:06.358-04:00

Today I registered for a September workshop in the mountains of North Carolina. (Yes, I'm trying to make you even more jealous, Old Grizz.). It's at Wildacres in the Little Switzerland/Spruce Pine area. There are five different workshop and I've signed up for Judy Goldman's Writing Personal Essays or Memoir. As I've mentioned before, I was in a memoir class last spring and most of us have

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-83141481330024267472010-06-14T20:23:00.000-04:002010-06-14T20:23:11.775-04:00

also rights the RV's metal steps. A year ago I learned that I could write prolifically while camping alone in the RV. The setting was Sycamore Lodge in the Aberdeen/Jackson Springs, NC, area.  I'd write a few hours then take the camera and walk through the camp ground, around the lake, and along the paths in the surrounding woods, taking photos. The two activities complemented each other. It

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-87234095499289775422010-06-09T23:08:00.000-04:002010-06-09T23:08:12.642-04:00

This past spring a bunch of us enrolled in "Write Your Life Story" at Central Carolina Community College in Pittsboro, NC.  When the class ended, Carole spearheaded the plan to continue meeting informally. Today the monthly meeting took place at Sims' home. We partook of an artfully arranged assortment of delicious food on her kitchen table as we passed through on our way to their comfortable

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-86429577387981743302010-06-04T22:34:00.001-04:002010-06-04T22:42:19.987-04:00

I wish I call or email my sister Janet (who was 17 months younger than I) but she unexpectedly died at age 61. It was just a couple of months before her planned retirement from the Veterans Hospital in Huntington, WVA,  where she was a nurse. .I miss her but, I'm sure, not as much as her daughter, Denise, and her granddaughter, Alexis. Janet thought the sun rose and set on her children and

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-81909210340207349812010-06-02T20:33:00.001-04:002010-06-02T20:44:42.285-04:00

At the present time I belong to three writing groups: Mornings Out, which is our local chapter of the North Carolina Writers Network; B and B Writers, a small group which meets at Rosemary House in Pittsboro twice a month; and a Memoir Group which formed after we completed the memoir class offered through CCCC's Creative Writing Program. and meets monthly.  The latter group serves to keep us

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-87611390896353495012010-05-22T09:39:00.000-04:002010-05-22T09:39:02.631-04:00

Apparently muses can be found in strange places. Mine found me in an elementary school last week. I, in turn,  found myself writing an acrostic poem AND a (not sure how to label it) free verse poem. Educators, parents, grandparents, students, and others who care about a student know what EOG tests are. For the rest of you, these are End Of Grade tests--standardized tests given to elementary

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-50413066563043731712010-05-17T17:56:00.001-04:002010-05-17T17:58:21.817-04:00

Next month I will be spending two weeks in the mountains near Spruce Pine, NC, participating in the Wildacres Writing Retreat and Workshop.  I am very excited, even more so than when I attended for the first time. Last year I learned a lot from Nancy Bartholomew, our group leader for Comtemporary Fiction. This year I plan on doing the same in Abigail DeWitt's Novel Writing group. My roommate

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-38606434571098302422010-05-13T13:24:00.001-04:002010-05-13T13:25:38.432-04:00

Have you shifted into summer? You know, the HOT North Carolina summer? Here in Chatham County, the bandanas (aka sweat bands) are out; the cats and dogs are seeking shady spots for resting; and mosquitoes and ticks are doing their sneaky acts. That's the bad part...the insects. The good part(s) range from weekends at the beach to flower gardens in bloom to camping at Jordan Lake to...well, I

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-58441549509929187392010-05-07T18:57:00.000-04:002010-05-07T18:57:44.319-04:00

Yesterday I attended Writers Morning Out at Virlie's Restaurant in Pittsboro, NC. I don't know if we're technically a chapter of the North Carolina Writers Network (NCWN), but we're the local offshoot for sure. Although the website is in its infancy, it can be found at pittsboro-wmo.blogspot.com. Our self-acclaimed curmudgeon, Al Manning, keeps us as organized as possible and is doing the work

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-13962394326261756692010-05-03T20:20:00.000-04:002010-05-03T20:20:41.233-04:00

 BOOKOHOLISM BECKONS BILLIONS! Do you think you may be afflicted by this literary disease of reading?  To find out, answer these 10 questions. If you answer yes to 7 or more, you may need to seek help from  your local librarian. 1. If given a choice, would you buy a box of chocolates or a new bestseller? 2. Does your postman know your preferences in reading material? 3. Are weekends devoted to

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-23065486833304617552010-05-01T19:33:00.000-04:002010-05-01T19:33:52.238-04:00

When I was in my first decade, "event" signified Christmas and Easter. The next decade those two "events" were joined by Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, and the 4th of July. After marrying (ahem, for the first time) in the first year of the third decade, the previous events were still important, to a degree, but were superseded by my children's birthdays and the annual family reunion. Skipping

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-44181395099566666802010-04-28T18:22:00.000-04:002010-04-28T18:22:45.830-04:00

 These things I warmly wish for you Someone to love, some work to do, A bit o' sun, a bit o' cheer, And a guardian angel always near. -- Irish Blessings  I like the idea of guardian angels. I especially like the idea of guardian angels who watch over me as I write: devising a timeline, strengthening characters, creating tension, building suspense. I've decided my muse is a guardian angel.

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-61037993397571415982010-04-16T20:43:00.000-04:002010-04-16T20:43:39.873-04:00

I've been mulling over the relationship between the volunteering I'm doing and the memories stimulated by the volunteer work. Now into my second year of retirement, I am a volunteer at the Chatham Habitat for Humanity Home Store. Doing what?  Messing with books! Aha, you think. Books, writing, memories, writing memoir! You got it. We are fortunate at the Home Store in Pittsboro, NC to get many

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-35995588185332198992010-04-11T13:24:00.000-04:002010-04-11T13:24:44.244-04:00

quotations about writing: “I write when I'm inspired, and I see to it that I'm inspired at nine o'clock every morning”  Peter De Vries “The most solid advice for a writer is this, I think: Try to learn to breathe deeply, really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep really to sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell.

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-14213245269647988462010-04-08T17:59:00.001-04:002010-04-08T18:03:35.820-04:00

My 80 year old brother in El Paso, TX, just bought a 31 year old car--a 1979 Mercury Marquis. When we visit him and my sister-in-law, Ann, in the near future, I plan to do my own interview as to what prompted him to make this purchase, especially since he chose not to drive over six years ago. Whatever the reason, I can't wait to drive it. In the meantime, to read an interesting article about

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-42921562550052606072010-04-04T11:49:00.000-04:002010-04-04T11:49:55.060-04:00

Yesterday I was removing a couple hundred brick pavers from our woods. Mostly hidden by multiple seasons of falling leaves, it's been easy to ignore them from the gravel driveway for two decades. This activity is taking place now only because we're putting our property on the market. First impressions, you know. Using a heavy-duty plastic, rectangular banner proclaiming SALE TODAY in bright red

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-48479716238912165042010-03-30T18:44:00.001-04:002010-03-30T18:44:07.000-04:00

Sometime back I wrote about discovering a widely-read author who doesn't read fiction while he is writing a book.  I tried that. Not for me. Then I read about another author who always reads fiction while she's writing. That's my kind of writer. I look at reading while writing as nourishment for the creative part of my brain. I don't consciously borrow from what I'm reading at the time. I don't

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-68304693125143133422010-03-08T20:10:00.000-05:002010-03-08T20:10:15.895-05:00

It's really difficult for me to slow down. Maybe it all began when I walked to school with one of my best friends, Radetta Taylor. Like me, she was tall and our long legs were made for walking up the hill to Sutton Grade School. As I remember, no one liked to walk with us because we walked too fast. I not only walk quickly, I also eat quickly. Too quickly, for most folks. I attribute that to my

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-18190140918207586322010-02-22T08:32:00.000-05:002010-02-22T08:32:11.638-05:00

Our goal of simplifying our lives is clear to us. We want to downsize, be practical economically and ecologically, and live the simple life. Easy to say, harder to do. Like many, if not most, people in the United States, there are too many "things" which demand our time, energy,  and/or money. For example, automobiles. How many are too much? They need gas  and insurance. In our personal used

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-32474889959735825812010-02-21T12:37:00.001-05:002010-02-21T12:50:29.225-05:00

It's a relief to back in the writing groove. This afternoon my B&B writing group is meeting and I actually have a few pages for the group's scrutiny. These writing friends know good writing (and mediocre and bad) when they see it. They are critical but kind! Yesterday I had the good fortune of being in a class offered by Carrie Knowles, published writer from NC, entitled Using Emotional Truth

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-35821517162445710532010-02-04T09:30:00.000-05:002010-02-04T09:30:42.624-05:00

According to Steven Pressfield (The War of Art, Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles), "Resistance cannot be seen, touched, heard, or smelled. But it can be felt. We experience it as an energy field radiating from a work-in-potential. It's a repelling force. It's negative. Its aim is to shove us away,  distract us, prevent us from doing our work." I don't suffer from

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-58764574907890633252010-01-05T17:33:00.002-05:002010-01-05T17:33:40.768-05:00

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-44381671110489916542009-12-20T09:03:00.002-05:002009-12-20T09:39:04.616-05:00

I sometimes become weary of self-monitoring for political correctness, but I have no trouble at all referring to this time of year as the Holiday Season. It's a season of celebration and it doesn't matter to me who's celebrating what or whom. The point is that we can celebrate together. For me it began this year when granddaughters Allie and Teigan went with me to the Pittsboro Christmas Parade

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-80963088569121955452009-12-03T13:29:00.000-05:002009-12-03T13:29:55.705-05:00

No, I'm not the expert, but I did ask the questions. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to submit three questions to author Steven Pressfield.  He's published six international best sellers, including The War of Art -Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Battles, and has a new book coming out called Killing Rommel. Question:  How is backstory most effectively used in a story? "It

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-37704051024038873122009-11-23T11:17:00.000-05:002009-11-23T11:17:40.061-05:00

This is the week of Thanksgiving, November, 2009. Today I met the NaNoWriMo challenge and the self-imposed challenge of writing 50,000 words of a new novel. To be precise, the word count is 50,036 if I properly used the word count validator on their web site. I had no idea what this experience would be like, even though I had read about the experiences of others over the past ten years.

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-88677313698433919682009-11-19T17:20:00.000-05:002009-11-19T17:20:32.592-05:00

Today is day 19 of National Novel Writing Month. I'm a first year participant in NaNoWriMo. At first I felt powerful, sort of like the writing machine shown here. Then I felt lousy because I was producing quantity but not quality. Now, I'm back to feeling in control again. I know it sounds strange, but I have a theme, I have characters, I have backstory. There is tension, a paucity of adverbs,

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-88158409853159104872009-11-13T16:07:00.001-05:002009-11-13T16:08:50.685-05:00

It's not your vision. You're seeing how I'm feeling after two weeks of writing at least 1,671 words daily in order to meet the goal of 50,000 words in the month of November. Yep, things are a little topsy turvey. I'm feeling pleased about quantity of words but not feeling good about the quality of my writing. I believe that's to be expected. Perhaps it's time to go back to the NaNoWriMo

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-71251264569044318012009-11-09T18:15:00.001-05:002009-11-09T18:19:15.234-05:00

My Wildacres friend, Ronnie Jones-Boggess, has just released two new books titled: Sage on the Page and The Kids Sage on the Page Guide.  For anyone who believes in the power of positive thought and wants to see change in our children, this is the book to get.  She spent over one year writing, editing, researching and putting together a workbook that can be used both in and out of school.  The

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-82329615024216519742009-11-03T08:41:00.001-05:002009-11-03T08:54:55.326-05:00

I'm a morning person, one of my traits my husband doesn't find endearing. Always was, still am, and always will be. My personality is the same the moment I get up until the (early) moment I go to bed. Pleasing to some people, frustrating to others. Suits me just fine. Today I get up in time to enjoy the fog lifting off our neighbor's meadow. Beautiful!  I come downstairs and head for the coffee

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-90912773756652659132009-10-31T12:01:00.001-04:002009-10-31T12:02:37.956-04:00

Sunday Scribblings was set up to provide inspiration and motivation for anyone who enjoys writing and would like a weekly challenge A prompt word is issued each week by Megg and Laini to prompt writers to write about it. Now, why in the world have I blogged for two weeks about NaNoWriMo and then suddenly switched to Sunday Scribblings? This week's word is ADVENTURE and it's eerily timely.

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-60275158278985520702009-10-26T19:48:00.013-04:002009-10-27T11:33:08.347-04:00

Readers of last week's blog know that NaNoWriMo is the acronym for National Novel Writing Month. So far I know of one writing friend who is seriously considering participation. (Edit: It's up to 3 now.) Way back in the late seventies I was working in a nine-county mental health center where the MMPI was routinely administered as part of the intake process for clients. MMPI is the acronym for

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-28758251915863955372009-10-18T04:30:00.004-04:002009-10-18T05:03:15.418-04:00

Last year I heard about NaNoWriMo AFTER the event. This year, I'm ready.This babyspeak refers to National Novel Writing Month and we can be among the thousands of writers who participate. It's as simple as going to http://www.nanowrimo.org and signing up. It's free; it's non-fattening; it's exercise for the brain!Have you always wanted to write? Do you think there's a novel somewhere in your

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-18785293166106507572009-10-07T16:36:00.005-04:002009-10-08T14:40:44.336-04:00

I didn't know this word until today...when Kenju at Imagine blogged with her five word meme challenge from Paul Nichols. She gave me these words to blog about as they apply to my life. Meme is defined in one source as: MEME: An idea or pattern of thought that "replicates" like a virus by being passed along from one thinker to another. A meme might be a song or advertising jingle that gets stuck

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-28970453237875096302009-10-06T19:00:00.004-04:002009-10-07T08:21:39.759-04:00

A few weeks ago I sent a group email to writing friends and also posted a blog asking people which books had been most helpful to them in their writing. These books are on the right of this page.One of the books that author/friend Peggy Payne suggested was Steven Pressfield's "The War of Art - Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles.It's easy to read. It's easy to understand

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-30557165032192227172009-10-02T19:07:00.004-04:002009-10-03T19:48:55.645-04:00

As mentioned a few weeks ago, I'm in a small memoir class at Chatham County Community College called "Write Your Life Story." Karen Pullen teaches 12 of us, all but one "of a certain age." Shani is excluded since she's obviously not there yet.We have a weekly assignment of writing a few pages...no certain topic, no definite structure, just whatever we want to write for our future memoirs.What I

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-64191357456389335392009-09-28T17:06:00.004-04:002009-09-30T08:22:58.071-04:00

I've almost finished E.L. Doctorow's The March.It's a very good read about the Civil War and I can identify better with both sides now.The reason for mentioning it here is that I heard the author in an interview on NPR radio about his latest book, Homer and Langley. During the interview he mentioned that he doesn't read fiction while he is writing a book. If I remember correctly it more or less

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-81741411458768158242009-09-26T12:17:00.003-04:002009-09-26T12:35:31.360-04:00

One of the nice things about traveling is getting to check out new bookstores. Especially used book stores.For a few days we're in the Norristown, PA, area, having flown into Philly yesterday morning. Our granddaughter is being christened tomorrow at St. Francis of Assisi. Giselle is four months old and we're just now getting to be with her and her big sister, Gianna.The fringe benefit is getting

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-46896571106304158662009-09-22T16:49:00.006-04:002009-09-29T09:01:22.093-04:00

I have a rough draft of a novel in which the protagonist, Nancy, is a clinical social worker with a private practice. Nancy herself is troubled by a recurring dream:"Despite her psychotherapist’s training, Nancy found it no easier than most people to interpret dreams. Even attending a couple of seminars and perusing the dream book displays in the pop psychology section of Barnes and Noble didn't

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-25480039223790683372009-09-18T07:57:00.005-04:002009-09-18T08:30:44.473-04:00

It's not unusual for me to find a crumpled note in a jacket pocket or in the floor of the Honda with the name of a book I want to read. Fiction or nonfiction, there's always a book someone has recommended. There are bookshelves at my side as I sit here. Novel, short story, or homework for memoir class, no matter what I'm writing I often refer to one of the writing books. Alicia Rasley's The Power

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-41859248016580829452009-09-15T13:30:00.012-04:002009-09-15T15:10:02.197-04:00

My first two careers revolved around schedules, appointments, meetings, paperwork, and deadlines. My first year of retirement I kept a pocket calendar nearby and took pride in it. The emptier the pages, the prouder I was.What was I thinking? Obviously it wasn't "higher level" thinking. I knew I would be writing more because I had more time. I did a lot of writing before it finally dawned on me (

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-5272904629898583322009-09-08T15:48:00.005-04:002009-09-08T16:21:53.561-04:00

I awoke some time around 3 a.m. today, I'm guessing, since I didn't look at a clock until I came downstairs to the computer and began writing. It wasn't planned, so when it happened it seemed the natural thing to do. After all, I was lying there thinking in sentences about a work in progress.My computer desk faces south and I wrote and watched the light begin to slide through the trees. Many

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-40164159257711057362009-09-05T08:04:00.004-04:002009-09-05T20:30:07.110-04:00

The North Carolina Writers Network refers to our state as the writingest state. I don't have to look beyond the Chatham County boundaries to know that.I wonder why so many writers live in the South? There is probably some research somewhere which explains it.I haven't researched the question for myself yet, but I found a quote in The Book of Quotes by Barbara Rowes (1979) which offers an

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-16081034396471944692009-09-02T17:55:00.004-04:002009-09-02T18:24:13.986-04:00

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary says that a proverb is a pithy popular saying.The proverb for my forever friend Susan O'Neal is this: "The Devil finds work for idle hands."Her vocation and passion is therapeutic massage. She's not only a licensed masseuse; she has healing hands. She doesn't make that claim, but I do. I witnessed her work when she was an occupational therapist at the NC Jaycee Burn

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-16947990743669721622009-09-01T08:50:00.003-04:002009-09-01T09:09:34.426-04:00

Celebrate good times, come on! I'm singing the song by Kool and the Gang this morning.They aren't here to serenade me, but The Copycats are. You see, there has been this short story on paper and in the back of my mind begging to be finished. I've been working on it off and on for a few months. Then, the marathon started six days ago. I wrote, edited, repeat, repeat, for 8 or 9 hours a day.

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-80420642815992061452009-08-27T10:25:00.004-04:002009-08-27T10:59:05.489-04:00

I've been collecting information during the past year or so on family history. Much of this has been given to me by my sister, Lorene James Kitrinos. She even gave me a book by the Editors of Time-Life Books called The Gunfighters. It will come in handy when I'm writing about our cousin, Jesse James.A few months ago, I began making notes for a memoir and was surprised at the emotions brought

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-72813335918777222672009-08-26T18:30:00.003-04:002009-08-26T18:37:45.171-04:00

I enjoy walking out to Ryan's garden. He lives across the county, so he doesn't see the plants on a daily basis. He's done the gardening but we keep it watered since we have an irrigation system that was in place before he started. I frequently send him photos to keep him updated. Regardless of that, he's always surprised at how much the veggies have grown.It's fun watching for the newest sprouts

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-58725139974524937692009-08-25T13:33:00.003-04:002009-08-25T13:55:01.215-04:00

My Yahoo! home page today tells me that the following five books are being read by President Obama right now while he's on vacation:• The Way Home by George Pelecanos, a crime thriller based in Washington, D.C.;• Lush Life by Richard Price, a story of race and class set in New York's Lower East Side;• Tom Friedman's Hot, Flat, and Crowded, on the benefits to America of an environmental revolution

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-76401497644560288692009-08-23T18:14:00.005-04:002009-08-23T18:40:13.939-04:00

Recently I began emphasizing (to myself) the importance of intending rather than planning to do something. Naturally I've been intending to spend more time writing, thinking about writing, or reading about writing.Today was there was a convergence of writing matters which culminated in "The Perfect Day."I began writing at 7:30 and didn't come up for air until 10:30. Result: a revised, edited

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-75306973943474975732009-08-20T18:24:00.000-04:002009-08-20T18:31:12.677-04:00

I didn't take this picture but it represents how I'm feeling right now, peaceful at the end of a great day.The phone wasn't overly active today. There was sporadic but brief thunderstorms. I didn't have to go any place or do anything.My writing space in our combination tv/office/kitchen has been reorganized and I got a lot of writing done.Looking southwest I can see the shadows starting to

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4828229782949292662.post-71782820144009446152009-08-18T07:38:00.004-04:002009-08-18T07:52:14.398-04:00

When I find myself looking at my Statia photos, I know life has gotten too busy again and I need to regroup.Off and on, over the years I have contemplated not my navel, but the concept of the simple life.My simple life is one where there is little reliance on bureaucracies, utility companies, and consumable goods. I'd like to be living in a green home, maybe completely off the grid, in the

Gretahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02973796321945200881noreply@blogger.com4